Top 250 Niccolò Machiavelli Quotes (2024 Update)

1. “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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2. “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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3. “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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4. “Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not to suffer.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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5. “Before all else, be armed.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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6. “The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

7. “Make no small plans for they have no power to stir the soul.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

8. “Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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9. “Politics have no relation to morals.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Government Quotes

10. “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

11. “It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Liars Quotes

12. “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Fear Quotes, Revenge Quotes

13. “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

14. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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15. “There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Quotes About War

16. “Never was anything great achieved without danger.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

17. “It is much safer for the prince to be feared than loved, but he ought to avoid making himself hated.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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18. “It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

19. “Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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20. “A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one’s own ignorance.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

21. “Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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22. “Impetuosity and audacity often achieve what ordinary means fail to achieve.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

23. “There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

24. “Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries – for heavy ones they cannot.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

25. “No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Philosophical Quotes, Quotes About War

26. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

27. “Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

28. “Power is the pivot on which everything hinges. He who has the power is always right; the weaker is always wrong.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

29. “Always assume incompetence before looking for conspiracy.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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

— Niccolò Machiavelli

31. “So far as he is able, a prince should stick to the path of good but, if the necessity arises, he should know how to follow evil.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

32. “Never do your enemy a minor injury.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

33. “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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34. “One must be a fox to recognize traps and a lion to frighten wolves.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Strategy Quotes

35. “He who builds on the people, builds on the mud.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

36. “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

37. “Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

38. “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

39. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

40. “How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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41. “People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Hard Hitting Quotes, Trust No One Quotes, Evil Quotes

42. “One must consider the final result.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

43. “Men are always wicked at bottom unless they are made good by some compulsion.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

44. “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

45. “A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

46. “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.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

47. “War should be the only study of a prince. He should consider peace only as a breathing-time, which gives him leisure to contrive, and furnishes as ability to execute, military plans.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

Featured in: Quotes About War

48. “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

49. “A wise ruler should rely on what is under his own control, not on what is under the control of others.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

50. “The leader should know how to enter into evil when necessity commands.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli