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The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.

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
War
Best
People
Fortress
Fortresses
Prince
Possess
Affection

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For as laws are necessary that good manners be preserved, so there is need of good manners that law may be maintained.
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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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Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.
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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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With difficulty he is beaten who can estimate his own forces and those of his enemy.
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The ends justifies the means.
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Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves
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A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
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A wise man will see to it that his acts always seem voluntary and not done by compulsion, however much he may be compelled by necessity.
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Since the handling of arms is a beautiful spectacle, it is delightful to young men.
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A prince is also respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation.
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When they remain in garrison, soldiers are maintained with fear and punishment when they are then led to war, with hope and reward.
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There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.
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All who contribute to the overthrow of religion, or to the ruin of kingdoms and commonwealths, all who are foes to letters and to the arts which confer honour and benefit on the human race (among whom I reckon the impious, the cruel, the ignorant, the indolent, the base and the worthless), are held in infamy and detestation.
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Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion.
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...it behooves us to adapt oneself to the times if one wants to enjoy continued good fortune.
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In order not to annul our free will, I judge it true that Fortune may be mistress of one half our actions but then even she leaves the other half, or almost, under our control.
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As all those have shown who have discussed civil institutions, and as every history is full of examples, it is necessary to whoever arranges to found a Republic and establish laws in it, to presuppose that all men are bad and that they will use their malignity of mind every time they have the opportunity.
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Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas in antiquity.
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli