Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes, Lying Quotes, Believe Quotes

For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Lying Quotes , Believe Quotes

Men ought either to be well treated, or crushed.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Crushed Quotes

The reason is that nature has so created men that they are able to desire everything but are not able to attain everything: so that the desire being always greater than the acquisition, there results discontent with the possession and little satisfaction to themselves from it. From this arises the changes in their fortunes; for as men desire, some to have more, some in fear of losing their acquisition, there ensues enmity and war, from which results the ruin of that province and the elevation of another.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Quotes , War Quotes

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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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Quotes , War Quotes

A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one's own ignorance.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Ignorance Quotes , Intelligence Quotes

Hence it happened that all the armed prophets conquered, all the unarmed perished. [It., Di qui nacque che tutti li profeti armati vincero, e li disarmati rovinarono.]

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , War Quotes , Prophet Quotes

Some princes, so as to hold securely the state, have disarmed their subjects, others have kept their subject towns distracted by factions...Our forefathers, and those who were reckoned wise, were accustomed to say that it was necessary to hold Pistoia [an Italian city] by factions and Pisa by fortress, and with this idea they fostered quarrels in some of their tributary towns so as to keep possession of them the more easily.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Wise Quotes , Italian Quotes

Men never do good unless necessity drives them to it; but when they are free to choose and can do just as they please, confusion and disorder become rampant.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Of War Quotes , Men Quotes

For this is the tragedy of man circumstances change, but he does not.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Tragedy Quotes

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.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Passion Quotes , Men Quotes

Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Law Quotes

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.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Sight Quotes

There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Country Quotes , Philosophical Quotes

It is often found that modesty and humility not only do no good, but are positively hurtful, when they are shown to the arrogant who have taken up a prejudice against you, either from envy or from any other cause.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Taken Quotes , Humility Quotes

The peasant wants only to be left alone to prosper in peace.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Want Quotes , Peasants Quotes

Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Always Wrong Quotes

Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself; for that power is produced by him either through craft or force; and both of these are suspected by the one who has been raised to power.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Powerful Quotes , Crafts Quotes

Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Love Quotes , Two Quotes

I hold it to be of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one, for neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Military Quotes , Men Quotes

In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Fall Quotes , Arms Quotes