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A Prince, Therefore, Must Not Mind Incurring The Charge Of Cruelty For The Purpose Of Keeping His Subjects United And Confident; For, With A Very Few Examples, He Will Be More Merciful Than Those Who, From Excess Of Tenderness, Allow Disorders To Arise, From Whence Spring Murders And Rapine; For These As A Rule Injure The Whole Community, While The Executions Carried Out By The Prince Injure Only One Individual. And Of All Princes, It Is Impossible For A New Prince To Escape The Name Of Cruel, New States Being Always Full Of Dangers.

-Niccolo Machiavelli

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A Prince, Therefore, Must

Niccolo Machiavelli

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A Prince, Therefore, Must Not Mind Incurring The Charge Of Cruelty For The Purpose Of Keeping His Subjects United And Confident; For, With A Very Few Examples, He Will Be More Merciful Than Those Who, From Excess Of Tenderness, Allow Disorders To Arise, From Whence Spring Murders And Rapine; For These As A Rule Injure The Whole Community, While The Executions Carried Out By The Prince Injure Only One Individual. And Of All Princes, It Is Impossible For A New Prince To Escape The Name Of Cruel, New States Being Always Full Of Dangers.

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Good Order Makes Men Bold, And Confusion, Cowards.

A Prince Who Is Not Himself Wise Cannot Be Wisely Advised. . . . Good Advice Depends On The Shrewdness Of The Prince Who Seeks It, And Not The Shrewdness Of The Prince On Good Advice.

To Keep Your Actions And Your Plans Secret Always Has Been A Very Good Thing . .. Marcus Crassus Said To One Who Asked Him When He Was Going To Move The Army: 'do You Believe That You Will Be The Only One Not To Hear The Trumpet?

It Should Be Borne In Mind That There Is Nothing More Difficult To Arrange, More Doubtful Of Success, And More Dangerous To Carry Through Than Initiating Changes. The Innovator Makes Enemies Of All Those Who Prospered Under The Old Order, And Only Lukewarm Support Is Forthcoming From Those Who Would Prosper Under The New. Their Support Is Lukewarm ... Partly Because Men Are Generally Incredulous, Never Really Trusting New Things Unless They Have Tested Them By Experience.

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.

He Who Wishes To Be Obeyed Must Know How To Command.

The Reformer Has Enemies In All Who Profit By The Old Order, And Only Lukewarm Defenders In All Those Who Would Profit By The New Order.

Still, A Prince Should Make Himself Feared In Such A Way That If He Does Not Gain Love, He At Any Rate Avoids Hatred; For Fear And The Absence Of Hatred May Well Go Together, And Will Be Always Attained By One Who Abstains From Interfering With The Property Of His Citizens And Subjects Or With Their Women.

There Is Nothing More Difficult To Plan, More Doubtful Of Success, Nor More Dangerous To Manage Than The Creation Of A New Order Of Things..... Whenever His Enemies Have Occasion To Attack The Innovator They Do So With The Passion Of Partisans, While The Others Defend Him Sluggishly So That The Innovator And His Party Alike Are Vulnerable.

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.

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.

Therefore The Best Fortress Is To Be Found In The Love Of The People, For Although You May Have Fortresses They Will Not Save You If You Are Hated By The People.

Violence Must Be Inflicted Once For All; People Will Then Forget What It Tastes Like And So Be Less Resentful. Benefits Must Be Conferred Gradually; And In That Way They Will Taste Better.

I Desire To Go To Hell And Not To Heaven. In The Former I Shall Enjoy The Company Of Popes, Kings And Princes, While In The Latter Are Only Beggars, Monks And Apostles

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.

....those Who Become Princes Through Their Skill Acquire The Pricipality With Difficulty, Buy They Hold Onto It With Ease.

One Man Should Not Be Afraid Of Improving His Posessions, Lest They Be Taken Away From Him, Or Another Deterred By High Taxes From Starting A New Business. Rather, The Prince Should Be Ready To Reward Men Who Want To Do These Things And Those Who Endeavour In Any Way To Increase The Prosperity Of Their City Or Their State.

The Innovator Has For Enemies All Who Have Done Well Under The Old, And Lukewarm Defenders In Those Who May Do Well Under The New.

Men Are More Ready To Offend One Who Desires To Be Beloved Than One Who Wishes To Be Feared.

We Must Distinguish Between Those Who Depend On Others, That Is Between Those Who To Achieve Their Purposes Can Force The Issue And Those Who Must Use Persuasion. In The Second Case, They Always Come To Grief, Having Achieved Nothing; When, However, They Depend On Their Own Resources And Can Force The Issue, Then They Are Seldom Endangered.

And What Physicians Say About Disease Is Applicable Here: That At The Beginning A Disease Is Easy To Cure But Difficult To Diagnose; But As Time Passes, Not Having Been Recognized Or Treated At The Outset, It Becomes Easy To Diagnose But Difficult To Cure. The Same Thing Occurs In Affairs Of State; For By Recognizing From Afar The Diseases That Are Spreading In The State (which Is A Gift Given Only To The Prudent Ruler), They Can Be Cured Quickly; But When, Not Having Been Recognized, They Are Not Recognized And Are Left To Grow To The Extent That Everyone Recognizes Them, There Is No Longer Any Cure.

For The Great Majority Of Mankind Are Satisfied With Appearances, As Though They Were Realities, And Are Often More Influenced By The Things That Seem Than By Those That Are.

One Arises From A Low To A High Station More Often By Using Fraud Instead Of Force.

And When He Is Obliged To Take The Life Of Any One, To Do So When There Is A Proper Justification And Manifest Reason For It; But Above All He Must Abstain From Taking The Property Of Others, For Men Forget More Easily The Death Of Their Father Than The Loss Of Their Patrimony.

One Change Always Leaves The Way Open For The Establishment Of Others.

We Must Bear In Mind, Then, That There Is Nothing More Difficult And Dangerous, Or More Doubtful Of Success, Than An Attempt To Introduce A New Order Of Things In Any State. For The Innovator Has For Enemies All Those Who Derived Advantages From The Old Order Of Things, Whilst Those Who Expect To Be Benefited By The New Institutions Will Be But Lukewarm Defenders.

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.

Minds Are Of Three Kinds: One Is Capable Of Thinking For Itself; Another Is Able To Understand The Thinking Of Others; And A Third Can Neither Think For Itself Nor Understand The Thinking Of Others. The First Is Of The Highest Excellence, The Second Is Excellent, And The Third Is Worthless.

In Respect To Foresight And Firmness, The People Are More Prudent, More Stable, And Have Better Judgement Than Princes.

It Is Much Better To Tempt Fortune Where It Can Favor You Than To See Your Certain Ruin By Not Tempting It.

Men May Second Fortune, But They Cannot Thwart Her.

It May Be Observed, That Provinces Amid The Vicissitudes To Which They Are Subject, Pass From Order Into Confusion, And Afterward Recur To A State Of Order Again; For The Nature Of Mundane Affairs Not Allowing Them To Continue In An Even Course, When They Have Arrived At Their Greatest Perfection, They Soon Begin To Decline.

A Wise Prince Will Seek Means By Which His Subjects Will Always And In Every Possible Condition Of Things Have Need Of His Government, And Then They Will Always Be Faithful To Him.

Nature Creates Few Men Brave, Industry And Training Makes Many.

The Chief Foundations Of All States, New As Well As Old Or Composite, Are Good Laws And Good Arms.

And When Neither Their Property Nor Honour Is Touched, The Majority Of Men Live Content, And He Has Only To Contend With The Ambition Of A Few, Whom He Can Curb With Ease In Many Ways.

When Every Province Of The World So Teems With Inhabitants That They Can Neither Subsist Where They Are Nor Remove Themselves Elsewhere.

Men Are Of Three Different Capacities: One Understands Intuitively; Another Understands So Far As It Is Explained; And A Third Understands Neither Of Himself Nor By Explanation. The First Is Excellent, The Second, Commendable, And The Third, Altogether Useless.

Though Fraud In All Other Actions Be Odious, Yet In Matters Of War It Is Laudable And Glorious, And He Who Overcomes His Enemies By Stratagem Is As Much To Be Praised As He Who Overcomes Them By Force.

Nothing Is Of Greater Importance In Time Of War Than In Knowing How To Make The Best Use Of A Fair Opportunity When It Is Offered.

It Is Much Safer To Be Feared Than Loved Because ...love Is Preserved By The Link Of Obligation Which, Owing To The Baseness Of Men, Is Broken At Every Opportunity For Their Advantage; But Fear Preserves You By A Dread Of Punishment Which Never Fails.

Human Beings Remain Constant In Their Methods Of Conduct.

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.

Among Other Evils Which Being Unarmed Brings You, It Causes You To Be Despised.

Men Are Able To Assist Fortune But Not To Thwart Her. They Can Weave Her Designs, But They Cannot Destroy Them.

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.

Men In General Judge More From Appearances Than From Reality. All Men Have Eyes, But Few Have The Gift Of Penetration.

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.

I Believe That It Is Possible For One To Praise, Without Concern, Any Man After He Is Dead Since Every Reason And Supervision For Adulation Is Lacking.

Hatred Is Gained As Much By Good Works As By Evil.

Men Ought Either To Be Well Treated Or Crushed, Because They Can Avenge Themselves Of Lighter Injuries, Of More Serious Ones They Cannot; Therefore The Injury That Is To Be Done To A Man Ought To Be Of Such A Kind That One Does Not Stand In Fear Of Revenge.

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.

God And Nature Have Thrown All Human Fortunes Into The Midst Of Mankind; And They Are Thus Attainable Rather By Rapine Than By Industry, By Wicked Actions Rather Than By Good. Hence It Is That Men Feed Upon Each Other, And Those Who Cannot Defend Themselves Must Be Worried.

Men Generally Decide Upon A Middle Course, Which Is Most Hazardous, For They Know Neither How To Be Entirely Good Nor Entirely Bad.

....nothing Is So Unhealthy Or Unstable As The Reputation For Power That Is Not Based On One's Own Power.

One Of The Great Secrets Of The Day Is To Know How To Take Possession Of Popular Prejudices And Passions, In Such A Way As To Introduce A Confusion Of Principles Which Makes Impossible All Understanding Between Those Who Speak The Same Language And Have The Same Interests.

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.

A Son Can Bear With Equanimity The Loss Of His Father, But The Loss Of His Inheritance May Drive Him To Despair.

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 Nature Of Man Is Such That People Consider Themselves Put Under An Obligation As Much By The Benefits They Confer As By Those They Receive.

Delusion Gives You More Happiness Than Truth Gives To Me. For Injuries Ought To Be Done All At One Time, So That, Being Tasted Less, They Offend Less; Benefits Ought To Be Given Little By Little, So That The Flavour Of Them May Last Longer.

He Who Blinded By Ambition, Raises Himself To A Position Whence He Cannot Mount Higher, Must Thereafter Fall With The Greatest Loss.

It Is Double Pleasure To Deceive The Deceiver.

Every One Sees What You Appear To Be, Few Really Know What You Are, And Those Few Dare Not Oppose Themselves To The Opinion Of The Many, Who Have The Majesty Of The State To Defend Them.

Power Is The Pivot On Which Everything Hinges. He Who Has The Power Is Always Right; The Weaker Is Always Wrong.

Rome Remained Free For Four Hundred Years And Sparta Eight Hundred, Although Their Citizens Were Armed All That Time; But Many Other States That Have Been Disarmed Have Lost Their Liberties In Less Than Forty Years.

Hence It Comes That All Armed Prophets Have Been Victorious, And All Unarmed Prophets Have Been Destroyed.

Politics Have No Relation To Morals.

To Ensure Victory The Troops Must Have Confidence In Themselves As Well As In Their Commanders.

The Reply Is, That One Ought To Be Both Feared And Loved, But As It Is Difficult For The Two To Go Together, It Is Much Safer To Be Feared Than Loved, If One Of The Two Has To Be Wanting. For It May Be Said Of Men In General That They Are Ungrateful, Voluble, Dissemblers, Anxious To Avoid Danger, And Covetous Of Gain; As Long As You Benefit Them, They Are Entirely Yours; They Offer You Their Blood, Their Goods, Their Life, And Their Children, As I Have Before Said, When The Necessity Is Remote; But When It Approaches, They Revolt.

Before All Else, Be Armed.

For As Laws Are Necessary That Good Manners Be Preserved, So There Is Need Of Good Manners That Law May Be Maintained.

The Sinews Of War Are Not Gold, But Good Soldiers; For Gold Alone Will Not Procure Good Soldiers, But Good Soldiers Will Always Procure Gold.

Because Just As Good Morals, If They Are To Be Maintained, Have Need Of The Laws, So The Laws, If They Are To Be Observed, Have Need Of Good Morals.

Benefits Should Be Conferred Gradually; And In That Way They Will Taste Better.

I Am Firmly Convinced, Therefore, That To Set Up A Republic Which Is To Last A Long Time, The Way To Set About It Is To Constitute It As Sparta And Venice Were Constituted; To Place It In A Strong Position, And So To Fortify It That No One Will Dream Of Taking It By A Sudden Assault; And, On The Other Hand, Not To Make It So Large As To Appear Formidable To Its Neighbors. It Should In This Way Be Able To Enjoy Its Form Of Government For A Long Time. For War Is Made On A Commonwealth For Two Reasons: To Subjugate It, And For Fear Of Being Subjugated By It.

One Who Deceives Will Always Find Those Who Allow Themselves To Be Deceived.

There Is Nothing So Difficult Or So Dangerous As To Undertake To Change The Order Of Things.

Thus It Happens In Matters Of State; For Knowing Afar Off (which It Is Only Given A Prudent Man To Do) The Evils That Are Brewing, They Are Easily Cured. But When, For Want Of Such Knowledge, They Are Allowed To Grow So That Everyone Can Recognize Them, There Is No Longer Any Remedy To Be Found.

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.

There Is No Avoiding War; It Can Only Be Postponed To The Advantage Of Others.

Only Those Means Of Security Are Good, Are Certain, Are Lasting, That Depend On Yourself And Your Own Vigor.

Every Little Advantage Is Of Great Moment When Men Have To Come To Blows.

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.

Ability And Perseverance Are The Weapons Of Weakness.

The Wish To Acquire Is In Truth Very Natural And Common, And Men Always Do So When They Can.but When They Cannot Do So, Yet Wish To Do So By Any Means, Then There Is Folly And Blame.

For Titles Do Not Reflect Honor On Men, But Rather Men On Their Titles.

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.

Since The Handling Of Arms Is A Beautiful Spectacle, It Is Delightful To Young Men.

It Makes Him Hated Above All Things, As I Have Said, To Be Rapacious, And To Be A Violator Of The Property And Women Of His Subjects, From Both Of Which He Must Abstain.

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 Sagacious Lawgiver, But The Reasons For Which Are Not Sufficiently Evident To Enable Him To Persuade Others To Submit To Them; And Therefore Do Wise Men, For The Purpose Of Removing This Difficulty, Resort To Divine Authority.

All Who Contribute To The Overthrow Of Religion, Or To The Ruin Of Kingdoms And Commonwealths, All Who Are Foes To Letters And To The Arts Which Confer Honour And Benefit On The Human Race (among Whom I Reckon The Impious, The Cruel, The Ignorant, The Indolent, The Base And The Worthless), Are Held In Infamy And Detestation.

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

A Prince Never Lacks Legitimate Reasons To Break His Promise.

Keeping Promises

In The Armies And Among Every Ten Men There Is One Of More Life, Of More Heart, Or At Least Of More Authority, Who With His Courage, With Words And By Example Keeps The Others Firm And Disposed To Fight.

Princes Should Delegate To Others The Enactment Of Unpopular Measures And Keep In Their Own Hands The Means Of Winning Favours.

There Is Nothing As Likely To Succeed As What The Enemy Believes You Cannot Attempt.

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.

Decide Which Is The Line Of Conduct That Presents The Fewest Drawbacks And Then Follow It Out As Being The Best One, Because One Never Finds Anything Perfectly Pure And Unmixed, Or Exempt From Danger.

Make No Small Plans For They Have No Power To Stir The Soul.

Therefore It Is Unnecessary For A Prince To Have All The Good Qualities I Have Enumerated, But It Is Very Necessary To Appear To Have Them.

For, Besides What Has Been Said, It Should Be Borne In Mind That The Temper Of The Multitude Is Fickle, And That While It Is Easy To Persuade Them Of A Thing, It Is Hard To Fix Them In That Persuasion

For He Who Innovates Will Have For His Enemies All Those Who Are Well Off Under The Existing Order Of Things, And Only Lukewarm Supporters In Those Who Might Be Better Off Under The New.

The Leader Should Know How To Enter Into Evil When Necessity Commands.

Wisdom Consists Of Knowing How To Distinguish The Nature Of Trouble, And In Choosing The Lesser Evil.

For Whoever Conquers A Free Town, And Does Not Demolish It, Commits A Great Error, And May Expect To Be Ruin 'd Himself.

The More Sand Has Escaped From The Hourglass Of Our Life, The Clearer We Should See Through It.

All The States And Governments By Which Men Are Or Ever Have Been Ruled, Have Been And Are Either Republics Or Princedoms.

We Have Not Seen Great Things Done In Our Time Except By Those Who Have Been Considered Mean; The Rest Have Failed.

A Government Which Does Not Trust Its Citizens To Be Armed Is Not Itself To Be Trusted.

One Should Never Allow Chaos To Develop In Order To Avoid Going To War, Because One Does Not Avoid A War But Instead Puts It Off To His Disadvantage

When They Remain In Garrison, Soldiers Are Maintained With Fear And Punishment; When They Are Then Led To War, With Hope And Reward.

A Battle That You Win Cancels All Your Mistakes.

Necessities Can Be Many, But The One That Is Stronger Is That Which Constrains You To Win Or To Die.

Thus It Is Well To Seem Merciful, Faithful, Humane, Sincere, Religious, And Also To Be So; But You Must Have The Mind So Disposed That When It Is Needful To Be Otherwise You May Be Able To Change To The Opposite Qualities.

The Forces Of Adversaries Are More Diminished By The Loss Of Those Who Flee Than Of Those Who Are Killed.

The Vulgar Crowd Always Is Taken By Appearances, And The World Consists Chiefly Of The Vulgar.

Always Assume Incompetence Before Looking For Conspiracy.

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.

For A Prince Should Have Two Fears: One, Internal Concerning His Subjects; The Other, External, Concerning Foreign Powers. From The Latter He Can Always Defend Himself By His Good Troops And Friends; And He Will Always Have Good Friends If He Has Good Troops.

And If Such Malignity Is Hidden For A Time, It Proceeds From The Unknown Reason That Would Not Be Known Because The Experience Of The Contrary Had Not Been Seen, But Time, Which Is Said To Be The Father Of Every Truth, Will Cause It To Be Discovered.

The Sinews Of War Are Not Gold, But Good Soldiers.

It Is A Foolish Prince Who Entrusts The Safety Of His Lands To Hired Men.

Sometimes It Has Been Of Great Moment While The Fight Is Going On, To Disseminate Words That Pronounce The Enemies' Captain To Be Dead, Or To Have Been Conquered By Another Part Of The Army. Many Times This Has Given Victory To Him Who Used It.

In Order Not To Annul Our Free Will, I Judge It True That Fortune May Be Mistress Of One Half Our Actions But Then Even She Leaves The Other Half, Or Almost, Under Our Control.

There Is Nothing More Important Than Appearing To Be Religious.

...it Behooves Us To Adapt Oneself To The Times If One Wants To Enjoy Continued Good Fortune.

To Know In War How To Recognize An Opportunity And Seize It Is Better Than Anything Else.

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.

For As Good Habits Of The People Require Good Laws To Support Them, So Laws, To Be Observed, Need Good Habits On The Part Of The People.

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.

A Prince Must Not Have Any Objective Nor Any Thought, Nor Take Up Any Art, Other Than The Art Of War And Its Ordering And Discipline; Because It Is The Only Art That Pertains To Him Who Commands. And It Is Of Such Virtue That Not Only Does It Maintain Those Who Were Born Princes, But Many Times Makes Men Rise To That Rank From Private Station.

Of Mankind We May Say In General They Are Fickle, Hypocritical, And Greedy Of Gain.

A Wise Ruler Should Rely On What Is Under His Own Control, Not On What Is Under The Control Of Others.

It Has Always Been The Opinion And Judgment Of Wise Men That Nothing Can Be So Uncertain As Fame Or Power Not Founded On Its Own Strength.

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.

War Is Just When It Is Necessary; Arms Are Permissible When There Is No Hope Except In Arms.

Among Other Causes Of Misfortune Which Your Not Being Armed Brings Upon You, It Makes You Despised.

He Who Neglects What Is Done For What Ought To Be Done, Sooner Effects His Ruin Than His Preservation.

Change Has No Constituency.

Because There Are Three Classes Of Intellects: One Which Comprehends By Itself; Another Which Appreciates What Others Comprehend; And A Third Which Neither Comprehends By Itself Nor By The Showing Of Others; The First Is The Most Excellent, The Second Is Good, The Third Is Useless.

Then Also Pretexts For Seizing Property Are Never Wanting, And One Who Begins To Live By Rapine Will Always Find Some Reason For Taking The Goods Of Others, Whereas Causes For Taking Life Are Rarer And More Quickly Destroyed.

It Is Much Safer For The Prince To Be Feared Than Loved, But He Ought To Avoid Making Himself Hated.

The Ends Justifies The Means.

Ends Justify The Means

He Who Would Foresee What Is To Happen Should Look To What Has Happened: For All That Is Has Its Counterpart In Time Past.

The Greatest Remedy That Is Used Against A Plan Of The Enemy Is To Do Voluntarily What He Plans That You Do By Force.

If The Course Of Human Affairs Be Considered, It Will Be Seen That Many Things Arise Against Which Heaven Does Not Allow Us To Guard.

One Can Generally Say This About Men: That They Are Ungrateful, Fickle, Simulators And Deceivers, Avoiders Of Danger, Greedy For Gain; And While You Work For Their Good They Are Completely Yours, Offering You Their Blood, Their Property, Their Lives, And Their Sons When Danger Is Far Away; But When It Comes Nearer To You, They Turn Away.

One Can Say This In General Of Men: They Are Ungrateful, Disloyal, Insincere And Deceitful, Timid Of Danger And Avid Of Profit...love Is A Bond Of Obligation That These Miserable Creatures Break Whenever It Suits Them To Do So; But Fear Holds Them Fast By A Dread Of Punishment That Never Passes.

A Wise Man Ought Always To Follow The Paths Beaten By Great Men, And To Imitate Those Who Have Been Supreme, So That If His Ability Does Not Equal Theirs, At Least It Will Savor Of It. Let Him Act Like The Clever Archers Who, Designing To Hit The Mark Which Yet Appears Too Far Distant, And Knowing The Limits To Which The Strength Of Their Bow Attains, Take Aim Much Higher Than The Mark, Not To Reach By Their Strength Or Arrow To So Great A Height, But To Be Able With The Aid Of So High An Aim To Hit The Mark They Wish To Reach.

Men Should Be Either Treated Generously Or Destroyed, Because They Take Revenge For Slight Injuries - For Heavy Ones They Cannot.

There Should Be Many Judges, For Few Will Always Do The Will Of Few.

It Is The Duty Of A Man Of Honor To Teach Others The Good Which He Has Not Been Able To Do Himself Because Of The Malignity Of The Times, That This Good Finally Can Be Done By Another More Loved In Heaven.

How Laudable It Is For A Prince To Keep Good Faith And Live With Integrity, And Not With Astuteness, Every One Knows. Still The Experience Of Our Times Shows Those Princes To Have Done Great Things Who Have Had Little Regard For Good Faith, And Have Been Able By Astuteness To Confuse Men's Brains, And Who Have Ultimately Overcome Those Who Have Made Loyalty Their Foundation.

Appear As You May Wish To Be

Prudence Therefore Consists In Knowing How To Distinguish Degrees Of Disadvantage.

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.

Women Are The Most Charitable Creatures, And The Most Troublesome. He Who Shuns Women Passes Up The Trouble, But Also The Benefits. He Who Puts Up With Them Gains The Benefits, But Also The Trouble. As The Saying Goes, There's No Honey Without Bees.

The Prince Who Relies Upon Their Words, Without Having Otherwise Provided For His Security, Is Ruined; For Friendships That Are Won By Awards, And Not By Greatness And Nobility Of Soul, Although Deserved, Yet Are Not Real, And Cannot Be Depended Upon In Time Of Adversity.

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.

God Is Not Willing To Do Everything, And Thus Take Away Our Free Will And That Share Of Glory Which Belongs To Us.

For, In Truth, There Is No Sure Way Of Holding Other Than By Destroying

Men Are Less Hesitant About Harming Someone Who Makes Himself Loved Than One Who Makes Himself Feared Because Love Is Held Together By A Chain Of Obligation Which, Since Men Are Wretched Creatures, Is Broken On Every Occasion In Which Their Own Interests Are Concerned; But Fear Is Sustained By Dread Of Punishment Which Will Never Abandon You.

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.

There Is No Other Way To Guard Yourself Against Flattery Than By Making Men Understand That Telling You The Truth Will Not Offend You.

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.

Wisdom Consists In Being Able To Distinguish Among Dangers And Make A Choice Of The Least Harmful.

Men Are More Apt To Be Mistaken In Their Generalizations Than In Their Particular Observations.

We Cannot Attribute To Fortune Or Virtue That Which Is Achieved Without Either.

And It Will Always Happen That He Who Is Not Your Friend Will Request Your Neutrality And He Who Is Your Friend Will Ask You To Declare Yourself By Taking Up Arms. And Irresolute Princes, In Order To Avoid Present Dangers, Follow The Neutral Road Most Of The Time, And Most Of The Time They Are Ruined.

Never Lead Your Soldiers To Battle If You Have Not First Confirmed Their Spirit And Known Them To Be Without Fear And Ordered; And Never Test Them Except When You See That They Hope To Win.

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.

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.

A Son Could Bear With Great Complacency, The Death Of His Father, While The Loss Of His Inheritance Might Drive Him To Despair.

How Perilous It Is To Free A People Who Prefer Slavery.

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.

A Blast In The Human Breast Is Nothing To Boast Of.

That Prince Is Highly Esteemed Who Conveys This Impression Of Himself, And He Who Is Highly Esteemed Is Not Easily Conspired Against; For, Provided It Is Well Known That He Is An Excellent Man And Revered By His People, He Can Only Be Attacked With Difficulty.

And Above All You Ought To Guard Against Leading An Army To Fight Which Is Afraid Or Which Is Not Confident Of Victory. For The Greatest Sign Of An Impending Loss Is When One Does Not Believe One Can Win.

If An Injury Has To Be Done To A Man It Should Be So Severe That His Vengeance Need Not Be Feared.

He Who Has Once Begun To Live By Rapine Always Finds Reasons For Taking What Is Not His.

In Our Own Days We Have Seen No Princes Accomplish Great Results Save Those Who Have Been Accounted Miserly.

A Prince Need Trouble Little About Conspiracies When The People Are Well Disposed, But When They Are Hostile And Hold Him In Hatred, Then He Must Fear Everything And Everybody.

Conquered States That Have Been Accustomed To Liberty And The Government Of Their Own Laws Can Be Held By The Conqueror In Three Different Ways. The First Is To Ruin Them; The Second, For The Conqueror To Go And Reside There In Person; And The Third Is To Allow Them To Continue To Live Under Their Own Laws, Subject To A Regular Tribute, And To Create In Them A Government Of A Few, Who Will Keep The Country Friendly To The Conqueror

I Hope And Hoping Feeds My Pain I Weep And Weeping Feeds My Failing Heart I Laugh But The Laughter Does Not Pass Within I Burn But The Burning Makes No Mark Outside.

A Battle That You Win Cancels Any Other Bad Action Of Yours. In The Same Way, By Losing One, All The Good Things Worked By You Before Become Vain.

And The Prince Who Has Relied Solely On Their Words, Without Making Other Preparations, Is Ruined, For The Friendship Which Is Gained By Purchase And Not Through Grandeur And Nobility Of Spirit Is Merited But Is Not Secured, And At Times Is Not To Be Had.

It Is Just As Difficult And Dangerous To Try To Free A People That Wants To Remain Servile As It Is To Enslave A People That Wants To Remain Free.

For It Must Be Noted, That Men Must Either Be Caressed Or Else Annihilated; They Will Revenge Themselves For Small Injuries, But Cannot Do So For Great Ones; The Injury Therefore That We Do To A Man Must Be Such That We Need Not Fear His Vengeance.

Occasionally Words Must Serve To Veil The Facts. But Let This Happen In Such A Way That No One Become Aware Of It; Or, If It Should Be Noticed, Excuses Must Be At Hand To Be Produced Immediately.

One Should Never Fall In The Belief That You Can Find Someone To Pick You Up.

He Who Is The Cause Of Another's Advancement Is Thereby The Cause Of His Own Ruin.

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.

One Never Finds Anything Perfectly Pure And ... Exempt From Danger.

No Enterprise Is More Likely To Succeed Than One Concealed From The Enemy Until It Is Ripe For Execution.

For The Mob Is Always Impressed By Appearances And By Results, And The World Is Composed Of The Mob.

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.

When Evening Comes, I Return Home And Go Into My Study. On The Threshold I Strip Off My Muddy, Sweaty Clothes Of Everyday, And Put On The Robes Of Court And Palace, And In This Graver Dress I Enter The Antique Courts Of The Ancients And Am Welcomed By Them, And There I Taste The Food That Alone Is Mine, And For Which I Was Born. And There I Make Bold To Speak To Them And Ask The Motives Of Their Actions, And They, In Their Humanity, Reply To Me. And For The Space Of Four Hours I Forget The World, Remember No Vexation, Fear Poverty No More, Tremble No More At Death; I Pass Indeed Into Their World.

The Best Fortress Which A Prince Can Possess Is The Affection Of His People.

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