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Thus it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so but you must have the mind so disposed that when it is needful to be otherwise you may be able to change to the opposite qualities.

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
Change
Opposites
Needful
Character
Otherwise
Disposed
May
Thus
Merciful
Able
Seem
Humane
Wells
Quality
Sincere
Well
Religious
Qualities
Must
Also
Faithful
Mind
Seems
Opposite

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No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.
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Rome remained free for four hundred years and Sparta eight hundred, although their citizens were armed all that time but many other states that have been disarmed have lost their liberties in less than forty years.
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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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(A ruler) cannot and should not keep his word when to do so would go against his interests or when the reason he pledged it no longer holds.
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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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There is nothing that Nature seems to have inclined us to as much as society.
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By the delusions of seeming good the people are often misled to desire their own ruin and they are frequently influenced by great hopes and brave promises.
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There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.
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He who builds on the people, builds on the mud
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The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.
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Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.
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The ends justifies the means.
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One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.
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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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A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.
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The sinews of war are not gold, but good soldiers.
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Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.
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One should never fall in the belief that you can find someone to pick you up.
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Cruelties should be committed all at once.
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You must never believe that the enemy does not know how to conduct his own affairs. Indeed, if you want to be deceived less and want to bear less danger, the more the enemy is weak or the less the enemy is cautious, so much more must you esteem him.
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