Machiavelli on Mental Models Quotes

"He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation."

"One should never allow a chaos to develop in order to avoid a war, for you do not avoid it but only defer it to your disadvantage."

"He who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived."

"Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear."

"Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions."

"God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and 그 share of glory which belongs to us."

"A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways."

"Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch with you."

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him."

"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."

"Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil."

"Prudence consists in knowing how to distinguish the character of troubles, and for choice to take the lesser evil."

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

"Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others."

"The vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it."

"I believe that the greatest gift that nature has given to men is that of being able to imagine."

"Whoever desires to see what is to be, should consider what has been; for all the things of this world, in every time, have a very resemblance to those of ancient times."

"Men never do anything good except by necessity; but where liberty abounds and where license can exist, everything at once fills with confusion and disorder."

"The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

"A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtue of one man."

"It is a common fault of men not to reckon on storms in fair weather."

"It is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force."

"It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles."

"I conclude, then, that since fortune changes, and men remain fixed in their ways, they are successful so long as these two are in agreement."

"Wisdom consists in being able to distinguish among dangers and in choosing the least harmful of them as the best."

"The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present."

"There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you."

"Nature has created men so that they desire everything and are unable to attain everything."

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great."

"Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times."

"Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are."

"Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed out drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more."

"Men are so restless that however much you satisfy their desires, they are never content."