Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes (145 Quotes)

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

The chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms and as there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed, it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws.

The end justifies the means.

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.

I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.

A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair.

Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.

When neither their property nor their honor is touched, the majority of men live content.

As the observance of divine institutions is the cause of the greatness of republics, so the disregard of them produces their ruin for where the fear of God is wanting, there the country will come to ruin, unless it be sustained the fear of the princ

A prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him, and must protect himself from those that will not lose it for him, if this is possible but if he cannot, he need not concern h

The question is, then, do we try to make things easy on ourselves or do we try to make things easy on our customers, whoever they may be

For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible; which is one of those disgraceful things which a prince must guard against.

One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.

Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.

Ability and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.

He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss.

Hence it comes about that all armed Prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed Prophets have been destroyed.

A prince should therefore have no other aim or thought, nor take up any other thing for his study, but war and its organization and discipline, for that is the only art that is necessary to one who commands.

A prince must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. Those that wish to be only lions do not understand this. Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by so doing it would be against his interest, and when the reasons which made him bind himself no longer exist. If men were all good, this precept would not be a good one but as they are bad, and would not observe their faith with you, so you are not bound to keep faith with them.

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.

Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.

Before all else, be armed.

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.

Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.

Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.

In truth, there never was any remarkable lawgiver amongst any people who did not resort to divine authority, as otherwise his laws would not have been accepted by the people for there are many good laws, the importance of which is known to be the sa.

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.

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.

There are three kinds of intelligence: one kind understands things for itself, the other appreciates what others can understand, the third understands neither for itself nor through others. This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.

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

It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.

The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.

Wise men say, and not without reason, that whoever wished to foresee the future might consult the past.

A prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding. If his own prowess fails to compare with theirs, at least it has an air of greatness about it.

The distinction between children and adults, while probably useful for some purposes, is at bottom a specious one, I feel. There are only individual egos, crazy for love.

Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.

He who makes another powerful ruins himself, for he makes the other so either by shrewdness or force, and both of these qualities are feared by the one who becomes powerful.

A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.

The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.

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.

Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.