"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find."
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Source: The Prince. Book by Niccolo Machiavelli, www.theguardian.com. 1532.
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