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

He who is the cause of another's advancement is thereby the cause of his own ruin.

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.

The sinews of war are not gold, but good soldiers.

The prince who relies upon their words, without having otherwise provided for his security, is ruined; for friendships that are won by awards, and not by greatness and nobility of soul, although deserved, yet are not real, and cannot be depended upon in time of adversity.

It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.

It makes him hated above all things, as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects, from both of which he must abstain.