Niccolò Machiavelli

Never play fair in a game where others cheat.

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.

We cannot attribute to fortune or virtue that which is achieved without either.

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

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.

Never was anything great achieved without danger.

The wise does at once what the fool does at last.

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.

Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.

A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one's own ignorance.

The wise man does immediately what the fool does eventually.

Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.

Men are so stupid and concerned with their present needs, they will always let themselves be deceived.

The people are always impressed by the superficial appearance of things.

The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.