by Niccolò Machiavelli The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

Quote 1 It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

Quote 2 Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.

Quote 3 Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony.

Quote 4 Ambition is so powerful a passion in the human breast, that however high we reach we are never satisfied.

Quote 5 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.

Quote 6 Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.

Quote 7 Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.

Quote 8 Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.

Quote 9 A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

Quote 10 The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

Quote 11 It should be noted that when he seizes a state the new ruler ought to determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He should inflict them once and for all, and not have to renew them every day.

Quote 12 Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.

Quote 13 Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.

Quote 14 Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.

Quote 15 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.

Quote 16 Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see, but only a 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.

Quote 17 The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.

Quote 18 Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.

Quote 19 There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

Quote 20 One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.

Quote 21 A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war, its methods and its discipline, for that is the only art expected of a ruler. And it is of such great value that it not only keeps hereditary princes in power, but often raises men of lowly condition to that rank.

Quote 22 Only the expenditure of one’s own resources is harmful; and, indeed, nothing feeds upon itself as liberality does. The more it is indulged, the fewer are the means to indulge it further. As a consequence, a prince becomes poor and contemptible or, to escape poverty, becomes rapacious and hateful.

Quote 23 Of all the things [the prince] must guard against, hatred and contempt come first, and liberality leads to both. Therefore it is better to have a name for miserliness, which breeds disgrace without hatred, than, in pursuing a name for liberality, to resort to rapacity, which breeds both disgrace and hatred.

Quote 24 Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.

Quote 25 Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.

Quote 26 The wise man does at once what the fool does finally,.

Quote 27 The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.

Quote 28 Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times.

Quote 29 Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Quote 30 He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

Quote 31 There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.

Quote 32 Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.

Quote 33 Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy.

Quote 34 A multitude is strong while it holds together, but so soon as each of those who compose it begins to think of his own private danger, it becomes weak and contemptible.

Quote 35 When you disarm your subjects, however, you offend them by showing that either from cowardice or lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you.

Quote 36 A battle that you win cancels all mistakes.

Quote 36 Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.

Quote 37 It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.

Quote 38 Never do an enemy a small injury.

Quote 39 People are by nature fickle, and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them persuaded.

Quote 40 When Fortune wishes to bring mighty events to a successful conclusion, she selects some man of spirit and ability who knows how to seize the opportunity she offers.

Quote 41 I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.

Quote 42 All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.

Quote 43 The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.

Quote 44 Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception

Quote 45 A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent.

Quote 46 The Romans never allowed a trouble spot to remain simply to avoid going to war over it, because they knew that wars don't just go away, they are only postponed to someone else's advantage.

Quote 47 There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.

Quote 48 It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.

Quote 49 We have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean; the rest have failed.

Quote 50 You must know 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; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second. Thereforeit is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man.