"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Never lead your soldiers to battle if you have not first confirmed their spirit and known them to be without fear and ordered; and never test them except when you see that they hope to win."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (1979). “The Portable Machiavelli”, p.68, Penguin
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