Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher, and writer, best known for The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. These Niccolo Machiavelli quotes will motivate you in life.
Best Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
- “A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one’s own ignorance.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “A government which does not trust its citizens to be armed is not itself to be trusted.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “One of the great secrets of the day is to know how to take possession of popular prejudices and passions, in such a way as to introduce a confusion of principles which makes impossible all understanding between those who speak the same language and have the same interests.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Politics have no relation to morals.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Always assume incompetence before looking for a conspiracy.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experiences what you really are.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “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.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former, I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings, and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks, and apostles” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli , Niccolo Machiavelli quotes on princes
- “You know better than I that in a Republic talent is always suspect. A man attains an elevated position only when his mediocrity prevents him from being a threat to others. And for this reason, a democracy is never governed by the most competent, but rather by those whose insignificance will not jeopardize anyone else’s self-esteem.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Never do an enemy a small injury.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “And what physicians say about disease is applicable here: that at the beginning a disease is easy to cure but difficult to diagnose; but as time passes, not having been recognized or treated at the outset, it becomes easy to diagnose but difficult to cure. The same thing occurs in affairs of state; for by recognizing from afar the diseases that are spreading in the state (which is a gift given only to the prudent ruler), they can be cured quickly; but when, not having been recognized, they are not recognized and are left to grow to the extent that everyone recognizes them, there is no longer any cure.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Rome remained free for four hundred years and Sparta eight hundred, although their citizens were armed all that time; but many other states that have been disarmed have lost their liberties in less than forty years.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Ability and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Men are of three different capacities: one understands intuitively; another understands so far as it is explained, and a third understands neither of himself nor by explanation. The first is excellent, the second, commendable, and the third, altogether useless.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The leader should know how to enter into evil when necessity commands.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The unarmed man is not just defenseless – he is also contemptible.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “It should be borne in mind that there is nothing more difficult to arrange, more doubtful of success, and more dangerous to carry through than initiating changes. The innovator makes enemies of all those who prospered under the old order, and only lukewarm support is forthcoming from those who would prosper under the new. Their support is lukewarm … partly because men are generally incredulous, never really trusting new things unless they have tested them by experience.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli , Niccolo Machiavelli quotes on change
- “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Before all else, be armed.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “For a long time I have not said what I believed, nor do I ever believe what I say, and if indeed sometimes I do happen to tell the truth, I hide it among so many lies that it is hard to find.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The ends justifies the means.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Gold will not always get you good soldiers, but good soldiers can get you gold.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “It is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved? It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both: but since love and fear can hardly exist together if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “If you only notice human proceedings, you may observe that all who attain great power and riches, make use of either force or fraud; and what they have acquired either by deceit or violence, in order to conceal the disgraceful methods of attainment, they endeavor to sanctify with the false title of honest gains.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli , Niccolo Machiavelli quotes on power
- “How perilous it is to free a people who prefer slavery.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge, but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
-
“Good order makes men bold, and confusion, cowards.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Impetuosity and audacity often achieve what ordinary means fail to achieve.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearances, as though they were realities, and are often more influenced by the things that seem than by those that are.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “One can make this generalization about men: they are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well, they are yours. They would shed their blood for you, risk their property, their lives, their children, so long, as I said above, as danger is remote; but when you are in danger they turn against you.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Appear as you may wish to be” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
- “Laa shay’a waqi’un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine…We work in the Dark, to serve the Light.” ~ Niccolo Machiavelli
