Never do your enemy a minor injury.

Decide which is the line of conduct that presents the fewest drawbacks and then follow it out as being the best one, because one never finds anything perfectly pure and unmixed, or exempt from danger.

Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.

it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.

Severities should be dealt out all at once, so that their suddenness may give less offense; benefits ought to be handed ought drop by drop, so that they may be relished the more.

One should never allow chaos to develop in order to avoid going to war, because one does not avoid a war but instead puts it off to his disadvantage

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