Niccolo Machiavelli Quotations

He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

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

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.

Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.

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

One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.

Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.

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

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

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

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

We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

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

The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

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

The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.

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.

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.

Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself.

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.

The one who adapts his policy to the times prospers, and likewise that the one whose policy clashes with the demands of the times does not.

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

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.

A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.

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

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.

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

War should be the only study of a prince. He should consider peace only as a breathing-time, which gives him leisure to contrive, and furnishes as ability to execute, military plans.

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.

Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.

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.

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.

Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.

Let no one oppose this belief of mine with that well-worn proverb: 'He who builds on the people builds on mud

Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.

May princes know then that they begin to lose (their) state at that hour in which they begin to break the laws and those customs and usages that are ancient and under which men have lived for a long time

If One Wishes That a Sect of a Republic Live a Long Time, It Is Necessary to Draw It Back Often toward Its Principle

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?

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

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.

each candidate behaved well in the hope of being judged worthy of election. However, this system was disastrous when the city had become corrupt. For then it was not the most virtuous but the most powerful who stood for election, and the weak, even if virtuous, were too frightened to run for office.

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.

A son could bear complacently the death of his father while the loss of his inheritance might drive him to despair

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.

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.

To be feared is much safer then to be loved.

Although deceit is detestable in all other things, yet in the conduct of war it is laudable and honorable; and a commander who vanquishes an enemy by stratagem is equally praised with one who gains victory by force.

Half of these aren't even Machiavelli. Some are Plato, Thucydides etc....doesnt anyone check these?

An armed republic submits less easily to the rule of one of its citizens than a republic armed by foreign forces. Rome and Sparta were for many centuries well armed and free. The Swiss are well armed and enjoy great freedom. Among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible. It is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed; or that any unarmed man will remain safe among armed servants.

it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.

Appear as you may wish to be

The forces of adversaries are more diminished by the loss of those who flee than of those who are killed.

Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.

Good order makes men bold, and confusion, cowards.

A prudent man... must behave like those archers who, if they are skillful, when the target seems too distant, know the capabilities of their bow and aim a good deal higher than their objective, not in order to shoot so high but so that by aiming high they can reach the target.

When you disarm your subjects, however, you offend them by showing that either from cowardliness or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you.

Fear is secured by a dread of punishment.

In war, discipline can do more than fury.

How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.

He who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards, but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building.

A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.

the ends justifies the means

Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.

the wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour.

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

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.

The Romans never allowed a trouble spot to remain simply to avoid going to war over it, because they knew that wars don't just go away, they are only postponed to someone else's advantage. Therefore, they made war with Philip and Antiochus in Greece, in order not to have to fight them in Italy... They never went by that saying which you constantly hear from the wiseacres of our day, that time heals all things. They trusted rather their own character and prudence- knowing perfectly well that time contains the seeds of all things, good as well as bad.

It ought to be remembered that 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. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.

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

Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.

There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.

...people are by nature fickle, and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them persuaded.

There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.

Is it better to be loved or feared?

Never do an enemy a small injury.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Impetuosity and audacity often achieve what ordinary means fail to achieve.

Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.

Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy.

From this arises the following question: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other, but because they are difficult to combine, it is far better to be loved than feared if you cannot be both.

It is a foolish prince who entrusts the safety of his lands to hired men.