“Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.”
Men
“God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.”
GodAll Quotes by Niccolo Machiavelli
“Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.”
Fear“Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.”
Men“The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.”
Life“Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself.”
Great“God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.”
God“To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.”
Nature“War should be the only study of a prince. He should consider peace only as a breathing-time, which gives him leisure to contrive, and furnishes as ability to execute, military plans.”
Peace“No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.”
Business“There is no avoiding war it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.”
War“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.”
Change“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.”
Good“Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.”
Nature“The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.”
Love“A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.”
Faith“There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.”
Religion“Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.”
Society“One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.”
Change“Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.”
Good“The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.”
Good