"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"And if such malignity is hidden for a time, it proceeds from the unknown reason that would not be known because the experience of the contrary had not been seen, but time, which is said to be the father of every truth, will cause it to be discovered."
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Source: Discourses on Livy. Book by Niccolo Machiavelli, Book 1, Ch. 3, 1517.
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