50 Machiavelli quotes for those who like to read about politics

In fact, the way we live is so different from the way we should live.

The desire for conquest is something very natural and common; those who succeed in conquest are always praised and never blamed.

Men are so simple and obedient to immediate needs that he who deceives will always find someone who is deceived.

Those who say that bad company lead men to the gallows tell the truth.

The prudent prince will therefore adopt a third way, choosing wise men as his counselors and giving them complete freedom to speak the truth.

In the actions of all men, especially those of princes, when there is no judge to appeal to, what counts is the final result.

Ghosts cause more fear from afar than up close.

It is a vice common to all men not to care about the storm while the calm lasts.

What has a beginning, has an end.

It is better to do and regret it than not to do it and regret it.

Men, when not forced to fight out of necessity, fight out of ambition.

I think it can be admitted that luck is the arbiter of half of our actions, but that it allows us control over the other half, approximately.

Prudent men always know how to take advantage of the acts to which necessity has constrained them.

Nothing is more difficult to carry out, more doubtful of success, or more dangerous to manage, than to start a new order of things.

The closer a man is to a desire, the more he desires it; and if he cannot do it, the greater pain he feels.

We become hated both by doing good and by doing evil.

Prejudices have more roots than principles.

The first method of estimating a ruler’s intelligence is to look at the men around him.

A change always leaves thresholds for a new change.

To know well the character of the people, one must be a prince, and to know well the character of the prince, one must belong to the people.

Time throws all things ahead and can turn good into evil and evil into good.

All action is designated in terms of the end it seeks to achieve.

Where willpower is great, difficulties cannot be.

A war is just when it is necessary.

It is not the intention that validates an act, but its result.

Men offend out of fear or hatred.

A wise prince should observe similar ways and never, in time of peace, be idle.

When a man is a good friend, he also has good friends.

How dangerous it is to free a people who prefer slavery!

Today’s allies can become tomorrow’s enemies.

Few see what we are, but everyone sees what we appear to be.

A corrupt people who achieve freedom find it more difficult to maintain it.

Men forget the death of their father more quickly than the loss of wealth.

Men hesitate less to offend those who make themselves loved than to offend those who make themselves fear.

He who deprives himself of pleasure and lives amid torments and toils, does not know the mistakes of the world.

To friends the favors, to enemies the law.

Even well-ordered laws are powerless against customs.

I believe that one of the essential principles of wisdom is to refrain from verbal threats or insults.

Where there is a strong will, there cannot be great difficulties.

To govern is to make believe.

It is better to be feared than loved.

The ends justify the means.

There is nothing more difficult or dangerous than taking the lead in bringing about change.

Politics has at least two faces. The one that is exposed to the public eye and the one that transits behind the scenes of power.

Weapons must be used as a last resort, where and when other means are not enough.

The decision to cause despair in men has never been wise, for those who do not expect good do not fear evil.

Men in general form their opinions guided by sight rather than touch, for everyone knows how to see, but few feel.

It is necessary for a prince to have the people as a friend, otherwise he will have no chance in adversity.

I would never want to fall for believing that I would find someone to lift me up.

Men change rulers with great ease, always expecting an improvement.