It is a true observation of ancient writers, that as men are apt to be cast down by adversity, so they, are easily satiated with prosperity, and that joy and grief produce the same effects. For whenever men are not obliged by necessity to fight they fight from ambition, which is so powerful a passion in the human breast that however high we reach we are never satisfied.
Niccolo MachiavelliTo know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.
Niccolo MachiavelliAnd if, to be sure, sometimes you need to conceal a fact with words, do it in such a way that it does not become known, or, if it does become known, that you have a ready and quick defense.
Niccolo MachiavelliIt is a common failing of man not to take account of tempests during fair weather.
Niccolo Machiavelli