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It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.

Niccolo Machiavelli

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Niccolo Machiavelli
Age: 58 †
Born: 1469
Born: May 3
Died: 1527
Died: June 22
Diplomat
Historian
Military Theorist
Philosopher
Playwright
Poet
Political Theorist
Politician
Translator
Writer
Florence
Tuscany
Nicolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
Nicolò Machiavelli
N. Machiavelli
Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
Machiavelli
Men
Law
Scope
State
Spirits
Free
Lays
Evil
According
Spirit
Whenever
States
Laws
Presuppose
Going
Necessary
Arranges
Always
Literature
Wickedness

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Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.
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The world has always been the same and there is always as much good fortune as bad in it.
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The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.
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People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.
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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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One man should not be afraid of improving his posessions, lest they be taken away from him, or another deterred by high taxes from starting a new business. Rather, the Prince should be ready to reward men who want to do these things and those who endeavour in any way to increase the prosperity of their city or their state.
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Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.
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A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline because that is the only art befitting one who commands.
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So far as he is able, a prince should stick to the path of good but, if the necessity arises, he should know how to follow evil.
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it is much safer to be feared than loved because ...love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.
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To ensure victory the troops must have confidence in themselves as well as in their commanders.
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Hence it happened that all the armed prophets conquered, all the unarmed perished. [It., Di qui nacque che tutti li profeti armati vincero, e li disarmati rovinarono.]
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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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Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.
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Forgiveness proceeds from a generous soul.
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In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.
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Men are more ready to offend one who desires to be beloved than one who wishes to be feared.
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There is nothing so difficult or so dangerous as to undertake to change the order of things.
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