"Whence it may be noted that in taking a state the conqueror must arrange to commit all injuries at once and follow them up every day, so that by not repeating them he may be able to assure men and win…"

"A prince must have no other object, no other thought, nor take anything else for his art, but war and its orders and discipline; for this is the only art that belongs to him who rules."

"It is a common error among men to believe that the shortest way to conquer a thing is to try to obtain it by force."

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

"There is no surer way of holding an acquired state than by ruining it."