Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.

Francesco Guicciardini (Italian pronunciation: [franˈtʃesko ɡwittʃarˈdini]; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and statesman. In his masterpiece The History of Italy Guicciardini paved the way for a new style in historiography with his use of government sources to support arguments and the realistic analysis of the people and events of his time. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance.