"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"An armed republic submits less easily to the rule of one of its citizens than a republic armed by foreign forces. Rome and Sparta were for many centuries well armed and free. The Swiss are well armed and enjoy great freedom. Among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible. It is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed; or that any unarmed man will remain safe among armed servants."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (1979). “The Portable Machiavelli”, p.110, Penguin
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