Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes, Love Quotes, Witty Quotes

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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For whoever conquers a free Town, and does not demolish it, commits a great Error, and may expect to be ruin 'd himself.

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Men are always averse to enterprises in which they foresee difficulties.

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Many have dreamed up republics and principalities that have never in truth been known to exist; the gulf between how one should live and how one does live is so wide that a man who neglects what is actually done for what should be done learns the way to self-destruction rather than self-preservation.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Self Quotes

Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed ought drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Giving Quotes , Political Quotes

Besides what has been said, people are fickle by nature; and it is a simple to convince them of something but difficult to hold them in that conviction; and, therefore, affairs should be managed in such a way that when they no longer believe, they can be made to believe by force.

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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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The ends justifies the means.

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All the armed prophets conquered; all the unarmed ones perished.

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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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A prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers.

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

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Politics have no relation to morals.

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Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself.

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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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The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Two Quotes , Together Quotes

A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.

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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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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Men Quotes , Numbers Quotes

For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it; and in the world there are only the vulgar, for the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest on.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Taken Quotes , Mean Quotes

And here one must not that hatred is acquired just as much by means of good actions as by bad ones; and so, as I said above, if a prince wishes to maintain the state, he is often obliged not to be good; because whenever that group which you believe you need to support you is corrupted, whether it be the common people, the soldiers, or the nobles, it is to your advantage to follow their inclinations in order to satisfy them; and then good actions are your enemy.

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Tags : Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes , Believe Quotes , Mean Quotes