Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration. – Niccolo Machiavelli
God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us. – Niccolo Machiavelli
Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared. – Niccolo Machiavelli
The main foundations of every state, new states as well as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow. – Niccolo Machiavelli