49 result(s) for Machiavelli Quotes.
"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."
"The ends justify the means."
"A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests."
"There is no other way to guard against flattery than by a careful and true examination of the deeds of those who flatter."
"Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear."
"It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret."
"If an injury has to be done to a man, it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared."
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"One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived."
"The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves."
"It is better to be a Prince than a soldier, for the Prince can rule while the soldier fights."
"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."
"Nothing is more important than appearing to be religious."
"A Prince must be a lion but also a fox."
"In the actions of all men, and especially of princes, which are not back by laws, one can assume they yield to luck and chance."
"The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."
"Men are more ready to commit offenses, and they do so more eagerly, when they fear for their lives or their fortunes."
"If you want to be loved, be a servant; if you want to be feared, be a prince."
"It is better to be rash than to be too cautious."
"The greatest misfortunes are the results of not acting."
"The wise ruler should be cautious in making enemies."
"A Prince must frequently renew his policies and improve his state."
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"To know how to command is also to know how to obey."
"When it is well understood that you wish them well, they will come to you easily."
"In any decision, take calculated risks."
"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under control, you must treat her roughly."
"It is much safer to be feared than loved, when one must choose between the two."
"Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."
"Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception."
"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are."
"Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."
"There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth; but then, when everyone feels at liberty to tell you the truth, they will be lacking in respect."
"It is better to act and repent than not to act at all."
"The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present."
"A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise."
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"Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are."
"By inflicting harm themselves, men will be able to forget it more quickly than if harm is inflicted on them."
"Since men love at their pleasure and fear at the pleasure of the prince, a wise prince should build on what is his own, not on what is another's."
"War should be the only study of a prince. He should consider peace only as a breathing-spell, which gives him time to devise ways and means to conquer more easily."
"Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend only some individuals."
"He who becomes a Prince through the favour of the people ought to keep them friendly, and this he can easily do seeing they ask only not to be oppressed."
"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great."
"It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles."
"Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity."
"Prudence consists in knowing how to distinguish degrees of disadvantage."
"Men intrinsically do not trust new things that they have not experienced themselves."
"The innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new."
"I am not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it."
"Injuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less, they offend less; benefits ought to be granted little by little, so that they might be relished more fully."
