Quotes About Politics

The actions of a new prince are more narrowly observed than those of an hereditary one.

As to how a Prince is to know his Minister, this unerring rule may be laid down. When you see a Minister thinking more of himself than of you, and in all his actions seeking his own ends, that man can never be a good Minister or one that you can trust.

mantenendosi loro le condizioni vecchie e non vi essendo disformità di costumi, li uomini si vivono quietamente; come s'è visto che ha fatto la Borgogna, la Brettagna, la Guascogna e la Normandia, che tanto tempo sono state con Francia;

Quien propicia que otro se vuelva poderoso obra su propia ruina.

Machiavelli was no facile phrasemonger; the conditions under which he wrote

war is not to be avoided, but is only to be put off to the advantage of others;

No sooner were they seated than soldiers issued from secret places and slaughtered Giovanni and the rest.

For a worldly man and compulsive womanizer, used to being at the frenetic heart of public life

Having Come to Freedom, a Corrupt People Can with the Greatest Difficulty Maintain Itself Free

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

The Prince' is bestrewn with truths that can be proved at every turn. Men are still the dupes of their simplicity and greed, as they were in the days of Alexander VI. The cloak of religion still conceals the vices which Machiavelli laid bare in the character of Ferdinand of Aragon. Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be—and are ruined. In politics there are no perfectly safe courses; prudence consists in choosing the least dangerous ones.

The Prince before its first legal publication in English in 1640

Machiavelli was in constant trouble for failing to keep the politicians properly informed of what he was up to. 16 One cannot help but feel his behavior suggests a professional civil servant's contempt for the amateurs from whom he was obliged to take his instructions, an attitude that could easily have led him to long for more authoritarian government.

Trzeba by? ksi?ciem, aby pozna? natur? ludu. Trzeba nale?e? do ludu, aby pozna? natur? ksi???t

La primera causa que haría a un príncipe perder el suyo, sería abandonar el arte de la guerra, como la causa que hace adquirir un reino al que no lo tenía

que no debemos dejar nacer un desorden para evitar una guerra, pues acabamos no evitándola, y sólo la diferimos, lo que redunda a la postre en perjuicio nuestro.

Existem duas formas de se combater: uma, pelas leis; outra, pela força. A primeira é própria do homem; a segunda, dos animais.

Lo que considera un error es que la política se piense idealizándola contra la evidencia empírica a costa de supeditarla rígidamente a las normas y valores cristianos.

je?eli ci ludzie, którzy byli z poczÄ…tku przeciwnikami rzÄ…dów ksiÄ™cia, sami nie mogÄ… utrzymywa? siÄ™ bez oparcia, to zawsze mo?e ksi??? zjedna? ich sobie z najwiÄ™kszÄ… Å'atwoÅ›ciÄ…, a oni tym bardziej sÄ… zmuszeni wiernie mu sÅ'u?y?, ?e odczujÄ… potrzebÄ™ poprawienia swymi czynami tej zÅ'ej opinii, którÄ… o nich miaÅ'

Todo el mundo ve lo que parecéis, pocos conocen a fondo lo que sois, y este pequeño numero no se atreverá a levantarse contra la mayoría, sostenida, además, por la majestad del poder soberano.

Taki ksi???, który boi siÄ™ bardziej swego ludu ni? obcych, powinien budowa? twierdzÄ™, natomiast powinien ich zaniecha? tej, który bardziej obawia siÄ™ obcych ni? ludu

Así pasa en las cosas del Estado: los males que nacen en él, cuando se los descubre a tiempo, lo que sólo es dado al hombre sagaz, se los cura pronto; pero ya no tienen remedio cuando, por no haberlos advertido, se los deja crecer hasta el punto de que todo el mundo los ve.

Les hommes sont si naïfs, et ils obéissent tant aux nécessités présentes que celui qui trompe trouvera toujours quelqu'un qui se laissera tromper.

it is far better to earn the confidence of the people than to rely on fortresses