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He Who Desires Or Attempts To Reform The Government Of A State And Wishes To Have It Accepted, Must At Least Retain The Semblance Of The Old Forms; So That It May Seem To The People That There Has Been No Change In The Institutions, Even Though In Fact They Are Entirely Different From The Old Ones. For The Great Majority Of Mankind Are Satisfied With Appearances, As Though They Were Realities.

-Niccolo Machiavelli

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He Who Desires Or

Niccolo Machiavelli

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He Who Desires Or Attempts To Reform The Government Of A State And Wishes To Have It Accepted, Must At Least Retain The Semblance Of The Old Forms; So That It May Seem To The People That There Has Been No Change In The Institutions, Even Though In Fact They Are Entirely Different From The Old Ones. For The Great Majority Of Mankind Are Satisfied With Appearances, As Though They Were Realities.

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Wise Men Say, And Not Without Reason, That Whosoever Wished To Foresee The Future Might Consult The Past.

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

A Wise Prince Then...should Never Be Idle In Times Of Peace But Should Industriously Lay Up Stores Of Which To Avail Himself In Times Of Adversity So That When Fortune Abandons Him He May Be Prepared To Resist Her Blows.

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.

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.

Well Used Are Those Cruelties (if It Is Permitted To Speak Well Of Evil) That Are Carried Out In A Single Stroke, Done Out Of Necessity To Protect Oneself, And Are Not Continued But Are Instead Converted Into The Greatest Possible Benefits For The Subjects. Badly Used Are Those Cruelties Which. Although Being Few At The Outset, Grow With The Passing Time Instead Of Disappearing. Those Who Follow The First Method Can Remedy Their Condition With God And With Men; The Others Cannot Possibly Survive.

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.

Tardiness Often Robs Us Opportunity, And The Dispatch Of Our Forces.

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

People Should Either Be Caressed Or Crushed. If You Do Them Minor Damage They Will Get Their Revenge; But If You Cripple Them There Is Nothing They Can Do. If You Need To Injure Someone, Do It In Such A Way That You Do Not Have To Fear Their Vengeance.

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.

Human Beings Remain Constant In Their Methods Of Conduct.

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.

Where The Willingness Is Great, The Difficulties Cannot Be Great.

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.

Is It Better To Be Loved Or Feared?

Make Mistakes Of Ambition And Not Mistakes Of Sloth. Develop The Strength To Do Bold Things, Not To Suffer.

Fear Is Secured By A Dread Of Punishment.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It Is A Common Failing Of Man Not To Take Account Of Tempests During Fair Weather.

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.

One Should Never Risk One's Whole Fortune Unless Supported By One's Entire Forces.

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.

Entrepreneurs Are Simply Those Who Understand That There Is Little Difference Between Obstacle And Opportunity And Are Able To Turn Both To Their Advantage.

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.

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.

A Battle That You Win Cancels All Your Mistakes.

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

Results Are Often Obtained By Impetuosity And Daring Which Could Never Have Been Obtained By Ordinary Methods.

No Proceeding Is Better Than That Which You Have Concealed From The Enemy Until The Time You Have Executed It. To Know How To Recognize An Opportunity In War, And Take It, Benefits You More Than Anything Else. Nature Creates Few Men Brave, Industry And Training Makes Many. Discipline In War Counts More Than Fury.

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.

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

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.

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.

It Is Better To Be Adventurous Than Cautious, Because Fortune Is A Woman.

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

Benefits Should Be Granted Little By Little, So That They May Be Better Enjoyed.

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

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.

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.

The First Method For Estimating The Intelligence Of A Ruler Is To Look At The Men He Has Around Him.

...it Is A Base Thing To Look To Others For Your Defense Instead Of Depending Upon Yourself. That Defense Alone Is Effectual, Sure, And Durable Which Depends Upon Yourself And Your Own Valor.

I Hold Strongly To This: That It Is Better To Be Impetuous Than Circumspect; Because Fortune Is A Woman And If She Is To Be Submissive It Is Necessary To Beat And Coerce Her.

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.

You Must Know, Then, That There Are Two Methods Of Fighting, The One By Law, The Other By Force: The First Method Is That Of Men, The Second Of Beasts; But As The First Method Is Often Insufficient, One Must Have Recourse To The Second.

He Who Desires Or Attempts To Reform The Government Of A State And Wishes To Have It Accepted, Must At Least Retain The Semblance Of The Old Forms; So That It May Seem To The People That There Has Been No Change In The Institutions, Even Though In Fact They Are Entirely Different From The Old Ones. For The Great Majority Of Mankind Are Satisfied With Appearances, As Though They Were Realities.

The New Ruler Must Determine All The Injuries That He Will Need To Inflict. He Must Inflict Them Once And For All.

Decision Making

Republics Have A Longer Life And Enjoy Better Fortune Than Principalities, Because They Can Profit By Their Greater Internal Diversity. They Are The Better Able To Meet Emergencies.

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

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

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.

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.

Anyone Who Becomes Master Of A City Accustomed To Freedom And Does Not Destroy It May Expect To Be Destroyed By It; For Such A City May Always Justify Rebellion In The Name Of Liberty And Its Ancient Institutions.

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 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.

I Say That Every Prince Must Desire To Be Considered Merciful And Not Cruel. He Must, However, Take Care Not To Misuse This Mercifulness.

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.

Laa Shay'a Waqi'un Moutlaq Bale Kouloun Moumkine...we Work In The Dark, To Serve The Light.

The Swiss Are Well Armed And Enjoy Great Freedom.

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.

The End Of The Republic Is To Enervate And To Weaken All Other Bodies So As To Increase Its Own Body.

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.

For As Laws Are Necessary That Good Manners May Be Preserved, So There Is Need Of Good Manner That Laws May Be Maintained. [it., Perche, Cosi Come I Buoni Costumi, Per Mantenersi, Hanno Bisogno Delli Leggi; Cosi Le Leggi Per Ossevarsi, Hanno Bisogno De' Buoni Costumi.]

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.

Men Ought Either To Be Well Treated, Or Crushed.

Impetuosity And Audacity Often Achieve What Ordinary Means Fail To Achieve.

Men May Second Fortune, But They Cannot Thwart Her.

In The Same Manner, Having Been Reduced By Disorder, And Sunk To Their Utmost State Of Depression, Unable To Descend Lower, They, Of Necessity, Reascend; And Thus From Good They Gradually Decline To Evil, And From Evil Again Return To Good. The Reason Is, That Valor Produces Peace; Peace, Repose; Repose, Disorder; Disorder, Ruin; So From Disorder Order Springs; From Order Virtue, And From This, Glory And Good Fortune.

Present Wars Impoverish The Lords That Win As Much As Those That Lose.

But In Republics There Is A Stronger Vitality, A Fiercer Hatred, A Keener Thirst For Revenge. The Memory Of Their Former Freedom Will Not Let Them Rest; So That The Safest Course Is Either To Destroy Them, Or To Go And Live In Them.

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.

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.

The Princes Who Have Done Great Things Are The Ones Who Have Taken Little Account Of Their Promises.

There Is No Surer Sign Of Decay In A Country Than To See The Rites Of Religion Held In Contempt.

...the Incredulity Of Mankind, Who Do Not Truly Believe In Anything New Until They Have Had Actual Experience Of It.

Any Harm You Do To A Man Should Be Done In Such A Way That You Need Not Fear His Revenge.

Men Are So Simple And So Much Inclined To Obey Immediate Needs That A Deceiver Will Never Lack Victims For His Deceptions.

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.

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.

A Sign Of Intelligence Is An Awareness Of One's Own Ignorance.

A Prince Ought To Have No Other Aim Or Thought, Nor Select Anything Else For His Study, Than War And Its Rules And Discipline; For This Is The Sole Art That Belongs To Him Who Rules, And It Is Of Such Force That It Not Only Upholds Those Who Are Born Princes, But It Often Enables Men To Rise From A Private Station To That Rank. And, On The Contrary, It Is Seen That When Princes Have Thought More Of Ease Than Of Arms They Have Lost Their States. And The First Cause Of Your Losing It Is To Neglect This Art; And What Enables You To Acquire A State Is To Be Master Of The Art.

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.

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

As The Physicians Say It Happens In Hectic Fever, That In The Beginning Of The Malady It Is Easy To Cure But Difficult To Detect, But In The Course Of Time, Not Having Been Either Detected Or Treated In The Beginning, It Becomes Easy To Detect But Difficult To Cure

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.

...people Are By Nature Fickle, And It Is Easy To Persuade Them Of Something, But Difficult To Keep Them Persuaded.

He Who Becomes A Prince Through The Favour Of The People Should Always Keep On Good Terms With Them; Which It Is Easy For Him To Do, Since All They Ask Is Not To Be Oppressed

Good Order And Discipline In Any Army Are To Be Depended Upon More Than Courage Alone.

Men Are Always Averse To Enterprises In Which They Foresee Difficulties.

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.

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.

War Brings Out Thieves And Peace Hangs Them.

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

A Prince Must Be Prudent Enough To Know How To Escape The Bad Reputation Of Those Vices That Would Lose The State For Him, And Must Protect Himself From Those That Will Not Lose It For Him, If This Is Possible; But If He Cannot, He Need Not Concern Himself Unduly If He Ignores These Less Serious Vices.

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.

When Men Receive Favours From Someone They Expected To Do Them Ill, They Are Under A Greater Obligation To Their Benefactor.

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

Men Shrink Less From Offending One Who Inspires Love Than One Who Inspires Fear.

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

There Are Three Kinds Of Minds: First Those That Attain Insight And Understanding Of Things By Their Own Means, Then Those That Recognize What Is Right When Others Explain It To Them, And Finally Those That Are Capable Of Neither One Nor The Other.

When Settling Disputes Between His Subjects, He Should Ensure That His Judgement Is Irrevocable; And He Should Be So Regarded That No One Ever Dreams Of Trying To Deceive Or Trick Him.

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.

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.]

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

And Truly It Is A Very Natural And Ordinary Thing To Desire To Acquire, And Always, When Men Do It Who Can, They Will Be Praised Or Not Blamed; But When They Cannot, And Wish To Do It Anyway, Here Lies The Error And The Blame.

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.

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.

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.

Therefore, It Is Necessary To Be A Fox To Discover The Snares And A Lion To Terrify The Wolves

Men Rise From One Ambition To Another: First, They Seek To Secure Themselves Against Attack, And Then They Attack Others.

Change Has No Constituency.

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.

In War, Discipline Can Do More Than Fury.

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.

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

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?

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.

Ability And Perseverance Are The Weapons Of Weakness.

I Hold It To Be A Proof Of Great Prudence For Men To Abstain From Threats And Insulting Words Toward Anyone, For Neither Diminishes The Strength Of The Enemy.

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

They Have Not Any Difficulties On The Way Up Because They Fly, But They Have Many When They Reach The Summit.

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. And I Shall Dare To Say This Also, That To Have Them And Always To Observe Them Is Injurious, And That To Appear To Have Them Is Useful; To Appear Merciful, Faithful, Humane, Religious, Upright, And To Be So, But With A Mind So Framed That Should You Require Not To Be So, You May Be Able And Know How To Change To The Opposite.

So Far As He Is Able, A Prince Should Stick To The Path Of Good But, If The Necessity Arises, He Should Know How To Follow Evil.

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.

The Wise Man Does At Once What The Fool Does Finally.

It Makes Him Contemptible To Be Considered Fickle, Frivolous, Effeminate, Mean-spirited, Irresolute, From All Of Which A Prince Should Guard Himself As From A Rock; And He Should Endeavour To Show In His Actions Greatness, Courage, Gravity, And Fortitude; And In His Private Dealings With His Subjects Let Him Show That His Judgments Are Irrevocable, And Maintain Himself In Such Reputation That No One Can Hope Either To Deceive Him Or To Get Round Him.

He Who Builds On The People, Builds On The Mud

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.

For This Is The Tragedy Of Man Circumstances Change, But He Does Not.

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.

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.

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

Men Walk Almost Always In The Paths Trodden By Others, Proceeding In Their Actions By Imitation.

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

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

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

So Long As The Great Majority Of Men Are Not Deprived Of Either Property Or Honor, They Are Satisfied.

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.

When Neither Their Property Nor Their Honor Is Touched, The Majority Of Men Live Content.

Before All Else, Be Armed.

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.

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.

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.

He Who Has Annexed Them, If He Wishes To Hold Them, Has Only To Bear In Mind Two Considerations: The One, That The Family Of Their Former Lord Is Extinguished; The Other, That Neither Their Laws Nor Their Taxes Are Altered, So That In A Very Short Time They Will Become Entirely One Body With The Old Principality.

The State Is Not An Organism Capable Of Bringing Either Moral Or Material Improvements To The Populace...but Merely A Vehicle Of Power For The Men And Party In Power.

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

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

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.

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

Few Men Are Brave By Nature, But Good Discipline And Experience Make Many So.

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.

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.

For One Change Always Leaves A Dovetail Into Which Another Will Fit.

You Know Better Than I That In A Republic Talent Is Always Suspect. A Man Attains An Elevated Position Only When His Mediocrity Prevents Him From Being A Threat To Others. And For This Reason A Democracy Is Never Governed By The Most Competent, But Rather By Those Whose Insignificance Will Not Jeopardize Anyone Else's Self-esteem.

God Creates Men, But They Choose Each Other.

Wars Begin When You Will, But They Do Not End When You Please.

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

If Someone Puts Up The Argument That King Louis Gave The Romagna To Pope Alexander, And The Kingdom Of Naples To Spain, In Order To Avoid A War, I Would Answer As I Did Before: That You Should Never Let Things Get Out Of Hand In Order To Avoid War. You Don't Avoid Such A War, You Merely Postpone It, To Your Own Disadvantage.

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.

Appear As You May Wish To Be

From The Latter He Is Defended By Being Well Armed And Having Good Allies, And If He Is Well Armed He Will Have Good Friends, And Affairs Will Always Remain Quiet Within When They Are Quiet Without, Unless They Should Have Been Already Disturbed By Conspiracy; And Even Should Affairs Outside Be Disturbed, If He Has Carried Out His Preparations And Has Lived As I Have Said, As Long As He Does Not Despair, He Will Resist Every Attack.

It Is A True Observation Of Ancient Writers, That As Men Are Apt To Be Cast Down By Adversity, So They, Are Easily Satiated With Prosperity, And That Joy And Grief Produce The Same Effects. For Whenever Men Are Not Obliged By Necessity To Fight They Fight From Ambition, Which Is So Powerful A Passion In The Human Breast That However High We Reach We Are Never Satisfied.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Man Who Wishes To Make A Profession Of Goodness In Everything Must Necessarily Come To Grief Among So Many Who Are Not Good. Therefore, It Is Necessary For A Prince, Who Wishes To Maintain Himself, To Learn How Not To Be Good, And To Use This Knowledge And Not Use It According To The Necessity Of The Case.

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

....it Cannot Be Called Ingenuity To Kill One's Fellow Citizens, To Betray Friends, To Be Without Faith, Without Mercy, Without Religion; By These Means One Can Aquire Power But Not Glory.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Knowing How To Fight Made Men More Bold, Because No One Fears Doing What It Seems To Him He Has Learned To Do. Therefore, The Ancients Wanted Their Citizens To Be Trained In Every Warlike Action.

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

So In All Human Affairs One Notices, If One Examines Them Closely, That It Is Impossible To Remove One Inconvenience Without Another Emerging.

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

All The Armed Prophets Conquered; All The Unarmed Ones Perished.

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.

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.

The Lion Cannot Protect Himself From Traps, And The Fox Cannot Defend Himself From Wolves. One Must Therefore Be A Fox To Recognize Traps, And A Lion To Frighten Wolves.

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

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

Therefore, In Order Not To Have To Rob His Subjects, To Be Able To Defend Himself, Not To Become Poor And Contemptible, And Not To Be Forced To Become Rapacious, A Prince Must Consider It Of Little Importance If He Incurs The Name Of Miser, For This Is One Of The Vices That Permits Him To Rule.

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William Jennings Bryan

Bernard Law Montgomery

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