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
Niccolo Machiavelli....nothing is so unhealthy or unstable as the reputation for power that is not based on one's own power.
Niccolo MachiavelliA man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.
Niccolo MachiavelliA wise prince then...should never be idle in times of peace but should industriously lay up stores of which to avail himself in times of adversity so that when fortune abandons him he may be prepared to resist her blows.
Niccolo MachiavelliThere is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than the creation of a new order of things..... Whenever his enemies have occasion to attack the innovator they do so with the passion of partisans, while the others defend him sluggishly so that the innovator and his party alike are vulnerable.
Niccolo Machiavelli