So long as the great majority of men are not deprived of either property or honor, they are satisfied. – Niccolo Machiavelli
War is just when it is necessary arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms. – Niccolo Machiavelli
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. – Niccolo Machiavelli
Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration. – Niccolo Machiavelli
Science is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon eternal truths. Art is out of the reach of morals, for her eyes are fixed upon things beautiful and immortal and ever-changing. To morals belong the lower and less intellectual spheres. – Oscar Wilde, The Critic as Artist, 1891