"The peasant wants only to be left alone to prosper in peace."
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Quote collection
Niccolo Machiavelli quotes (page 17 of 20)
389 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Nothing feeds upon itself as liberality does."
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"The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar."
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"A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests."
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"One must consider the final result"
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"In our own days we have seen no princes accomplish great results save those who have been accounted miserly."
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"A prince is also respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy; that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation."
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"And when neither their property nor honour is touched, the majority of men live content, and he has only to contend with the ambition of a few, whom he can curb with ease in many ways."
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"Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself; for that power is produced by him either through craft or force; and both of these are suspected by the one who has been raised to power."
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"When men receive favours from someone they expected to do them ill, they are under a greater obligation to their benefactor."
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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."
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"The sinews of war are not gold, but good soldiers; for gold alone will not procure good soldiers, but good soldiers will always procure gold."
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"In respect to foresight and firmness, the people are more prudent, more stable, and have better judgement than princes."
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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."
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"One never finds anything perfectly pure and ... exempt from danger."
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"A blast in the human breast is nothing to boast of."
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"So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied."
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"And the prince who has relied solely on their words, without making other preparations, is ruined, for the friendship which is gained by purchase and not through grandeur and nobility of spirit is merited but is not secured, and at times is not to be had."
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"The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order."
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"But in Republics there is a stronger vitality, a fiercer hatred, a keener thirst for revenge. The memory of their former freedom will not let them rest; so that the safest course is either to destroy them, or to go and live in them."
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