"He who is the cause of another becoming powerful is ruined; because that power has been effected either by industry or by force, and both of these are suspicious to the one who has been raised to powe…"

"A wise prince, therefore, ought to find a means by which his subjects will always in every sort and kind of circumstance have need of the state and of him, and then they will always be faithful to him…"

"I say that there are three kinds of brains: one that understands things by itself, one that can appreciate what others understand, and one that understands neither by itself nor through others."

"For there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers than by letting men understand that to tell you the truth will not offend you."

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