Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli Quotes
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Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.
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It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.
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By the delusions of seeming good the people are often misled to desire their own ruin; and they are frequently influenced by great hopes and brave promises.
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And here one must not that hatred is acquired just as much by means of good actions as by bad ones; and so, as I said above, if a prince wishes to maintain the state, he is often obliged not to be good; because whenever that group which you believe you need to support you is corrupted, whether it be the common people, the soldiers, or the nobles, it is to your advantage to follow their inclinations in order to satisfy them; and then good actions are your enemy.
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No proceeding is better than that which you have concealed from the enemy until the time you have executed it. To know how to recognize an opportunity in war, and take it, benefits you more than anything else. Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many. Discipline in war counts more than fury.
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Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
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The nature of man is such that people consider themselves put under an obligation as much by the benefits they confer as by those they receive.
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The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.
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Nothing is of greater importance in time of war than in knowing how to make the best use of a fair opportunity when it is offered.
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If the course of human affairs be considered, it will be seen that many things arise against which heaven does not allow us to guard.
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Anyone who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it may expect to be destroyed by it; for such a city may always justify rebellion in the name of liberty and its ancient institutions.
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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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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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When neither their property nor their honor is touched, the majority of men live content.
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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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Necessities can be many, but the one that is stronger is that which constrains you to win or to die.
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Since the handling of arms is a beautiful spectacle, it is delightful to young men.
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Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself.
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Never do an enemy a small injury.
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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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The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.
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Delusion gives you more happiness than truth gives to me. For injuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less, they offend less; benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavour of them may last longer.
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If the chief party, whether it be the people, or the army, or the nobility, which you think most useful and of most consequence to you for the conservation of your dignity, be corrupt, you must follow their humor and indulge them, and in that case honesty and virtue are pernicious.
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Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.