Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself. – 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
Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked. – Niccolo Machiavelli
The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes. – Niccolo Machiavelli
I was never one to patiently pick up broken fragments and glue them together again and tell myself that the mended whole was as good as new. What is broken is broken – and Id rather remember it as it was at its best than mend it and see the broken places as long as I lived. – Margaret Mitchell