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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.

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
Please
Free
Rampant
Become
Drives
Good
Disorder
Never
Necessity
Men
Confusion
Unless
Choose

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It has always been the opinion and judgment of wise men that nothing can be so uncertain as fame or power not founded on its own strength.
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A prince must not have any objective nor any thought, nor take up any art, other than the art of war and its ordering and discipline because it is the only art that pertains to him who commands. And it is of such virtue that not only does it maintain those who were born princes, but many times makes men rise to that rank from private station.
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I'm not interested in preserving the status quo I want to overthrow it.
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The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.
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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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To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.
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Without doubt, ferocious and disordered men are much weaker than timid and ordered ones. For order chases fear from men and disorder lessens ferocity.
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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.
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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.
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All the States and Governments by which men are or ever have been ruled, have been and are either Republics or Princedoms.
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Cruelties should be committed all at once.
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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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Any harm you do to a man should be done in such a way that you need not fear his revenge.
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A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.
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There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.
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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.
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For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying
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So in all human affairs one notices, if one examines them closely, that it is impossible to remove one inconvenience without another emerging.
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