A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.

You must know, then, that there are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second.

I hold it to be of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one, for neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you

When men receive favours from someone they expected to do them ill, they are under a greater obligation to their benefactor.

Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.

Any harm you do to a man should be done in such a way that you need not fear his revenge.

When neither their property nor their honor is touched, the majority of men live content.