Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, politician, historian, philosopher, writer, playwright, and poet of the Renaissance period. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is of high importance to historians and scholars.
He wrote his best-known work The Prince (Il Principe) in 1513, having been exiled from city affairs. Machiavellian is widely used as a pejorative to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli advised most famously in The Prince. Machiavelli described immoral behavior, such as dishonesty and the killing of innocents, as being normal and effective in politics. He even encouraged politicians to engage in evil.
The book gained notoriety due to claims that it teaches “evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power”. The term Machiavellian often connotes political deceit, deviousness, and realpolitik. Even though Machiavelli has become most famous for his work on principalities, scholars also give attention to the exhortations in his other works of political philosophy. His much less popular treatise, the Discourses on Livy, is often said to have paved the way of modern republicanism.
Some of the best quotes from Niccolò Machiavelli are listed below.
- “A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one’s own ignorance.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “A wise ruler should rely on what is under his own control, not on what is under the control of others.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Appear as you may wish to be.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Forgiveness proceeds from a generous soul.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Gold will not always get you good soldiers, but good soldiers can get you gold.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “He who would foresee what is to happen should look to what has happened: for all that is has its counterpart in time past.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Impetuosity and audacity often achieve what ordinary means fail to achieve.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “It is better to act and repent, than not to act and repent.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Men are always averse to enterprises in which they foresee difficulties.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes but few have the gift of penetration.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Men intrinsically do not trust new things that they have not experienced themselves.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Tardiness often robs us opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The innovator has for enemies all who have done well under the old, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognise traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling the truth will not offend you.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Wars begin when you will, but they do not end when you please.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “When fortune wishes to bring mighty events to a successful conclusion, she selects some man of spirit and ability who knows how to seize the opportunity she offers.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
- “Women are the most charitable creatures, and the most troublesome. He who shuns women passes up the trouble, but also the benefits. He who puts up with them gains the benefits, but also the trouble. As the saying goes, there’s no honey without bees.” – Niccolò Machiavelli
