Ambassadors are the eye and ear of states.

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

We fight to great disadvantage when we fight with those who have nothing to lose.

Conspiracies, since they cannot be engaged in without the fellowship of others, are for that reason most perilous; for as most men are either fools or knaves, we run excessive risk in making such folk our companions.

It 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.

There is nothing so fleeting as the memory of benefits received.

Waste no time with revolutions that do not remove the causes of your complaints but simply change the faces of those in charge.