Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes, Liars Quotes, Love Is Quotes

I don't doubt that every prince would like to be both; but since it is hard to accomodate these qualities, if you have to make a choice, to be feared is much safer than to be loved. For it is a good general rule about men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain....[love] is a link of obligation which men, because they are rotten, will break anything they think doing so serves their advantage; but fear involves dread of punishment, from which they can never escape.

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A son could bear with great complacency, the death of his father, while the loss of his inheritance might drive him to despair.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Father Quotes , Loss Quotes

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 snares, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Quotes , War Quotes

No one should therefore fear that he cannot accomplish what others have accomplished, for, men are born, live, and die in quite the same way they always have.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Way Quotes

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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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Law Quotes

My view is that it is desirable to be both loved and feared; but it is difficult to achieve both and, if one of them has to be lacking, it is much safer to be feared than loved.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Views Quotes , Achieve Quotes

If the chief party, whether it be the people, or the army, or the nobility, which you think most useful and of most consequence to you for the conservation of your dignity, be corrupt, you must follow their humor and indulge them, and in that case honesty and virtue are pernicious.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Honesty Quotes , Party Quotes

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.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Strong Quotes , Thinking Quotes

There are three kinds of brains. The one understands things unassisted, the other understands things when shown by others, the third understands neither alone nor with the explanations of others.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Brain Quotes , Three Quotes

Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Eye Quotes , Men Quotes

Cruelties should be committed all at once.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Should Quotes , Cruelty Quotes

War is a profession by which a man cannot live honorably; an employment by which the soldier, if he would reap any profit, is obliged to be false, rapacious, and cruel.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Peace Quotes , War Quotes

One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well, they are yours. They would shed their blood for you, risk their property, their lives, their children, so long, as I said above, as danger is remote; but when you are in danger they turn against you.

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

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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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A wise ruler should rely on what is under his own control, not on what is under the control of others.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Wise Quotes , Should Quotes

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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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Quotes , War Quotes

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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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Inspirational Quotes , Change Quotes

It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Philosophical Quotes , Men Quotes

Nevertheless, he must be cautious in believing and acting, and must not inspire fear of his own accord, and must proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence does not render him incautious, and too much diffidence does not render him intolerant. From this arises the question whether it is better to be loved more than feared, or feared more than loved.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Art Quotes , War Quotes