To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people. – Niccolo Machiavelli
There is no surer sign of decay in a country than to see the rites of religion held in contempt. – Niccolo Machiavelli
I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats or any contemptuous expressions, for neither of these weaken the enemy, but threats make him more cautious, and the other excites his hatred, and a desire to revenge himself. – Niccolo Machiavelli
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him. – Niccolo Machiavelli
Each of us has a very rich nature and can look at things objectively, from a distance, and at the same time can have something more personal to say about them. I am trying to look at the world, and at myself, from many different points of view. I think many poets have this duality. – Wislawa Szymborska
Upon the whole, I am inclined to think that the far greater part, if not all, of those difficulties which have hitherto amused philosophers, and blocked up the way to knowledge, are entirely owing to our selves. That we have first raised a dust, and then complain, we cannot see. – George Berkeley