Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.

A battle that you win cancels any other bad action of yours. In the same way, by losing one, all the good things worked by you before become vain.

Prudence therefore consists in knowing how to distinguish degrees of disadvantage.

The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.

Never do an enemy a small injury.

For a prince should have two fears: one, internal concerning his subjects; the other, external, concerning foreign powers. From the latter he can always defend himself by his good troops and friends; and he will always have good friends if he has good troops.

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.