The prince must be a lion, but he must also know how to play the fox.

Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.

Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony

He who is the cause of another's advancement is thereby the cause of his own ruin.

....nothing is so unhealthy or unstable as the reputation for power that is not based on one's own power.

To know in war how to recognize an opportunity and seize it is better than anything else.

Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.