Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes from Wisdom-of-the-Wise.com

"Before all else, be armed."

"It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver."

"Never was anything great achieved without danger."

"Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil."

"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles."

"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally."

"It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both."

"He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command."

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great."

"I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it."

"We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either."

"Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better."

"There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others."

"Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society."

"There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt."

"The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."

"No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution."

"A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair."

"The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all."

"Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed."

"Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others."

"Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot."

"The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not."

"Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage."

"Men never do good unless necessity drives them to it; but when they are free to choose and can do just as they please, confusion and disorder become rampant."

"Anyone who studies present and ancient affairs will easily see how in all cities and all peoples there still exist, and have always existed, the same desires and passions."

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things."

"There is no other way of guarding oneself against flattery than by letting men understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth; but when everyone can tell you the truth, you lose their respect."

"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."

"You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second."

"There are three kinds of intelligence: one kind understands things for itself, the other appreciates what others can understand, the third understands neither for itself nor through others. This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless."

"He ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and too much distrust render him intolerable."

"The prince who relies upon their words, without having otherwise provided for his security, is ruined; for friendships that are won by awards, and not by greatness and nobility of soul, although deserved, yet are not real, and cannot be depended upon in time of adversity."

"Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge."

"From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved."

"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."

"For whenever men are not obliged to fight from necessity, they fight from ambition; which is so powerful in human breasts, that it never leaves them no matter to what rank they rise. The reason is that nature has so created men that they are able to desire everything but are not able to attain everything: so that the desire being always greater than the acquisition, there results discontent with the possession and little satisfaction to themselves from it. From this arises the changes in their fortunes; for as men desire, some to have more, some in fear of losing their acquisition, there ensues enmity and war, from which results the ruin of that province and the elevation of another."

"A prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers. From the latter he is defended by being well armed and having good allies, and if he is well armed he will have good friends, and affairs will always remain quiet within when they are quiet without, unless they should have been already disturbed by conspiracy; and even should affairs outside be disturbed, if he has carried out his preparations and has lived as I have said, as long as he does not despair, he will resist every attack."

"It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because 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. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them."

Compiled by Thomas George
editor@Wisdom-of-the-Wise.com