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Whoever takes it upon himself to establish a commonwealth and prescribe laws must presuppose all men naturally bad, and that they will yield to their innate evil passions as often as they can do so with safety.

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
Law
Passions
Upon
Yield
Evil
Whoever
Often
Naturally
Presuppose
Must
Safety
Prescribe
Men
Laws
Commonwealth
Takes
Innate
Passion
Establish

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You do not know the unfathomable cowardice of humanity...servile in the face of force, pitiless in the face of weakness, implacable before blunders, indulgent before crimes...and patient to the point of martyrdom before all the violences of bold despotism.
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The ends justifies the means.
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We have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean the rest have failed.
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God and nature have thrown all human fortunes into the midst of mankind and they are thus attainable rather by rapine than by industry, by wicked actions rather than by good. Hence it is that men feed upon each other, and those who cannot defend themselves must be worried.
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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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He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.
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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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If the present be compared with the remote past, it is easily seen that in all cities and in all peoples there are the same desires and the same passions as there always were.
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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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So far as he is able, a prince should stick to the path of good but, if the necessity arises, he should know how to follow evil.
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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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From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.
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One of the great secrets of the day is to know how to take possession of popular prejudices and passions, in such a way as to introduce a confusion of principles which makes impossible all understanding between those who speak the same language and have the same interests.
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Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.
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A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline because that is the only art befitting one who commands.
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Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.
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Gold will not always get you good soldiers, but good soldiers can get you gold.
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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.
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Benefits should be conferred gradually and in that way they will taste better.
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Results are often obtained by impetuosity and daring which could never have been obtained by ordinary methods.
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