"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Although deceit is detestable in all other things, yet in the conduct of war it is laudable and honorable; and a commander who vanquishes an enemy by stratagem is equally praised with one who gains victory by force."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.216, Knickerbocker Classics
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