Quotes About Ethics

It is so far from how one lives to how one should live that he who lets go of what is done for what should be done learns his ruin rather than his preservation

With us there is great justice, because that war is just which is necessary, and arms are hallowed when there is no other hope but in them.

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

Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin by the great number who are not good.

A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.

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

L'homme qui en toutes choses veut faire profession de bonté se ruine inéluctablement parmi tant d'hommes qui n'ont aucune bonté.

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.

CzÅ'owiek, który pragnie zawsze i wszÄ™dzie wytrwa? w dobrem, pa?? koniecznie musi miÄ™dzy tymi lud?mi, którzy nie sÄ… dobrymi

Ludzie b?d? zawsze dla ciebie ?li, je?eli konieczno?? nie zmusi ich do tego, by byli dobrzy

A ju? taka natura ludzka, ?e jednakowo zobowi?zuj? ?wiadczone, jak i doznane dobrodziejstwa

Ne zaman bir sak?ncadan kaçmaya çal??sak bir baÅŸkas?na düÅŸeriz; ama saÄŸduyu, sak?ncalar?n niteliklerini tan?may? ve en az kötüyü iyi olarak seçmeyi bilmek demektir.

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) was an Italian political philosopher, musician, poet, and romantic comedic playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory (The Prince) on the one hand and republicanism (Discourses on Livy) on the other. Source: Wikipedia

KiÅŸinin nas?l yaÅŸad??? ve nas?l yaÅŸamas? gerektiÄŸi aras?nda öyle büyük bir uçurum vard?r ki, yap?lmas? gereken uÄŸruna yap?lan? terk eden kiÅŸi, çok geçmeden korunmas?n? deÄŸil, y?k?m?n? öÄŸrenmiÅŸ olur.

The nature of man is such that people consider themselves put under an obligation as much by the benefits they confer as by those they receive. (p.73)

Niccolò Machiavelli

How one lives is so far distant from how one ought to live, that he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.' (ch XV)

And truly it is a very natural and ordinary thing to desire to acquire, and always, when men do it who can, they will be praised or not blamed; but when they cannot, and wish to do it anyway, here lies the error and the blame.

There is in everything a latent evil peculiar to it.

How we live is so difference than how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation. The Prince.

My studies in criminology have suggested to me that only generals, Harley Street specialists and mine owners can get away with murder successfully.

Each man's morality, thought Georgia, is a compromise between the strength of his character and the strength of his environment. Where you have no character to fix the ratio, you get the genius and the lunatic, to whom morality is meaningless.