The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.

A battle that you win cancels all your mistakes.

Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine...We work in the Dark, to serve the Light.

A 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.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

A prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers.

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.