#m

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#against #ambition #another #attack #first

Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#another #desires #find #men #moment

Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#destroyed #done #either #feared #greatly

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#acquire #admittedly #always #common #common thing

There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#country #decay #held #religion #rites

Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#gain #general #greedy #hypocritical #mankind

The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#arms #cannot #composite #every #follow

Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#conquers #demolish #does #error #expect

It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#act #always #arranges #evil #free

Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear. ↗

— Niccolo Machiavelli

#fear #inspires #less #love #offending