Quotes About Strategy

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;

The prince who holds a country differing in the above respects ought to make himself the head and defender of his less powerful neighbours, and to weaken the more powerful amongst them, taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall, by any accident, get a footing there. And the usual course of affairs is that, as soon as a powerful foreigner enters a country, all the subject states are drawn to him, moved by the hatred which they feel against the ruling power.

you must know that there are two modes of fighting: one in accordance with the laws, the other with force. The first is proper to man, the second to beasts. But because the first, in many cases, is not sufficient, it becomes necessary to have recourse to the second: therefore, a prince must know how to make good use of the natures of both the beast and the man.

You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.

wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always do so when they can, and for this they will be praised not blamed; but when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so by any means, then there is folly and blame.

because the haves of this world cannot quietly inherit what is coming to them; lest they be treated now as they once treated others, they must keep an eye on the have-nots. To keep a step ahead of the have-nots the haves must think and behave like have-nots. They certainly cannot afford justice to the have-nots, nor can they waste time or money on sympathy.

The Prince before its first legal publication in English in 1640

Sono questi dominii cosí acquistati, o consueti a vivere sotto uno principe, o usi ad essere liberi; et acquistonsi, o con le armi d'altri o con le proprie, o per fortuna o per virtù.

Y los hombres tienen menos cuidado en ofender a uno que se haga amar que a uno que se haga temer;

not restricting themselves to dealing with present threats but using every means at their disposal to foresee and forestall future problems as well. Seen in advance, trouble is easily dealt with; wait until it's on top of you and your reaction will come too late, the malaise is already irreversible.

I certainly think that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, for fortune is a woman, and it is necessary if you wish to master her, to conquer her.

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

El príncipe no ha de tener otro objeto, ni abrigar otro propósito, ni cultivar otro arte, que el que enseña, el orden y la disciplina de los ejércitos, porque es el único que se espera ver ejercido por el que manda.

Przeto gdy krzywdzi siÄ™ czÅ'owieka, nale?y czyni? to w ten sposób, aby nie trzeba byÅ'o obawia? siÄ™ zemsty

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

Concluderò solo che a uno principe è necessario avere el populo amico: altrimenti non ha, nelle avversità, remedio.

you must never fail to respond to trouble just to avoid war, because in the end you won't avoid it, you'll just be putting it off to your enemy's advantage.

los cimientos indispensables a todos los Estados, nuevos, antiguos o mixtos, son las buenas leyes y las buenas tropas; y

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.

No hay que atacar al poder si no tienes la seguridad de destruirlo.

un príncipe que a toda costa quiere ser bueno, cuando de hecho está rodeado de gentes que no lo son no puede menos que caminar hacia un desastre.

Francisco Sforza tuvo siempre por adversario a los Bracceschi, y se vigilaron mutuamente; al fin, Francisco volvió sus miras hacia la Lombardía, y Braccio hacia la Iglesia y el reino de Nápoles.

the prince who holds a country differing in the above respects ought to make himself the head and defender of his powerful neighbours, and to weaken the more powerful amongst them, taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall, by any accident