He who is the cause of another's advancement is thereby the cause of his own ruin.
Niccolo MachiavelliResults are often obtained by impetuosity and daring which could never have been obtained by ordinary methods.
Niccolo MachiavelliWar is a profession by which a man cannot live honorably; an employment by which the soldier, if he would reap any profit, is obliged to be false, rapacious, and cruel.
Niccolo MachiavelliA man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it according to the necessity of the case.
Niccolo Machiavelli