There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.

In war, discipline can do more than fury.

Well used are those cruelties (if it is permitted to speak well of evil) that are carried out in a single stroke, done out of necessity to protect oneself, and are not continued but are instead converted into the greatest possible benefits for the subjects. Badly used are those cruelties which. although being few at the outset, grow with the passing time instead of disappearing. Those who follow the first method can remedy their condition with God and with men; the others cannot possibly survive.

Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.

In our own days we have seen no princes accomplish great results save those who have been accounted miserly.

Necessities can be many, but the one that is stronger is that which constrains you to win or to die.

So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied.