Quotes About Loyalty

Anyone who believes that new benefits make men of high station forget old injuries deceives himself.

He who is not your friend will demand your neutrality.

because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.

offence, since you show your subjects that you distrust them, either as doubting their courage, or as doubting their fidelity, each of which imputations begets hatred against you.

He who has annexed them, if he wishes to hold them, has only to bear in mind two considerations: the one, that the family of their former lord is extinguished; the other, that neither their laws nor their taxes are altered, so that in a very short time they will become entirely one body with the old principality.

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

a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only.

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. And

Ak?ll? hükümdar, yurttaÅŸlar?n? her zaman ve her durumda kendisine muhtaç b?rakmal?d?r. Onlar?n sürekli baÄŸl?l???n? saÄŸlayacak tek yol budur.

difícilmente se conspira contra el que goza de mucha estimación.

Mientras que, en los Estados gobernados por un príncipe asistido por siervos, el príncipe goza de mayor autoridad: porque en toda la provincia no se reconoce soberano sine a él, y si se obedece a otro, a quien además no se tienen particular amor, sólo se lo hace per tratarse de un ministro y magistrado del principe.

el que ayuda a otro a hacerse poderoso causa su propiaruina. Porque es natural que el que se ha vuelto poderoso recele de la misma astucia o de la misma fuerza gracias a las cuales se lo ha ayudado.

Concluiré afirmando tan sólo que el príncipe necesita tener al pueblo de su parte; de lo contrario, no tendrá remedio alguno en la adversidad. Nabis, príncipe de los espartanos, resistió el asedio de toda Grecia y de un victoriosísimo ejército romano, y defendió contra todos ellos su patria y su Estado; llegado el peligro le bastó con cuidarse de unos pocos, lo cual no le habría bastado de haber tenido al pueblo como enemigo.

Bien sûr, on ne peut nommer valeur le fait de tuer les citoyens de sa patrie, de trahir ses amis, d'être parjure, impitoyable et impie ; ces manières de faire peuvent donner du pouvoir, mais non de la gloire.

MÄ…dry pan nie mo?e ani nie powinien dotrzymywa? wiary, je?eli takie dotrzymywanie przynosi mu szkodÄ™ i gdy znikn??y jego przyczyny, które spowodowaÅ'y jego przyrzeczenie. Zapewne gdyby wszyscy ludzie byli dobrzy, ten przepis nie byÅ'by dobry, lecz poniewa? sÄ… oni nikczemni i nie dotrzymywaliby tobie wiary, wiÄ™c ty tak?e nie jesteÅ› zobowiÄ…zany im jej dotrzymywa?.

Ksi???ta, szczególnie zaÅ› nowi, znajdowali wiÄ™cej wiernoÅ›ci i wiÄ™cej mieli po?ytku z tych ludzi, których na poczÄ…tku swych rzÄ…dów uwa?ali za podejrzanych

Men are less worried about letting down someone who has made himself loved than someone who makes himself feared.

E chi le acquista, volendole tenere, debbe avere dua respetti: l'uno, che il sangue del loro principe antiquo si spenga; l'altro, di non alterare né loro legge né loro dazii; talmente che in brevissimo tempo diventa, con loro principato antiquo, tutto uno corpo.

It cannot be called virtue to kill one's fellow citizens, to betray one's friends, to be without loyalty, without mercy, without religion; by such methods one can acquire power, but not glory.

Por ello, todo príncipe prudente ha desechado estas tropas y se ha refugiado en las propias, y ha preferido perder con las suyas a vencer con las otras, considerando que no es victoria verdadera la que se obtiene con armas ajenas.

For since men who are well treated by one whom they expected to treat them ill, feel the more beholden to their benefactor, the people will at once become better disposed to such a Prince when he protects them, than if he owed his Princedom to them.

And above all things, a prince ought to live amongst his people in such a way that no unexpected circumstances, whether of good or evil, shall make him change; because if the necessity for this comes in troubled times, you are too late for harsh measures; and mild ones will not help you, for they will be considered as forced from you, and no one will be under any obligation to you for them.

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 blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you.

Moreover, men are less careful how they offend him who makes himself loved than him who makes himself feared. For love is held by the tie of obligation, which, because men are a sorry breed, is broken on every whisper of private interest; but fear is bound by the apprehension of punishment which never relaxes its grasp.