Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others. – 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
Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds. – 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