Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
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The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.
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He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss.
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It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.
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Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
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Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion.
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All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.
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Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.
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It is necessary that the prince should know how to color his nature well, and how to be a hypocrite and dissembler. For men are so simple, and yield so much to immediate necessity, that the deceiver will never lack dupes.
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To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.
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A prince, therefore, must not mind incurring the charge of cruelty for the purpose of keeping his subjects united and confident; for, with a very few examples, he will be more merciful than those who, from excess of tenderness, allow disorders to arise, from whence spring murders and rapine; for these as a rule injure the whole community, while the executions carried out by the prince injure only one individual. And of all princes, it is impossible for a new prince to escape the name of cruel, new states being always full of dangers.
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No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.
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The prince must be a lion, but he must also know how to play the fox.
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A prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers.
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No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
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Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.
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A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.
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We must bear in mind, then, that there is nothing more difficult and dangerous, or more doubtful of success, than an attempt to introduce a new order of things in any state. For the innovator has for enemies all those who derived advantages from the old order of things, whilst those who expect to be benefited by the new institutions will be but lukewarm defenders.
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You must never believe that the enemy does not know how to conduct his own affairs. Indeed, if you want to be deceived less and want to bear less danger, the more the enemy is weak or the less the enemy is cautious, so much more must you esteem him.
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Few men are brave by nature, but good discipline and experience make many so.
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Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.
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It is a true observation of ancient writers, that as men are apt to be cast down by adversity, so they, are easily satiated with prosperity, and that joy and grief produce the same effects. For whenever men are not obliged by necessity to fight they fight from ambition, which is so powerful a passion in the human breast that however high we reach we are never satisfied.
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To know well the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to know well the nature of princes one must be of the people.
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Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.
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Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many.