And it will always happen that he who is not your friend will request your neutrality and he who is your friend will ask you to declare yourself by taking up arms. And irresolute princes, in order to avoid present dangers, follow the neutral road most of the time, and most of the time they are ruined.

it is much safer to be feared than loved because ...love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.

A wise ruler should rely on what is under his own control, not on what is under the control of others.

And if such malignity is hidden for a time, it proceeds from the unknown reason that would not be known because the experience of the contrary had not been seen, but time, which is said to be the father of every truth, will cause it to be discovered.

In our own days we have seen no princes accomplish great results save those who have been accounted miserly.

In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.

Men shrink less from offending one who inspires love than one who inspires fear.