"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are instead converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects. Badly used are those cruelties which. although being few at the outset, grow with the passing time instead of disappearing. Those who follow the first method can remedy their condition with God and with men; the others cannot possibly survive."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (1979). “The Portable Machiavelli”, p.75, Penguin
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