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

A government which does not trust its citizens to be armed is not itself to be trusted.

Present wars impoverish the lords that win as much as those that lose.

I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles

A prince who is not himself wise cannot be wisely advised. . . . Good advice depends on the shrewdness of the prince who seeks it, and not the shrewdness of the prince on good advice.

....those who become princes through their skill acquire the pricipality with difficulty, buy they hold onto it with ease.

It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.