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The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order.

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
Defenders
Enemies
Profit
Enemy
Order
Reformer
Change
Incredulity
Would
Lukewarm
Reformers

More quotes by Niccolo Machiavelli

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And it will always happen that he who is not your friend will request your neutrality and he who is your friend will ask you to declare yourself by taking up arms. And irresolute princes, in order to avoid present dangers, follow the neutral road most of the time, and most of the time they are ruined.
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When settling disputes between his subjects, he should ensure that his judgement is irrevocable and he should be so regarded that no one ever dreams of trying to deceive or trick him.
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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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Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
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Among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised.
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It is the duty of a man of honor to teach others the good which he has not been able to do himself because of the malignity of the times, that this good finally can be done by another more loved in heaven.
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For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying
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And when he is obliged to take the life of any one, to do so when there is a proper justification and manifest reason for it but above all he must abstain from taking the property of others, for men forget more easily the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony.
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A wise ruler should rely on what is under his own control, not on what is under the control of others.
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There should be many judges, for few will always do the will of few.
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A wise prince will seek means by which his subjects will always and in every possible condition of things have need of his government, and then they will always be faithful to him.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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The state is not an organism capable of bringing either moral or material improvements to the populace...but merely a vehicle of power for the men and party in power.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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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The world has always been the same and there is always as much good fortune as bad in it.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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When fortune wishes to bring mighty events to a successful conclusion, she selects some man of spirit and ability who knows how to seize the opportunity she offers.
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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.
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Republics have a longer life and enjoy better fortune than principalities, because they can profit by their greater internal diversity. They are the better able to meet emergencies.
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Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.]
Niccolo Machiavelli
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The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.
Niccolo Machiavelli