"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Occasionally words must serve to veil the facts. But let this happen in such a way that no one become aware of it; or, if it should be noticed, excuses must be at hand to be produced immediately."
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Source: The Art of War. Book by Niccolò Machiavelli, as translated by Neal Wood, 1965.
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