Find the best quotes, maxims and aphorisms of Niccolo Machiavelli

Biography : Italian diplomat, politician, philosopher, humanist and writer.
Born: 1469 - Died: 1527
Period:
16th century
15th century
Place of birth: Italy
Italy

Niccolo Machiavelli - Quotes

Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.
Niccolo Machiavelli /

to be

There are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince /

A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince /

Prudence

Where nature is lacking, work supplies.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Art of War /

Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.
Niccolo Machiavelli /

love

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.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince /

This is a common failing of mankind, never to anticipate a storm when the sea is calm.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince /

It is not the title that honors the man, but the man that honors the title.
Niccolo Machiavelli /

Not to extinguish our free-will, I hold it to be true that fortune is the arbiter of one half of our actions, but that she still leaves us to direct the other half, or perhaps a little less.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Prince /

action

Fortune only changes for those who do not know how to conform to their times.
Niccolo Machiavelli /

We do not suffer from things to which we are accustomed.
Niccolo Machiavelli - The Art of War /

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.
Niccolo Machiavelli

War is just when it is necessary arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.
Niccolo Machiavelli

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.
Niccolo Machiavelli

love

Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.
Niccolo Machiavelli

change

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
Niccolo Machiavelli

God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.
Niccolo Machiavelli

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.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.
Niccolo Machiavelli

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
Niccolo Machiavelli

One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Never was anything great achieved without danger.
Niccolo Machiavelli

danger

Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries - for heavy ones they cannot.
Niccolo Machiavelli

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

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

life

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
Niccolo Machiavelli

life

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
Niccolo Machiavelli

To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.
Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli - Quotes

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