Niccolo Machiavelli

"There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others."

- Niccolo Machiavelli

"A son can bear with equanimity the loss of his father, but the loss of his inheritance may drive him to despair."

- Niccolo Machiavelli

"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred."

- Niccolo Machiavelli

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

- Niccolo Machiavelli

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

- Niccolo Machiavelli

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

- Niccolo Machiavelli

"The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it."

- Niccolo Machiavelli

"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally."

- Niccolo Machiavelli