"A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves."

"If a prince wants to keep his state, he must learn how to be not good, and to use or not use this according to the necessity."

"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…"

"The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar."

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