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To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.

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
Better
Seize
Recognize
Opportunity
War
Art
Else
Anything

More quotes by Niccolo Machiavelli

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There is simply no comparison between a man who is armed and one who is not. It is simply unreasonable to expect that an armed man should obey one who is unarmed, or that an unarmed man should remain safe and secure when his servants are armed.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself another which appreciates what others comprehend and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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...the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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A multitude is strong while it holds together, but so soon as each of those who compose it begins ro think of his own private danger, it becomes weak and contemptible.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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I believe that it is possible for one to praise, without concern, any man after he is dead since every reason and supervision for adulation is lacking.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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Wise men say, and not without reason, that whosoever wished to foresee the future might consult the past.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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A government which does not trust its citizens to be armed is not itself to be trusted.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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...it behooves us to adapt oneself to the times if one wants to enjoy continued good fortune.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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the wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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One can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain and while you work for their good they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives, and their sons when danger is far away but when it comes nearer to you, they turn away.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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...it is a base thing to look to others for your defense instead of depending upon yourself. That defense alone is effectual, sure, and durable which depends upon yourself and your own valor.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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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.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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It is better to be bold than too circumspect, because fortune is of a sex which likes not a tardy wooer and repulses all who are not ardent.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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Impetuosity and audacity often achieve what ordinary means fail to achieve.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.
Niccolo Machiavelli
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Men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation which, since men are wretched creatures, is broken on every occasion in which their own interests are concerned but fear is sustained by dread of punishment which will never abandon you.
Niccolo Machiavelli