For whoever conquers a free Town, and does not demolish it, commits a great Error, and may expect to be ruin 'd himself.

Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.

I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.

A prince is also respected when he is a true friend and a true enemy; that is, when he declares himself on the side of one prince against another without any reservation.

God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.

In truth, there never was any remarkable lawgiver amongst any people who did not resort to divine authority, as otherwise his laws would not have been accepted by the people; for there are many good laws, the importance of which is known to be the sagacious lawgiver, but the reasons for which are not sufficiently evident to enable him to persuade others to submit to them; and therefore do wise men, for the purpose of removing this difficulty, resort to divine authority.

Results are often obtained by impetuosity and daring which could never have been obtained by ordinary methods.