Whoever is the cause of another becoming powerful, is ruined himself.

A prince is also respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy; that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation.

Therefore the best fortress is to be found in the love of the people, for although you may have fortresses they will not save you if you are hated by the people.

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

Men are less hesitant about harming someone who makes himself loved than one who makes himself feared because love is held together by a chain of obligation which, since men are wretched creatures, is broken on every occasion in which their own interests are concerned; but fear is sustained by dread of punishment which will never abandon you.

One never finds anything perfectly pure and ... exempt from danger.

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.