Machiavelli — "The promises of men are not to be relied on, unless they are made under such cir…"
The promises of men are not to be relied on, unless they are made under such circumstances that the promiser cannot break them without ruin.
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More from Machiavelli
"For it can be said of men in general that they are ungrateful, fickle, feigners and dissemblers, shirkers of dangers, eager for gain."
"One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived."
"In the actions of men, and especially of princes, from which there is no appeal, the end justifies the means."
"The wise man does at once what the fool does finally."
"It is always necessary to take the lesser evil as good."
About Machiavelli (1469-1527)
Florentine diplomat and political theorist whose The Prince (written 1513) became the founding text of political realism and gave us the adjective 'Machiavellian.' Closely associated with Francesco Guicciardini (fellow Florentine political analyst and historian). For an intellectual contrast, see Erasmus of Rotterdam, Dutch humanist and The Education of a Christian Prince author (1516) — Erasmus's princely-instruction manual was published three years after Machiavelli's, for the same European audience, and is the explicit Christian-virtue alternative to Machiavellian power-realism. The cleanest 'realism vs idealism' founding pairing in modern political theory.