"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Conquered states that have been accustomed to liberty and the government of their own laws can be held by the conqueror in three different ways. The first is to ruin them; the second, for the conqueror to go and reside there in person; and the third is to allow them to continue to live under their own laws, subject to a regular tribute, and to create in them a government of a few, who will keep the country friendly to the conqueror"
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (2015). “The Prince”, p.80, Xist Publishing
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