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

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

Understanding the Quote: "wise men say, and not without reason, that whosoever wished to foresee..."

This quote by Niccolo Machiavelli reflects deeply on the theme of wise. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Wise, Past, Men, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Niccolo Machiavelli interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli is celebrated for insightful thoughts on wise and past. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Wise
Past
Men
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Benefits Should Be Granted Little By Little, So That They May Be Better Enjoyed.
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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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Men Ought Either To Be Well Treated, Or Crushed.
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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.
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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.
Fear
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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.
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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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We Have Not Seen Great Things Done In Our Time Except By Those Who Have Been Considered Mean; The Rest Have Failed.
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Therefore, A Prudent Ruler Ought Not To Keep Faith When By So Doing It Would Be Against His Interest, And When The Reasons Which Made Him Bind Himself No Longer Exist. If Men Were All Good, This Precept Would Not Be A Good One; But As They Are Bad, And Would Not Observe Their Faith With You, So You Are Not Bound To Keep Faith With Them.
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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.
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Speaking Generally, Men Are Ungrateful, Fickle, Hypocritical, Fearful Odanger And Covetous Ogain.
Men
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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.
Art
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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
People
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One Must Consider The Final Result
Finals
Results
Ends Justify The Means
Good Order Makes Men Bold, And Confusion, Cowards.
War
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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.
Change
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Order
To Ensure Victory The Troops Must Have Confidence In Themselves As Well As In Their Commanders.
War
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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.
Truth
Reality
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A Wise Ruler Should Rely On What Is Under His Own Control, Not On What Is Under The Control Of Others.
Wise
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The Prince Must Be A Lion, But He Must Also Know How To Play The Fox.
Play
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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.]
War
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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.
Art
War
Fighting
Many Have Imagined Republics And Principalities Which Have Never Been Seen Or Known To Exist In Reality; For How We Live Is So Far Removed From How We Ought To Live, That He Who Abandons What Is Done For What Ought To Be Done, Will Rather Bring About His Own Ruin Than His Preservation.
Art
War
Reality
For The Mob Is Always Impressed By Appearances And By Results, And The World Is Composed Of The Mob.
World
Appearance
Results
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.
Change
Order
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Princes Should Delegate To Others The Enactment Of Unpopular Measures And Keep In Their Own Hands The Means Of Winning Favours.
Art
War
Mean
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.
Order
Neutrality
Arms
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.
Mistake
Men
Wish
You Do Not Know The Unfathomable Cowardice Of Humanity...servile In The Face Of Force, Pitiless In The Face Of Weakness, Implacable Before Blunders, Indulgent Before Crimes...and Patient To The Point Of Martyrdom Before All The Violences Of Bold Despotism.
Humanity
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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.
Art
War
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Those Who Either From Imprudence Or Want Of Sagacity Avoid Doing So, Are Always Overwhelmed With Servitude And Poverty; For Faithful Servants Are Always Servants, And Honest Men Are Always Poor; Nor Do Any Ever Escape From Servitude But The Bold And Faithless, Or From Poverty, But The Rapacious And Fraudulent.
Art
War
Men
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
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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.
Fall
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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.
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To Be Feared Is Much Safer Then To Be Loved.
Men Generally Decide Upon A Middle Course, Which Is Most Hazardous, For They Know Neither How To Be Entirely Good Nor Entirely Bad.
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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.
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Mean
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By The Delusions Of Seeming Good The People Are Often Misled To Desire Their Own Ruin; And They Are Frequently Influenced By Great Hopes And Brave Promises.
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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.
Art Of War
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There Is Nothing That Nature Seems To Have Inclined Us To As Much As Society.
Society
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If An Injury Has To Be Done To A Man It Should Be So Severe That His Vengeance Need Not Be Feared.
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There Is Nothing As Likely To Succeed As What The Enemy Believes You Cannot Attempt.
Art
War
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The Swiss Are Well Armed And Enjoy Great Freedom.
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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.
Believe
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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.
Art
War
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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.]
Law
Good Man
May
For Titles Do Not Reflect Honor On Men, But Rather Men On Their Titles.
Men
Honor
Titles
Laa Shay'a Waqi'un Moutlaq Bale Kouloun Moumkine...we Work In The Dark, To Serve The Light.
Dark
Light
Shay
The Peasant Wants Only To Be Left Alone To Prosper In Peace.
Want
Peasants
Left Alone
A Blast In The Human Breast Is Nothing To Boast Of.
Blast
Breasts
Boast
Fear Is Secured By A Dread Of Punishment.
Fear
Punishment
Dread
All The States And Governments By Which Men Are Or Ever Have Been Ruled, Have Been And Are Either Republics Or Princedoms.
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One Arises From A Low To A High Station More Often By Using Fraud Instead Of Force.
Arise
Lows
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Men Seldom Rise From Low Condition To High Rank Without Employing Either Force Or Fraud, Unless That Rank Should Be Attained Either By Gift Or Inheritance.
Power
Men
Inheritance
Cruelties Should Be Committed All At Once.
Should
Cruelty
Committed
Make Mistakes Of Ambition And Not Mistakes Of Sloth. Develop The Strength To Do Bold Things, Not To Suffer.
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To Know In War How To Recognize An Opportunity And Seize It Is Better Than Anything Else.
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Opportunity
There Are Three Kinds Of Brains: One Understands Of Itself, Another Can Be Taught To Understand, And The Third Can Neither Understand To Itself Or Be Taught To Understand.
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Brain
Three
...the Incredulity Of Mankind, Who Do Not Truly Believe In Anything New Until They Have Had Actual Experience Of It.
Believe
Mankind
Incredulity
Appear As You May Wish To Be
Wish
May
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.
Wise
Adversity
Blow
When Neither Their Property Nor Their Honor Is Touched, The Majority Of Men Live Content.
Happiness
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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.
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There Is No Surer Sign Of Decay In A Country Than To See The Rites Of Religion Held In Contempt.
Country
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Nothing Feeds Upon Itself As Liberality Does.
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They Have Not Any Difficulties On The Way Up Because They Fly, But They Have Many When They Reach The Summit.
Achievement
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When Fortune Wishes To Bring Mighty Events To A Successful Conclusion, She Selects Some Man Of Spirit And Ability Who Knows How To Seize The Opportunity She Offers.
Successful
Opportunity
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Forgiveness Proceeds From A Generous Soul.
Inspirational
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Generous
One Should Never Permit A Disorder To Persist In Order To Avoid A War, For Wars Cannot Be Avoided And Can Only Be Deferred To The Advantage Of Others.
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Men Are Always Averse To Enterprises In Which They Foresee Difficulties.
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Men
Difficulty
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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Men
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.
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Men
How Perilous It Is To Free A People Who Prefer Slavery.
People
Slavery
Benefits Should Be Conferred Gradually; And In That Way They Will Taste Better.
Philosophy
Philosophical
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Among Other Causes Of Misfortune Which Your Not Being Armed Brings Upon You, It Makes You Despised.
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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.
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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.
War
Errors
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One Should Never Fall In The Belief That You Can Find Someone To Pick You Up.
Fall
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Should
If The Present Be Compared With The Remote Past, It Is Easily Seen That In All Cities And In All Peoples There Are The Same Desires And The Same Passions As There Always Were.
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For As Laws Are Necessary That Good Manners Be Preserved, So There Is Need Of Good Manners That Law May Be Maintained.
Law
Good Man
Needs
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.
Love Is
Men
Broken
...it Behooves Us To Adapt Oneself To The Times If One Wants To Enjoy Continued Good Fortune.
Life
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Fortune
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
Death
Kings
Heaven
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.
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Rome
Evil
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.
Art
War
Men
Any Man Who Tries To Be Good All The Time Is Bound To Come To Ruin Among The Great Number Who Are Not Good.
Men
Numbers
Trying
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.
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Men
Doe
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.
Art
War
Winning
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.
Love
Hate
People
If You Only Notice Human Proceedings, You May Observe That All Who Attain Great Power And Riches, Make Use Of Either Force Or Fraud; And What They Have Acquired Either By Deceit Or Violence, In Order To Conceal The Disgraceful Methods Of Attainment, They Endeavor To Sanctify With The False Title Of Honest Gains.
Art
War
Order
...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.
Defense
Looks
Valor
God Is Not Willing To Do Everything, And Thus Take Away Our Free Will And That Share Of Glory Which Belongs To Us.
God
Philosophical
Art Of War
With Difficulty He Is Beaten Who Can Estimate His Own Forces And Those Of His Enemy.
Enemy
Force
Difficulty
Entrepreneurs Are Simply Those Who Understand That There Is Little Difference Between Obstacle And Opportunity And Are Able To Turn Both To Their Advantage.
Humorous
Opportunity
Differences
Men Are So Stupid And Concerned With Their Present Needs, They Will Always Let Themselves Be Deceived.
Stupid
Men
Needs
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.
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War
Ambition
In War, Discipline Can Do More Than Fury.
Art
War
Discipline
When Every Province Of The World So Teems With Inhabitants That They Can Neither Subsist Where They Are Nor Remove Themselves Elsewhere.
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Three
World
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.
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Men
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Only Those Means Of Security Are Good, Are Certain, Are Lasting, That Depend On Yourself And Your Own Vigor.
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Vigor
Certain
No Enterprise Is More Likely To Succeed Than One Concealed From The Enemy Until It Is Ripe For Execution.
Business
War
Philosophical
I Say That Every Prince Must Desire To Be Considered Merciful And Not Cruel. He Must, However, Take Care Not To Misuse This Mercifulness.
Art
War
Desire
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.
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Kings
War
Nature Creates Few Men Brave, Industry And Training Makes Many.
Men
Brave
Training
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.
Reality
Government
People
As The Observance Of Divine Institutions Is The Cause Of The Greatness Of Republics, So The Disregard Of Them Produces Their Ruin; For Where The Fear Of God Is Wanting, There The Country Will Come To Ruin, Unless It Be Sustained The Fear Of The Prince, Which Temporarily Supply The Want Of Religion.
Country
Greatness
Republic
A Prince... Must Learn From The Fox And The Lion... One Must Be A Fox In Order To Recognize Traps, And A Lion To Frighten Off Wolves. Those Who Act Simply As Lions Are Stupid. So It Follows That A Prudent Ruler Cannot, And Must Not, Honour His Word When It Places Him At A Disadvantage And When The Reasons For Which He Made His Promise No Longer Exist.
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War
Stupid
Few Men Are Brave By Nature, But Good Discipline And Experience Make Many So.
Art
War
Men
Wise Men Say, And Not Without Reason, That Whosoever Wished To Foresee The Future Might Consult The Past.
Wise
Past
Men
Always Assume Incompetence Before Looking For Conspiracy.
Assuming
Conspiracy
Incompetence
I Assert Once Again As A Truth To Which History As A Whole Bears Witness That Men May Second Their Fortune, But Cannot Oppose It; That They May Weave Its Warp, But Cannot Break It. Yet They Should Never Give Up, Because There Is Always Hope, Though They Know Not The End And More Towards It Along Roads Which Cross One Another And As Yet Are Unexplored; And Since There Is Hope, They Should Not Despair, No Matter What Fortune Brings Or In What Travail They Find Themselves.
Art
Giving Up
War
He Who Has Once Begun To Live By Rapine Always Finds Reasons For Taking What Is Not His.
Reason
Live By
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.
Mean
Men
Wish
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.
Art
War
Character
Men Are More Apt To Be Mistaken In Their Generalizations Than In Their Particular Observations.
Men
Justice
Observation
The Sinews Of War Are Not Gold, But Good Soldiers.
War
Soldier
Gold
Men Should Be Either Treated Generously Or Destroyed, Because They Take Revenge For Slight Injuries - For Heavy Ones They Cannot.
Revenge
Men
Hustle
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.
Men
Useless
Firsts
The First Method For Estimating The Intelligence Of A Ruler Is To Look At The Men He Has Around Him.
Work
Philosophical
Men
God Creates Men, But They Choose Each Other.
Men
Community
....nothing Is So Unhealthy Or Unstable As The Reputation For Power That Is Not Based On One's Own Power.
Politics
Reputation
Unstable
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.
Art
War
Hatred
(a Ruler) Cannot And Should Not Keep His Word When To Do So Would Go Against His Interests Or When The Reason He Pledged It No Longer Holds.
Reason
Should
Interest
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.
Intelligent
Appreciate
Intelligence
The Princes Who Have Done Great Things Are The Ones Who Have Taken Little Account Of Their Promises.
War
Taken
Promise
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.
Art
War
Order
Whoever Is The Cause Of Another Becoming Powerful, Is Ruined Himself.
Powerful
Causes
Becoming
It Is A Common Failing Of Man Not To Take Account Of Tempests During Fair Weather.
Men
Weather
Common
Therefore, It Is Necessary To Be A Fox To Discover The Snares And A Lion To Terrify The Wolves
Lions
Foxes
Snares
Among Other Evils Which Being Unarmed Brings You, It Causes You To Be Despised.
War
Gun
Evil
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.
Art
War
Mean
It Is Better To Be Bold Than Too Circumspect, Because Fortune Is Of A Sex Which Likes Not A Tardy Wooer And Repulses All Who Are Not Ardent.
Sex
Likes
Fortune
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.
Destiny
Heaven
Doe
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.
Art
War
Fighting
One Change Always Leaves The Way Open For The Establishment Of Others.
Change
Philosophical
Moving Forward
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.
Thinking
Mind
Excellence
It Is Necessary That The Prince Should Know How To Color His Nature Well, And How To Be A Hypocrite And Dissembler. For Men Are So Simple, And Yield So Much To Immediate Necessity, That The Deceiver Will Never Lack Dupes.
Hypocrite
Simple
Men
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.
Simple
Men
Yield
The People Resemble A Wild Beast, Which, Naturally Fierce And Accustomed To Live In The Woods, Has Been Brought Up, As It Were, In A Prison And In Servitude, And Having By Accident Got Its Liberty, Not Being Accustomed To Search For Its Food, And Not Knowing Where To Conceal Itself, Easily Becomes The Prey Of The First Who Seeks To Incarcerate It Again.
Art
War
Knowing
A Multitude Is Strong While It Holds Together, But So Soon As Each Of Those Who Compose It Begins Ro Think Of His Own Private Danger, It Becomes Weak And Contemptible.
Strong
Thinking
Together
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.
Men
Law
Giving
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.
Cities
Names
Liberty
It Is Much Safer For The Prince To Be Feared Than Loved, But He Ought To Avoid Making Himself Hated.
Hated
Ought
It Is Better To Be Adventurous Than Cautious, Because Fortune Is A Woman.
Adventurous
Fortune
Cautious
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.
Art
War
Grief
Nature That Framed Us Of Four Elements, Warring Within Our Breasts For Regiment, Doth Teach Us All To Have Aspiring Minds.
Nature
Teaching
Ambition
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.
Art
Children
War
I'm Not Interested In Preserving The Status Quo; I Want To Overthrow It.
Philosophical
Challenging The Status Quo
Want
....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.
Mean
Citizens
Politics
A Prince Being Thus Obliged To Know Well How To Act As A Beast Must Imitate The Fox And The Lion, For The Lion Cannot Protect Himself From Snares, And The Fox Cannot Defend Himself From Wolves.
Art
War
Wish
One Who Deceives Will Always Find Those Who Allow Themselves To Be Deceived.
Liars
Lying
Philosophical
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.
Love
Children
Crazy
Power Is The Pivot On Which Everything Hinges. He Who Has The Power Is Always Right; The Weaker Is Always Wrong.
Always Wrong
Hinges
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.
Art
War
People
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.
Dream
Art
War
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.
Art
War
Fighting
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.
Art
Spring
War
As All Those Have Shown Who Have Discussed Civil Institutions, And As Every History Is Full Of Examples, It Is Necessary To Whoever Arranges To Found A Republic And Establish Laws In It, To Presuppose That All Men Are Bad And That They Will Use Their Malignity Of Mind Every Time They Have The Opportunity.
Art
War
Opportunity
Everyone Who Wants To Know What Will Happen Ought To Examine What Has Happened: Everything In This World In Any Epoch Has Their Replicas In Antiquity.
World
Want
Contemplation
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.
Dream
Art
Strong
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
Mind
Fickle
Persuasion
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.
Party
Men
Moral
He Who Builds On The People, Builds On The Mud
People
Mud
One Must Be A Fox To Recognize Traps And A Lion To Frighten Wolves
Lions
Foxes
Traps
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.
Eye
Men
Hands
For This Is The Tragedy Of Man Circumstances Change, But He Does Not.
Men
Tragedy
Doe
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.
Inspirational
Change
Leadership
Any Man Who Tries To Be Good All The Time Is Bound To Come To Ruin Among The Great Number Who Are Not Good. Hence A Prince Who Wants To Keep His Authority Must Learn How Not To Be Good, And Use That Knowledge, Or Refrain From Using It, As Necessity Requires.
Men
Numbers
Trying
Every Little Advantage Is Of Great Moment When Men Have To Come To Blows.
Art
War
Blow
Men Are So Simple And So Much Inclined To Obey Immediate Needs That A Deceiver Will Never Lack Victims For His Deceptions.
Simple
Men
Hype
Men In General Judge More From Appearances Than From Reality. All Men Have Eyes, But Few Have The Gift Of Penetration.
Wisdom
Eye
Reality
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.
Order
Judging
Mistress
Princes And Governments Are Far More Dangerous Than Other Elements Within Society.
Government
Elements
Literature
When They Remain In Garrison, Soldiers Are Maintained With Fear And Punishment; When They Are Then Led To War, With Hope And Reward.
Art
War
Punishment
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.
Art
Father
War
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.
Art
War
Good Friend
For A Long Time I Have Not Said What I Believed, Nor Do I Ever Believe What I Say, And If Indeed Sometimes I Do Happen To Tell The Truth, I Hide It Among So Many Lies That It Is Hard To Find.
Lying
Believe
Long
Nevertheless, He Must Be Cautious In Believing And Acting, And Must Not Inspire Fear Of His Own Accord, And Must Proceed In A Temperate Manner With Prudence And Humanity, So That Too Much Confidence Does Not Render Him Incautious, And Too Much Diffidence Does Not Render Him Intolerant. From This Arises The Question Whether It Is Better To Be Loved More Than Feared, Or Feared More Than Loved.
Art
War
Believe
It Is Not Titles That Honor Men, But Men That Honor Titles.
Philosophical
Men
Honor
It Is Much Better To Tempt Fortune Where It Can Favor You Than To See Your Certain Ruin By Not Tempting It.
Art
War
Favors
In Conclusion, The Arms Of Others Either Fall From Your Back, Or They Weigh You Down, Or They Bind You Fast.
Fall
Arms
Conclusion
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.
Law
Foundation
Literature
For One Change Always Leaves A Dovetail Into Which Another Will Fit.
Fit
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.
Peace
War
Men
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.
War
Evil
Able
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.
Vices
Needs
Prudent
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.
Law
Two
Mind
Wisdom Consists In Being Able To Distinguish Among Dangers And Make A Choice Of The Least Harmful.
Wisdom
Choices
Able
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.
Art
Father
War
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.
Submissive
Beats
Fortune
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.
Strength
Wise
Hope
Men Are Driven By Two Principal Impulses, Either By Love Or By Fear.
Inspirational
Men
Two
...people Are By Nature Fickle, And It Is Easy To Persuade Them Of Something, But Difficult To Keep Them Persuaded.
Nature
People
Fickle
It Is Double Pleasure To Deceive The Deceiver.
Philosophical
Deceit
Literature
Make No Small Plans For They Have No Power To Stir The Soul.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
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.
Benefits
Honey
Gains
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.
Believe
Art Of War
Men
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.
Revenge
Men
Needs
A Sign Of Intelligence Is An Awareness Of One's Own Ignorance.
Ignorance
Intelligence
Awareness
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.
Powerful
Grief
Ambition
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