Quotes About Ethics

He [the prince] holds to what is right when he can but knows how to do wrong when he must.

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

And again, he need not make himself uneasy at incurring a reproach for those vices without which the state can only be saved with difficulty, for if everything is considered carefully, it will be found that something which looks like virtue, if followed, would be his ruin; whilst something else, which looks like vice, yet followed brings him security and prosperity.

prudence consists in knowing how to distinguish the character of troubles, and for choice to take the lesser evil.

comedic playwright.

Los hombres rara vez tienen el valor suficiente para ser o extremadamente buenos o extremadamente malos.

When brutality is the only option left, it is holy.

A prince who wants to keep his authority must learn how not to be good and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared. He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command. One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived. Politics have no relation to morals

Ka mjaft virtyte që të çojnë drejtë greminës dhe vese që të sjellin mirëqënie dhe siguri.

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?.

Politics have no relation to morals.

Çünkü insanlar, eÄŸer iyi olmalar?n? gerektiren bir zorunluluk yoksa, kötü insanlar olarak kar??m?za ç?kar.

Hükümdar ne olursa olsun asla insanlar?n mal?na göz dikmemelidir. Çünkü insanlar babalar?n?n ölümünü kolayl?kla içlerine sindirebilirler, ama mal varl?klar?ndan yoksun kalmalar?n? asla.

al que no le importa morir no le asusta quitar la vida a otro.

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.

Para la tradición moralista un buen príncipe desde el punto de vista político debía cumplir con cuatro virtudes centrales para todo hombre (prudencia, fortaleza, justicia y moderación) más una serie de virtudes específicamente principescas (como honestidad, magnanimidad o liberalidad). Se recomendaba además que la práctica política nunca entrara en conflicto con los principios morales.

Liberality exercised in a way that does not bring you the reputation for it, injures you; for if one exercises it honestly and as it should be exercised, it may not become known, and you will not avoid the reproach of its opposite.

Since any one who would act up to a perfect standard of goodness in everything, must be ruined among so many who are not good. It is essential, therefore, for a Prince who desires to maintain his position, to have learned how to be other than good, and to use or not to use his goodness as necessity requires.

merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright

He who has once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts for seizing what belongs to others.

Princes ought to leave affairs of reproach to the management of others, and keep those of grace in their own hands.

Thus, it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, religious, and upright, and also to be so; but the mind should remain so balanced that were it needful not to be so, you should be able and know how to change to the contrary.