"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."
"Women are the most charitable creatures, and the most troublesome. He who shuns women passes up the trouble, but also the benefits. He who puts up with them gains the benefits, but also the trouble. As the saying goes, there's no honey without bees."
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Source: Niccolo Machiavelli (2009). “The Essential Writings of Machiavelli”, p.456, Modern Library
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