Benefits should be granted little by little, so that they may be better enjoyed.

He who builds on the people, builds on the mud

Gold will not always get you good soldiers, but good soldiers can get you gold.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

Men nearly always follow the tracks made by others and proceed in their affairs by imitation, even though they cannot entirely keep to the tracks of others or emulate the prowess of their models. So a prudent man should always follow in the footsteps of great men and imitate those who have been outstanding.

One can say this in general of men: they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit...Love is a bond of obligation that these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so; but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes.

There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt.