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So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied.

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
Property
Majority
Honor
Either
Great
Long
Men
Deprived
Satisfied

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For one change always leaves a dovetail into which another will fit.
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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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The prince who relies upon their words, without having otherwise provided for his security, is ruined for friendships that are won by awards, and not by greatness and nobility of soul, although deserved, yet are not real, and cannot be depended upon in time of adversity.
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All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.
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It is a common failing of man not to take account of tempests during fair weather.
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Violence must be inflicted once for all people will then forget what it tastes like and so be less resentful. Benefits must be conferred gradually and in that way they will taste better.
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I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats or any contemptuous expressions, for neither of these weaken the enemy, but threats make him more cautious, and the other excites his hatred, and a desire to revenge himself.
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It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.
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People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.
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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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Still, a prince should make himself feared in such a way that if he does not gain love, he at any rate avoids hatred for fear and the absence of hatred may well go together, and will be always attained by one who abstains from interfering with the property of his citizens and subjects or with their women.
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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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There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.
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There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.
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Wise men say, and not without reason, that whosoever wished to foresee the future might consult the past.
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For without invention, no one was ever a great man in his own trade.
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Never was anything great achieved without danger.
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With difficulty he is beaten who can estimate his own forces and those of his enemy.
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Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.
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Ability and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.
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