"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself; for that power is produced by him either through craft or force; and both of these are suspected by the one who has been raised to power."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (2017). “The Prince”, p.12, Knickerbocker Classics
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