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

"A prince must have no other object, no other thought, nor take anything else for his art, but war and its orders and discipline."

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

"Men should be either treated generously or destroyed, because they take revenge for slight injuries—for heavy ones they cannot."

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