Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes - Page 12

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Art, Father, War

Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.53, Race Point Publishing

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Art, War, Winning

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Men walk almost always in the paths trodden by others, proceeding in their actions by imitation.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Men, Path, Action

Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.18, Race Point Publishing

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It is much safer for the prince to be feared than loved, but he ought to avoid making himself hated.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Hated, Ought

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Passion, Men, Yield

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Decision, Lines, Being The Best

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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

Art, War, Said

Niccolo Machiavelli (2015). “The Prince”, p.80, Xist Publishing

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Inspirational, Change, Leadership

Niccolo Machiavelli (2010). “The Prince”, p.21, FastPencil Inc

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Fear, Wish, Together

"The Prince". Book by Niccolo Machiavelli, 1513.

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Country, Greatness, Republic

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Sex, Likes, Fortune

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One never finds anything perfectly pure and ... exempt from danger.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Danger, Pure

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Love, Hate, People

Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.69, Race Point Publishing

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A son could bear with great complacency, the death of his father, while the loss of his inheritance might drive him to despair.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Father, Loss, Son

"Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations" by Jehiel Keeler Hoyt, p. 462-63, Del. Prin, Chapter XVII, 1922.

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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, Wise, Hope

Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.38, BookRix

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Dream, Art, War

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Art, War, Men

"The Prince". Book by Niccolo Machiavelli, Chapter 14, 1513.

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Powerful, Grief, Ambition

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Every little advantage is of great moment when men have to come to blows.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Art, War, Blow

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Dream, Art, Strong

"Discourses on Livy" by Niccolò Machiavelli, book 1, ch. 3, as translated by LJ Walker and B Crick, 1517.

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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

Art, War, Fighting

"The Complete Art of War".

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....nothing is so unhealthy or unstable as the reputation for power that is not based on one's own power.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Politics, Reputation, Unstable

Niccolo Machiavelli (1979). “The Portable Machiavelli”, p.87, Penguin

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War brings out thieves and peace hangs them.

Niccolo Machiavelli

War, Thieves

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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.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Taken, Mean, Credit

Niccolo Machiavelli (2010). “The Prince”, p.73, FastPencil Inc

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All the States and Governments by which men are or ever have been ruled, have been and are either Republics or Princedoms.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Men, Republic, States

Niccolo Machiavelli (2015). “The Prince”, p.4, Booklassic

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Born: May 3, 1469
Died: June 21, 1527
Occupation: Historian
Cite this Page: Citation

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