What Niccolò Machiavelli thinks about war
Florentine political philosopher and diplomat (1469 to 1527); Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512; author of The Prince.
Niccolò Machiavelli did not write this page.
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Only Niccolò Machiavelli on war. See everyone on war
3 dated positions, c. 1513–1514 to c. 1514–1519, in their own words. Our reading of what Niccolò Machiavelli has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsI maintain, therefore, that it is not gold, as is vulgarly supposed, that is the sinews of war, but good soldiers; or while gold by itself will not gain you good soldiers, good soldiers may readily get you gold.
↗Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius (Ninian Hill Thomson translation, 1883)gutenberg.org All 19 from this book
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Their wordsFor we see that many more princes have lost their lives and states through these than in open warfare; power to wage open war upon a prince being conceded to few, whereas power to conspire against him is denied to none.
↗Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius (Ninian Hill Thomson translation, 1883)gutenberg.org All 19 from this book
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Their wordsThe chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms; and as there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed, it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws.
↗The Prince (tr. W. K. Marriott, 1908)gutenberg.org All 6 from this book