"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"For it must be noted, that men must either be caressed or else annihilated; they will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones; the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.9, Knickerbocker Classics
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