government 12
- There is no disgrace in breaking promises extorted by force
- A prince who can do as he pleases is a madman, and an unrestrained people is never wise
Niccolò Machiavelli
Florentine political philosopher and diplomat (1469 to 1527); Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512; author of The Prince.
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What Niccolò Machiavelli says most about
war 3
- Good soldiers, not gold, are the sinews of war
- Many more princes have lost life and state through conspiracies than through open war
agency 2
- Men may aid Fortune but cannot withstand her
- A man's fortunes vary because times change and he does not change with them
behavioural science 2
- People praise the past and condemn the present, not always with reason
- Advice should follow how people actually live, since acting wholly on professed virtue among so much evil leads to ruin
design 2
- States last longest when they can be renewed, by their institutions or by accident
- When the end is good, it will always excuse the violent means used to found a state