MACHIAVELLI Nicoló, The Prince

The Prince by Nicoló Machiavelli [1469 -1527]

MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

Biographical note: 

His letters reveal, however, that he led a hidden life by night in his study. “At the threshold,” he wrong, “I take off my work-day clothes, filled with dust and mud, and don royal and curial garments. Worthily dressed, I enter into the ancient courts of the men of antiquity, where, warmly received, I feed on that which is my only food and which was meant for me. I am not ashamed to speak with them and ask them the reasons of the actions, and they, because of their humanity, answer me. Four hours can pass, and I feel no weariness; my troubles forgotten, I never fear poverty nor dread death. I give myself over entirely to them. And since Dante says that there can be no science without retaining what has been understood, I have noted down the chief things in their conversation.”

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Biographical Note)

Dedication:
Those who strive to obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to come before him with such things as they hold most precious, or in which they see him take most delight; whence one often sees horses, arms, cloth of gold, precious stones, and    similar ornaments presented to princes, worthy of their greatness.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Dedication, pg 1)

Desiring therefore to present myself to your Magnificence with some testimony of my devotion towards you, I have not found among my possessions anything which I hold more dear than, or value so much as, the knowledge of the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs, and a continual study of    antiquity; which, having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested into a little volume, to your Magnificence.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Dedication, pg 1)

…it is not possible for me to make a better gift than to offer you the opportunity of understanding in the shortest time all that I have learnt in so many years,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Dedication, pg 1)

All states, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 1, pg 3)

Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been long established; or they are new.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 1, pg 3)

Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, or to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 1, pg 3)

there are fewer difficulties in holding hereditary states, and those long accustomed to the family of their prince, than new ones; for it is sufficient only not to transgress the customs of his ancestors,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 2, pg 3)

For the hereditary prince has less cause and less necessity to offend; hence it happens that he will be more loved; and unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 2, pg 3)

A prince does not spend much on colonies, for with little or no expense he can send them out and keep them there, and he offends a minority only of the citizens from whom he takes lands and houses to give them to the new inhabitants; and those how he offends, remaining poor and scattered, are never able to injure him; whilst the rest being uninjured are easily kept quiet, and at the same time are anxious not to err for fear it should happen to them as it has to those who have been despoiled.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 3, pg 4)

Those states that are governed by a prince and his servants hold their prince in more consideration, because in all the country there is no one who is recognized as superior to him, and if they yield obedience to another they do it as to a minister and official, and they do not bear him any particular affection.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 4, pg 7)

The entire monarchy of the Turk is governed by one lord, the others are his servants; and, dividing his kingdom into sanjaks, he sends there different administrators, and shifts and changes them as he chooses. But the King of France is placed in the midst of an ancient body of lords, acknowledged by their own subjects, and beloved by them; they have their own prerogatives, nor can the king take these away except at his peril. Therefore, he who considers both of these states will recognize great difficulties in seizing the state of the Turk, but, once it is conquered, great ease in holding it.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 4, pg 7)

…his ministers, being all slaves and bondmen, can only be corrupted with great difficulty, and one can expect little advantage from them when they have been corrupted, as they cannot carry the people with them, for the reasons assigned. Hence, he who attacks the Turk must bear in mind that he will find him united, and he will have to rely more on his own strength than on the revolt of others; but, if once the Turk has been conquered, and routed in the field in such a way that he cannot replace his armies, there is nothing to fear but the family of this prince, and, this being exterminated, there remains no one to fear,

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 4, pg 7)

When these things are remembered no one will marvel at the ease with which Alexander held the Empire of Asia, or at the difficulties which others have had to keep an acquisition,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 4, pg 8)

Whenever those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom, there are three courses for those who wish to hold them: the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you. Because such a government, being created by the prince, knows that it cannot stand without his friendship and interest, and does it utmost to support him; and therefore he who would keep a city accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the means of its own citizens than in any other way.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 5, pg 8)

And he who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it, may expect to be destroyed by it, for in rebellion it has always the watchword of liberty and its ancient privileges as a rallying point, which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 5, pg 8)

But when cities or countries are accustomed to live under a prince, and his family is exterminated, they, being on the one hand accustomed to obey and on the other hand not having the old prince, cannot agree in making one from amongst themselves, and they do not know how to govern themselves. For this reason they are very slow to take up arms, and a prince can gain them to himself and secure them much more easily. But in republics there is more vitality, greater hatred, and more desire for vengeance, which will never permit them to allow the memory of their former liberty to rest; so that the safest way is to destroy them or to reside there.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 5, pg 8)

And although one may not discuss Moses, he having been a mere executor of the will of God, yet he ought to be admired, if only for that favour which made him worthy to speak with God.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 6, pg 9)

And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, then to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 6, pg 9)

Those who solely by good fortune become princes from being private citizens have little trouble in rising, but much in keeping atop; they have not any difficulties on the way up, because they fly, but they have many when they reach the summit.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 10)

…he who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards, but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 10)

But Alexander died five years after he had first drawn the sword. He left the duke with the state of Romagna alone consolidated, with the rest in the air, between two most powerful hostile armies, and sick unto death.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 12)

On the day that Julius the Second was elected, he told me that he had thought of everything that might occur at the death of his father, and had provided a remedy for all, except that he had never anticipated that, when the death did happen, he himself would be on the point to die.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 12)

When all the actions of the duke are recalled, I do not know how to blame him, but rather it appears to be, as I have said, that I ought to offer him for imitation to all those who, by the fortune or the arms of others, are raised to government.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 12)

Therefore, he who considers it necessary to secure himself in his new principality, to win friends, to overcome either by force or fraud, to make himself beloved and feared by the people, to be followed and revered by the soldiers, to exterminate those who have power or reason to hurt him, to change the old order of things for new, to be severe and gracious, magnanimous and liberal, to destroy a disloyal soldiery and to create new, to maintain friendship with kings and princes in such a way that they must help him with zeal and offend with caution, cannot find a more lively example than the actions of this man.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 7, pg 12)

Although a prince may rise from a private station in two ways, neither of which can be entirely attributed to fortune or genius,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 8, pg 12)

Yet it cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens, to deceive friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; such methods may gain empire, but not glory.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 8, pg 13)

Still, if the courage of Agathocles in entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered, together with his greatness of mind in enduring and overcoming hardships, it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less than the most notable captain. Nevertheless, his barbarous cruelty and inhumanity with infinite wickedness do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 8, pg 13)

But coming to the other point--where a leading citizen becomes the prince of his country, not by wickedness or any intolerable violence, but by the favour of his fellow citizens--this may be called a civil principality: nor is genius or fortune altogether necessary to attain to it, but rather a happy shrewdness.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 9, pg 14)

Besides this, one cannot by fair dealing, and without injury to others, satisfy the nobles, but you can satisfy the people, for their object is more righteous than that of the nobles, the latter wishing to oppress, while the former only desire not to be oppressed.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 9, pg 14)

The cities of Germany are absolutely free, they own but little country around them, and they yield obedience to the emperor when it suits them, nor do they fear this or any other power they may have near them, because they are fortified in such a way that every one thinks the taking of them by assault would be tedious and difficult, seeing they have proper ditches and walls, they have sufficient artillery, and they always keep in public depots enough for one year's eating, drinking, and firing. And beyond this, to keep the people quiet and without loss to the state, they always have the means of giving work to the community in those labours that are the life and strength of the city, and on the pursuit of which the people are supported; they also hold military exercises in repute,

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 10, pg 16)

Further, the enemy would naturally on his arrival at once burn and ruin the country at the time when the spirits of the people are still hot and ready for the defence; and, therefore, so much the less ought the prince to hesitate; because after a time, when spirits have cooled, the damage is already done, the ills are incurred, and there is no longer any remedy; and therefore they are so much the more ready to unite with their prince, he appearing to be under obligations to them now that their houses have been burnt and their possessions ruined in his defence. For it is the nature of men to be bound by the benefits they confer as much as by those they receive.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 10, pg 16)

Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited, ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy. The fact is, they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you. They are ready enough to be your soldiers whilst you do not make war, but if war comes they take themselves off or run from the foe;

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 12, pg 18)

I wish to demonstrate further the infelicity of these arms. The mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not; if they are, you cannot trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness, either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others contrary to your intentions; but if the captain is not skilful, you are ruined in the usual way.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 12, pg 18)

…I reply that when arms have to be resorted to, either by a prince or a republic, then the prince ought to go in person and perform the duty of a captain;
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 12, pg 18)

…it is more difficult to bring a republic, armed with its own arms, under the sway of one of its citizens than it is to bring one armed with foreign arms. Rome and Sparta stood for many ages armed and free. The Switzers are completely armed and quite free.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 12, pg 18)

I wish also to recall to memory an instance from the Old Testament applicable to this subject. David offered himself to Saul to fight with Goliath, the Philistine champion, and, to give him courage, Saul armed him with his own weapons; which David rejected as soon as he had them on his back, saying he could make no use of them, and that he wished to meet the enemy with his sling and his knife. In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.

A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 14, pg 21)

And, on the contrary, it is seen that when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost their states.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 14, pg 21)

And therefore a prince who does not understand the art of war, over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. He ought never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts this subject of war, and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise than in war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action, the other by study.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 14, pg 21)

As regards action, he ought above all things to keep his men well organized and drilled, to follow incessantly the chase, by which he accustoms his body to hardships, and learns something of the nature of localities, and gets to find out how the mountains rise, how the valleys open out, how the plains lie, and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes, and in all this to take the greatest care.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 14, pg 21)

But to exercise the intellect the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of illustrious men, to see how they have borne themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeat, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former; and above all do as an illustrious man did, who took as an exemplar one who had been praised and famous before him, and whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his mind, as it is said Alexander the Great imitated Achilles, Caesar Alexander, Scipio Cyrus.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 14, pg 22)

Therefore, any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence; so that a prince thus inclined will consume in such acts all his property, and will be compelled in the end, if he wish to maintain the name of liberal, to unduly weigh down his people, and tax them, and do everything he can to get money. This will soon make him odious to his subjects, and becoming poor he will be little valued by any one; thus, with his liberality, having offended many and rewarded few, he is affected by the very first trouble and imperilled by whatever may be the first danger;
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 16, pg 22)

A prince, therefore, provided that he has not to rob his subjects, that he can defend himself, that he does not become poor and abject, that he is not forced to become rapacious, ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 16, pg 23)

And a prince should guard himself, above all things, against being despised and hated; and liberality leads you to both. Therefore it is wiser to have a reputation for meanness which brings reproach without hatred, than to be compelled through seeking a reputation for liberality to incur a name for rapacity which begets reproach with hatred.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 16, pg 23)

Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 17, pg 24)

Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their women.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 17, pg 24)

 But when it is necessary for him to proceed against the life of someone, he must do it on proper justification and for manifest cause, but above all things he must keep his hands off the property of others, because men more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony. Besides, pretexts for taking away the property are never wanting; for he who has once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts for seizing what belongs to others; but reasons for taking life, on the contrary, are more difficult to find and sooner lapse.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 17, pg 24)

Among the wonderful deeds of Hannibal this one is enumerated: that having led an enormous army, composed of many various races of men, to fight in foreign lands, no dissensions arose either among them or against the prince, whether in his bad or in his good fortune.
 (Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 17, pg 24)

Returning to the question of being feared or loved, I come to the conclusion that, men loving according to their own will and fearing according to that of the prince, a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavour only to avoid hatred, as is noted.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 17, pg 24)

A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion; because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 18, pg 25)

Alexander the Sixth did nothing else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found victims; for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who with greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less; nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes, because he well understood this side of mankind.

Alexander never did what he said,

Cesare never said what he did.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 18, pg 25)

For this reason a prince ought to take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named five qualities, that he may appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There is nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality, inasmuch as men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch with you. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them;
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 18, pg 25)

how to avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible; and as often as he shall have succeeded he will have fulfilled his part, and he need not fear any danger in other reproaches.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 26)

It makes him hated above all things, as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects, from both of which he must abstain. ….It makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate, mean-spirited, irresolute, from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock; and he should endeavour to show in his actions greatness, courage, gravity, and fortitude; and in his private dealings with his subjects let him show that his judgments are irrevocable, and maintain himself in such reputation that no one can hope either to deceive him or to get round him.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 26)

For this reason a prince ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers. From the latter he is defended by being well armed and having good allies, and if he is well armed he will have good friends, and affairs will always remain quiet within when they are quiet without, unless they should have been already disturbed by conspiracy; and even should affairs outside be disturbed, if he has carried out his preparations and has lived as I have said, as long as he does not despair, he will resist every attack,
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 26)

For this reason I consider that a prince ought to reckon conspiracies of little account when his people hold him in esteem; but when it is hostile to him, and bears hatred towards him, he ought to fear everything and everybody.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 27)

Hence it arose that those emperors were always overthrown who, either by birth or training, had no great authority, and most of them, especially those who came new to the principality, recognizing the difficulty of these two opposing humours, were inclined to give satisfaction to the soldiers, caring little about injuring the people. Which course was necessary, because, as princes cannot help being hated by someone, they ought, in the first place, to avoid being hated by every one, and when they cannot compass this, they ought to endeavour with the utmost diligence to avoid the hatred of the most powerful.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 27)

But Pertinax was created emperor against the wishes of the soldiers, who, being accustomed to live licentiously under Commodus, could not endure the honest life to which Pertinax wished to reduce them; thus, having given cause for hatred, to which hatred there was added contempt for his old age, he was overthrown at the very beginning of his administration.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 28)

And here it should be noted that hatred is acquired as much by good works as by bad ones, therefore, as I said before, a prince wishing to keep his state is very often forced to do evil; for when that body is corrupt whom you think you have need of to maintain yourself--it may be either the people or the soldiers or the nobles--you have to submit to its humours and to gratify them, and then good works will do you harm.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 28)

Turning now to the opposite characters of Commodus, Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, and Maximinus, you will find them all cruel and rapacious-- men who, to satisfy their soldiers, did not hesitate to commit every kind of iniquity against the people;
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 19, pg 28)

There never was a new prince who has disarmed his subjects; rather when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them, because, by arming them, those arms become yours, those men who were distrusted become faithful, and those who were faithful are kept so, and your subjects become your adherents.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 30)

But when you disarm them, you at once offend them by showing that you distrust them, either for cowardice or for want of loyalty, and either of these opinions breeds hatred against you.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 30)

Our forefathers, and those who were reckoned wise, were accustomed to say that it was necessary to hold Pistoia by factions and Pisa by fortresses; and with this idea they fostered quarrels in some of their tributary towns so as to keep possession of them the more easily.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 30)

The Venetians, moved, as I believe, by the above reasons, fostered the Guelph and Ghibelline factions in their tributary cities; and although they never allowed them to come to bloodshed, yet they nursed these disputes amongst them, so that the citizens, distracted by their differences, should not unite against them.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 30)

I must not fail to warn a prince, who by means of secret favours has acquired a new state, that he must well consider the reasons which induced those to favour him who did so; and if it be not a natural affection towards him, but only discontent with their government, then he will only keep them friendly with great trouble and difficulty, for it will be impossible to satisfy them.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 31)

it is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 31)

It has been a custom with princes, in order to hold their states more securely, to build fortresses that may serve as a bridle and bit to those who might design to work against them, and as a place of refuge from a first attack. I praise this system because it has been made use of formerly.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 31)

the prince who has more to fear from the people than from foreigners ought to build fortresses, but he who has more to fear from foreigners than from the people ought to leave them alone.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 20, pg 31)

Nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 21, pg 31)

A prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy, that is to say, when, without any reservation, he declares himself in favour of one party against the other;

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 21, pg 32)

And the first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him; and when they are capable and faithful he may always be considered wise, because he has known how to recognize the capable and to keep them faithful.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 22, pg 33)

On the other hand, to keep his servant honest the prince ought to study him, honouring him, enriching him, doing him kindnesses, sharing with him the honours and cares; and at the same time let him see that he cannot stand alone, so that many honours may not make him desire more, many riches make him wish for more, and that many cares may make him dread chances. When, therefore, servants, and princes towards servants, are thus disposed, they can trust each other, but when it is otherwise, the end will always be disastrous for either one or the other.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 22, pg 33)

…there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that to tell you the truth does not offend you; but when every one may tell you the truth, respect for you abates.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 23, pg 33)

Therefore a wise prince ought to hold a third course by choosing the wise men in his state, and giving to them only the liberty of speaking the truth to him, and then only of those things of which he inquires, and of none others; but he ought to question them upon everything, and listen to their opinions, and afterwards form his own conclusions.

 (Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 23, pg 33)

… he ought to carry himself in such a way that each of them should know that, the more freely he shall speak, the more he shall be preferred; outside of these, he should listen to no one, pursue the thing resolved on, and be steadfast in his resolutions. He who does otherwise is either overthrown by flatterers, or is so often changed by varying opinions that he falls into contempt.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 23, pg 33)

A prince, therefore, ought always to take counsel, but only when he wishes and not when others wish; he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless he asks it; but, however, he ought to be a constant inquirer, and afterwards a patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired; also, on learning that any one, on any consideration, has not told him the truth, he should let his anger be felt. (Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 23, pg 34)

…a prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice, unless by chance he has yielded his affairs entirely to one person who happens to be a very prudent man.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 23, pg 34)

…how many men have had, and still have, the opinion that the affairs of the world are in such wise governed by fortune and by God that men with their wisdom cannot direct them and that no one can even help them; and because of this they would have us believe that it is not necessary to labour much in affairs, but to let chance govern them.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 25, pg 35)

Nevertheless, not to extinguish our free will, I hold it to be true that Fortune is the arbiter of one-half of our actions, but that she still leaves us to direct the other half, or perhaps a little less.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 25, pg 35)

I compare her to one of those raging rivers, which when in flood overflows the plains, sweeping away trees and buildings, bearing away the soil from place to place; everything flies before it, all yield to its violence, without being able in any way to withstand it; and yet, though its nature be such, it does not follow therefore that men, when the weather becomes fair, shall not make provision, both with defences and barriers, in such a manner that, rising again, the waters may pass away by canal, and their force be neither so unrestrained nor so dangerous. So it happens with fortune, who shows her power where valour has not prepared to resist her, and thither she turns her forces where she knows that barriers and defences have not been raised to constrain her.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 25, pg 35)

…a prince may be seen happy to-day and ruined to-morrow without having shown any change of disposition or character.
(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 25, pg 35)

For my part I consider that it is better to be adventurous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 25, pg 36)

It is seen how she entreats God to send someone who shall deliver her from these wrongs and barbarous insolencies. It is seen also that she is ready and willing to follow a banner if only someone will raise it.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 26, pg 36)

And although they were great and wonderful men, yet they were men, and each one of them had no more opportunity than the present offers, for their enterprises were neither more just nor easier than this, nor was God more their friend than He is yours.

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 26, pg 36)

And nothing honours a man more than to establish new laws and new ordinances when he himself was newly risen. Such things when they are well founded and dignified will make him revered and admired,

(Nicoló Machiavelli, The Prince, MACHIAVELLI, Great Books, Volume 23, Chapter 26, pg 37)