He is less likely to be mistaken who looks forward to a change in the affairs of the world than he who regards them as firm and stable.
Francesco GuicciardiniIt is a great matter to be in authority over others; for authority, if it be rightly used, will make you feared beyond your actual resources.
Francesco GuicciardiniKeep your eye fixed not so much on what they [people] ought in reason to do, as on what they are likely to do based on their disposition and habits.
Francesco GuicciardiniWaste no time with revolutions that do not remove the causes of your complaints but simply change the faces of those in charge.
Francesco Guicciardini