War is just when it is necessary arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms. – Niccolo Machiavelli
There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt. – Niccolo Machiavelli
There are three kinds of intelligence: one kind understands things for itself, the other appreciates what others can understand, the third understands neither for itself nor through others. This first kind is excellent, the second good, and the third kind useless. – Niccolo Machiavelli
It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope. – Niccolo Machiavelli