(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. Niccolo Machiavelli More Quotes by Niccolo Machiavelli More Quotes From Niccolo Machiavelli 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. Niccolo Machiavelli inheritance power men 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. Niccolo Machiavelli adversity wise blow The leader should know how to enter into evil when necessity commands. Niccolo Machiavelli leader should evil 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. Niccolo Machiavelli said war art 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. Niccolo Machiavelli government wise mean 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. Niccolo Machiavelli weakness liberty humanity The world has always been the same; and there is always as much good fortune as bad in it. Niccolo Machiavelli good-fortune fortune world 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. Niccolo Machiavelli self doe men 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. Niccolo Machiavelli judging sight men 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. Niccolo Machiavelli good-man simple men For the mob is always impressed by appearances and by results, and the world is composed of the mob. Niccolo Machiavelli results appearance world Half of these aren't even Machiavelli. Some are Plato, Thucydides etc....doesnt anyone check these? Niccolo Machiavelli etc half plato 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. Niccolo Machiavelli strength hope wise 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. Niccolo Machiavelli rome evil men 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. Niccolo Machiavelli fighting war art Among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised. Niccolo Machiavelli gun evil war Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations. Niccolo Machiavelli observation justice men In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast. Niccolo Machiavelli conclusion arms fall One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others. Niccolo Machiavelli philosophical moving-forward change 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. Niccolo Machiavelli opportunity love-is men
