Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

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

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

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

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

Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.

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.

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

A prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. Those that wish to be only lions do not understand this. Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist. If men were all good, this precept would not be a good one; but as they are bad, and would not observe their faith with you, so you are not bound to keep faith with them.

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.

The question is, then, do we try to make things easy on ourselves or do we try to make things easy on our customers, whoever they may be?

And if, to be sure, sometimes you need to conceal a fact with words, do it in such a way that it does not become known, or, if it does become known, that you have a ready and quick defense.

Where the willingness is great the difficulties cannot be great.

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.

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.

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.

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

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.

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

Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself.