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.

Men are of three different capacities: one understands intuitively; another understands so far as it is explained; and a third understands neither of himself nor by explanation. The first is excellent, the second, commendable, and the third, altogether useless.

The end of the republic is to enervate and to weaken all other bodies so as to increase its own body.

And here one must not that hatred is acquired just as much by means of good actions as by bad ones; and so, as I said above, if a prince wishes to maintain the state, he is often obliged not to be good; because whenever that group which you believe you need to support you is corrupted, whether it be the common people, the soldiers, or the nobles, it is to your advantage to follow their inclinations in order to satisfy them; and then good actions are your enemy.

Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.

The nature of man is such that people consider themselves put under an obligation as much by the benefits they confer as by those they receive.

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