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Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

Historian

Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian historian, political theorist, and philosopher who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his book 'The Prince,' which delves into the concepts of power, political tactics, and the art of rule.

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Famous Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

“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.”

Men Wells Children Long Said Turns Risk Blood Danger Treats Property Profit Liars Shed Greedy Ungrateful Fickle Generalization Deceiver

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation which, since men are wretched creatures, is broken on every occasion in which their own interests are concerned; but fear is sustained by dread of punishment which will never abandon you.”

Men Together Interest Love Is Broken Self Love Creatures Concerned Punishment Obligation Chains Occasions Abandon Dread Wretched Hesitant Every Occasion

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“The wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always do so when they can.but when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so by any means, then there is folly and blame.”

Men Mean Wish Natural Common Blame Folly Acquire

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“A wise man will see to it that his acts always seem voluntary and not done by compulsion, however much he may be compelled by necessity.”

Men May Done Wisdom Seems Wise Compelled Compulsion

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Wise men say, and not without reason, that whosoever wished to foresee the future might consult the past.”

Men Reason Might Past Wise Patriotism

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it according to the necessity of the case.”

Men Use Political Politics Wish Grief Cases Goodness Be Good Profession

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Whoever takes it upon himself to establish a commonwealth and prescribe laws must presuppose all men naturally bad, and that they will yield to their innate evil passions as often as they can do so with safety.”

Men Law Passion Evil Can Do Safety Yield Innate Commonwealth

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“The unarmed man is not just defenseless - he is also contemptible.”

Men Second Amendment Defenseless Unarmed

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.”

Men Giving May States Law Desire Found Ready Assuming Occasions Display Vicious

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men walk almost always in the paths trodden by others, proceeding in their actions by imitation.”

Men Action Walks Path Imitation Proceeding

Book:The Prince

Source: The Prince

“I hold it to be of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one, for neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you”

Men Way Effort Enemy Military Hatred Increase Threat Diminish Prudence Cautious Insulting

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Thus it happens in matters of state; for knowing afar off (which it is only given a prudent man to do) the evils that are brewing, they are easily cured. But when, for want of such knowledge, they are allowed to grow so that everyone can recognize them, there is no longer any remedy to be found.”

Men Want Matter States Government Happens Evil Found Given Grows Knowing Remedy Prudent Afar Brewing

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men as a whole judge more with their eyes than with their hands.”

Men Whole Hands Eye Judging Prison

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied.”

Men Long Honor Majority Property Satisfied Deprived

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Many have dreamed up republics and principalities that have never in truth been known to exist; the gulf between how one should live and how one does live is so wide that a man who neglects what is actually done for what should be done learns the way to self-destruction rather than self-preservation.”

Men Way Should Doe Self Done Known Truth Is Destruction Wide Neglect Republic Idealism Preservation Self Destruction Self Preservation

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.”

Men Justice Particular Judgment Observation Mistaken Generalization

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats or any contemptuous expressions, for neither of these weaken the enemy, but threats make him more cautious, and the other excites his hatred, and a desire to revenge himself.”

Men Desire Enemy Expression Hatred Mark Threat Revenge Prudence Cautious Contemptuous

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men seldom rise from low condition to high rank without employing either force or fraud, unless that rank should be attained either by gift or inheritance.”

Men Should Force Power Conditions Lows Fraud Inheritance Employing

Author:Niccolo Machiavelli

About the Author

Born: May 3, 1469
Died: June 21, 1527
Known for: Historian
Quotes: 390

Books & Sources

The PrinceRelated source material

The Portable MachiavelliRelated source material

Machiavelli, More & LutherRelated source material

History of Florence and the Affairs of ItalyRelated source material

Discourses on LivyRelated source material

Machiavelli: The PrinceRelated source material

The Complete Art of WarRelated source material

Niccolò Machiavelli's The PrinceRelated source material

The Art of War and the PrinceRelated source material

The DiscoursesRelated source material

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