The 60 Best Phrases of Machiavelli

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Nicolás Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, philosopher and writer, born in the city of Florence during the year 1469.

Although this writer was not highly praised during his time, as time went by, some of his reflections were very well received by a large part of the public, many of which even today continue to be regularly remembered by some people.

If you would like to know what some of the most interesting quotes from this famous writer were, keep reading; here we will a review of Machiavelli’s best phrases

The 60 most memorable phrases of Niccolò Machiavelli

Here you will find a selection with the 60 best phrases of Machiavelli, along with a short reflection on each of them.

1. Laws should not look to things that have already passed, but rather provide for things to come.

Laws must be responsible for creating a more just society for everyone in the future, ensuring that those injustices that occurred in the past are never repeated again.

2. Men offend the one they love rather than the one they fear.

Love is an emotional state that can make certain people take some confidence, and therefore, according to Machiavelli, it is not always indicated for a good leader.

3. When you see the servant think more about his own interests than yours, and that he inwardly seeks his own benefits in all things, that man will never be a good servant, nor will you ever be able to trust him.

We must know how to surround ourselves with the right people Otherwise, our own loved ones will be the first to harm us.

4. A prince is never without legitimate reasons to break his promises.

Those people who are in control of a society do not have to justify themselves to third parties, because there is simply no one above them who can reprimand them.

5. Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of the problem and choosing the lesser evil.

In certain life situations, only the fact of knowing how to choose the lesser evil will be something that benefits us, since it is not always possible to obtain positive aspects from all problems.

6. It is a common defect of men not to worry about the storm during the good times.

When things are going well, many tend to be unconcerned, an attitude that very often ends up being counterproductive.

7. There are three kinds of brains: the first discerns on its own, the second understands what others discern, and the third neither understands nor discerns what others discern. The first is excellent, the second good and the third useless.

We must learn to think for ourselves if we want to become successful people in the future. If you want something done really well always do it yourself.

8. The common people are always seduced by appearance and success.

There are many people who are easily manipulated by appearances, something that if they fail to change over time, sooner or later it will end up harming them.

9. A prince who has a strong city and who is not hated by his people cannot be attacked.

Being in possession of the necessary resources is much more likely that we will be successful in the future. What is really meritorious is the fact of being able to achieve great goals starting from only a very poor or scarce base.

10. The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the more clearly we should see through it.

With the passage of time and the accumulation of personal experiences, it is very normal for some of us to learn to see life in a much more pragmatic way. If something is destined to happen there is very little on our part that we can do to prevent it.

11. Just war is one that is necessary.

Throughout history some wars have been simply inevitable, no matter how much some pacifist people have tried to avoid them by all means.

12. Men go from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then, they attack others.

In the past there were many who had a great warmongering feeling and therefore, as soon as they left a certain armed conflict they did not hesitate to enter another.

13. Minorities have no place when the majority has something to rely on.

In the past the rights of minorities were never respected, something that many of us probably already sensed considering that in the present this also happens very often.

14. Politics has no relationship with morality.

Certainly the Politics and morality rarely go hand in hand because if the politician wants to be able to succeed in the future, he knows very well that hypocrisy and double standards will always be his most effective weapons.

15. History is the science of men, of men in time.

History is a science that tells us about ourselves, about the defects and virtues we all possess as human beings.

16. He who desires constant success must change his behavior with the times.

As time goes by, everything changes and we must change with it if we want to be more successful people in the future.

17. Experience has always shown that things never happen well when they depend on many.

If for something to be carried out many people must do their part, it will be very difficult for it to happen. Even if it is purely statistical, in any job we do we will always find someone who does not keep their word.

18. Men are mainly driven by two impulses; either out of love or out of fear.

Love and fear certainly direct a good part of our daily actions, which is why every good leader must always know how to use both emotions to their own advantage.

19. Delay often robs us of opportunity and robs us of our strength.

Being punctual and getting up early is something that will always allow us to take advantage of our daily lives in a much more complete way.

20. The promise given was a necessity of the past; The broken word is a need of the present.

Although breaking a promise may benefit you momentarily, over time carrying out this action will always be something negative for you. As human beings we must always respect the word given.

21. There is no war to avoid; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

Sometimes wars favor some personal interests which is why, as we can see, Machiavelli was always a firm defender of armed conflicts.

22. Skill and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.

With perseverance and skill there are very few things that we as people cannot do, regardless of our level of strength or talent for it.

23. In all human things, when closely examined, it is shown that obstacles cannot be removed without others arising from them.

Life in one form or another can always get in our way, regardless of which path we as individuals wish to choose.

24. God does not want to do everything, so as not to take away our free will and that part of the glory that belongs to us.

Many of the evils that we suffer as human beings are caused in one way or another by ourselves, we must be aware that neither God nor the devil have absolutely nothing to do with our personal misfortunes.

25. He who deceives will always find someone who allows himself to be deceived.

Lies are always much more attractive than the truth and that is why some people always choose them on a recurring basis.

26. There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.

In the past, being a religious person could open certain doors for you, a stratagem that, as we can see, the thinker Machiavelli used on more than one occasion.

27. Human beings in general can be said to be hypocritical and greedy.

Human beings usually have many negative attitudes, something that luckily some of us manage to polish over time.

28. The best strength a prince can possess is the affection of his people.

If a leader is loved by his people, it is undoubtedly very difficult for this to be overthrown. The affection of those around you is always something very positive for anyone.

29. Men who do not do well are always afraid that others will respond to them with those actions that theirs deserve.

As a popular saying goes, he who sows the wind reaps the storm, which is why it is very common for some people to fear a strong reaction from their adversaries.

30. It is not titles that honor men, but men honor titles.

A title of nobility will never say anything about the man we really are. Our personal values will always be those truly responsible for representing us within the society in which we live.

31. Men should be treated generously or destroyed, because they can avenge minor injuries, but they cannot avenge heavy ones.

A very forceful attack on our part can save us many headaches in the future. That is why the surprise factor can always be decisive during a hypothetical escalation of war.

32. Princes and governments are much more dangerous than other elements in society.

The one who leads a society is always the most dangerous individual within it since he has all the tools to be able to do with his subjects everything he eventually wants.

33. There cannot be great difficulties where good will abounds.

If we put all our efforts in the end we will undoubtedly achieve our goal, being able to achieve a great achievement will almost always require a great effort on our part.

34. Old offenses are not erased with new benefits, especially when the benefit is inferior to the injury.

If they have disrespected us in the past, we do not have to forgive them because they are currently kind to us, because we must never forget what happened to us in the past if we do not want this to happen to us again in the future.

35. Men intrinsically do not trust new things that they have not experienced for themselves.

It is very true that as men until we try something for ourselves we tend not to believe in it, as rational beings there are many of us who are skeptics by nature

36. It is doubly pleasant to lie to the impostor.

According to this philosopher, everyone should always be paid with the same currency. Something that is undoubtedly very in line with the Hindu idea of Karma.

37. If he who governs does not recognize evils until he has them upon him, he is not truly wise.

Having a broad vision of society is something that every good leader must always possess, because as this quote very well reveals, otherwise we will not be able to see our enemies coming.

38. There is no other way to protect yourself from flattery than to make others understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.

This quote undoubtedly holds a great lesson, we must always make it very clear to everyone around us that they must be honest with us, regardless of whether what they may tell us may be painful for us.

39. A change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.

A single symptom of weakness can be taken by our enemies as an invitation to attack us, which is why many leaders decided to govern with an iron fist in the past.

40. There is nothing more difficult to undertake, nor more doubtful to succeed, nor more dangerous to administer than the elaboration of a new order.

Creating a society from scratch is a very complicated job, a feat that throughout history very few men and women have managed to carry out.

41. Nothing great was ever achieved without danger.

Every great achievement will always demand equally important actions from us and in most cases, danger will always be something that accompanies us throughout our feat.

42. The prudent prince should prefer to surround himself with men of good judgment to whom he will give the freedom to tell him the truth.

A painful truth in time can prevent us from much greater evils, and that is precisely why we should always surround ourselves with those people who speak to us openly.

43. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

Throughout our lives there will be very few people who really get to know us, as it is also very likely that there will be very few people who are interested in discovering it.

44. Men in general judge more by appearances than by reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.

As they say, appearances can be deceiving and therefore, we should not judge anyone with just a first impression.

45. The first method to estimate the intelligence of a governor is to look at the men he has around him.

Tell me who you hang out with and I’ll tell you who you are, Our friendships say a lot about the person we really are

You may be interested: “Theories of human intelligence”

46. He who wants to be obeyed must know how to command.

We must give very clear orders if we want them to be strictly followed, half measures will never be positive for us if we have control of an entire town.

47. A man forgets the death of his father sooner than the loss of his property.

Money is one of the greatest evils that our society has and as we can see from this quote, this evil was already very present in Machiavelli’s time.

48. Never try to gain by force what can be gained by lies.

There are some things in life that cannot be won by force; in these types of situations, subtlety and cunning will undoubtedly be much more effective.

49. It is better to be loved than feared, if you cannot be both.

Both love and fear are two of the most powerful emotions that exist and according to Machiavelli, as leaders we should never worry about those men and women who love us or fear us.

50. I am not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow him.

Society, according to this philosopher, had a very bad organization which was why, according to his criteria, it should be reformed from the ground up.

51. A prince who is not wise cannot be well advised and, therefore, cannot govern.

Wisdom is a quality that every leader must always possess, because without it he will be doomed to failure in a completely inevitable way.

52. Nature creates few brave men; industry and training do many.

As we can see in this quote, according to Machiavelli, society can turn us into stronger and more powerful men over the years. This famous philosopher had a way of understanding the world around him that was undoubtedly somewhat peculiar.

53. Where the will is great, the difficulties cannot be great.

If as human beings we put all our effort into making something happen, we can be sure that sooner or later we will be able to achieve our goal.

54. Men rarely have enough courage to be either extremely good or extremely bad.

Certainly, most men move within fairly moderate scales of evil and goodness. There are very few who stand out historically for having been largely kind or evil.

55. To understand the nature of the people, one must be a prince and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be the people.

Knowing how to put ourselves in the shoes of others will give us a broader perspective of the situation, a way of seeing the world around us thanks to which we will be able to become much more prosperous and happy over time.

56. First of all, arm yourself.

As we can discover from this quote, in Machiavelli’s time it was very important to be well armed. Insecurity was something that in those years was very present in any strata of society.

57. The lion cannot protect itself from traps and the fox cannot defend itself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps and a lion to scare away wolves.

According to Machiavelli, as leaders of a people we must be cunning and aggressive because otherwise, it is more than likely that we will end up being caught in the flames.

58. The end justifies the means.

This is undoubtedly one of the most famous phrases of this thinker. The great objectives in the vast majority of situations will always demand of us some tremendously complicated actions.

59. It is better to act and repent than not to act and repent.

If we do not act, defeat will surely be assured that is why when in doubt it is always better to take action.

60. Hatred is earned by both good and bad deeds.

All our actions can promote hatred in third parties, whether they have been carried out out of our good faith or out of our personal interest.

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