You can find Niccolò Machiavelli’s remarkable observations on leadership, power dynamics, and strategy right here – in these timeless Machiavelli quotes!
My Favorite Machiavelli Quotes
1. “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
2. “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
3. “Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses
4. “It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
5. “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
6. “…he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.” ― Machiavelli Niccolo, The Prince
7. “There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
8. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” ― Machiavelli Niccolo
9. “The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
10. “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
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Famous Machiavelli Quotes
1. “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
2. “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.” ― Machiavelli Niccolo, The Prince
3. “People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
4. “How we live is so different from 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.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
5. “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
6. “Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
7. “A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.” ― Machiavelli Niccolo, The Prince
8. “Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
9. “It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. ” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
10. “Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
See also: 60 Extraordinary Prayers To Cancel Evil Plan Of The Enemy
11. “In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
12. “He who builds on the people, builds on the mud” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
13. “Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.” ― Machiavelli, The Prince
14. “Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
15. “it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Letters of Machiavelli : A Selection
16. “Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas in antiquity.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
17. “It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
18. “Therefore the best fortress is to be found in the love of the people, for although you may have fortresses they will not save you if you are hated by the people.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
19. “It’s better to be impulsive than cautious; fortune is female and if you want to stay on top of her you have to slap and thrust. You’ll see she’s more likely to yield that way than to men who go about her coldly. And being a woman she likes her men young, because they’re not so cagey, they’re wilder and more daring when they master her.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
20. “He who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
Machiavelli Quotes About Power
1. “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
2. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
3. “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
4. “it is much safer to be feared than loved because …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.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
5. “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
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6. “A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
7. “Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Hence 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.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
8. “He who becomes a Prince through the favour of the people should always keep on good terms with them; which it is easy for him to do, since all they ask is not to be oppressed” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
9. “There is no avoiding war, it can only be postponed to the advantage of your enemy.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
10. “Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.” ― Machiavelli
11. “A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
12. “Half of these aren’t even Machiavelli.
Some are Plato, Thucydides etc….doesnt anyone check these?” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
13. “Men never do good unless necessity drives them to it; but when they are free to choose and can do just as they please, confusion and disorder become rampant.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
14. “Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
See also: 40 Inspiring Faith Over Fear Quotes To Make You Fearless
15. “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
16. “The best fortress which a prince can possess is the affection of his people.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
17. “For one change always leaves a dovetail into which another will fit.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
18. “Men intrinsically do not trust new things that they have not experienced themselves.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
19. “Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
20. “It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
Inspiring Machiavellian Quotes
1. “Appear as you may wish to be” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
2. “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
3. “Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
4. “Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
5. “Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
6. “It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
7. “Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
8. “When evening comes, I return home and go into my study. On the threshold I strip off my muddy, sweaty, workday clothes, and put on the robes of court and palace, and in this graver dress I enter the antique courts of the ancients and am welcomed by them, and there I taste the food that alone is mine, and for which I was born. And there I make bold to speak to them and ask the motives of their actions, and they, in their humanity, reply to me. And for the space of four hours I forget the world, remember no vexation, fear poverty no more, tremble no more at death: I pass indeed into their world.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli
9. “Men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, or more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
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10. “A prince is also esteemed when he is a true friend and a true enemy.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
11. “When everyone feels free to tell you the truth, respect for you dwindles… A wise prince should take another course: choose wise men for your advisors, and allow only them the liberty of speaking the truth to the prince, and only on matters about which you ask, and nothing else. But you should question them about everything, listen patiently to their opinions, then form your own conclusions later.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
12. “It is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
13. “Being feared and not hated go well together, and the prince can always do this if he does not touch the property or the women of his citizens and subjects.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
14. “Therefore any cruelty has to be executed at once, so that the less it is tasted, the less it offends; while benefits must be dispensed little by little, so that they will be savored all the more.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
15. “I desire to go to Hell and not to Heaven. In the former I shall enjoy the company of popes, kings and princes, while in the latter are only beggars, monks and apostles.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
16. “For whoever believes that great advancement and new benefits make men forget old injuries is mistaken.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
17. “But when you disarm them, you at once offend them by showing that you distrust them, either for cowardice or for want of loyalty, and either of these opinions breeds hatred against you.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
18. “…the incredulity of mankind, who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
19. “For, besides what has been said, it should be borne in mind that the temper of the multitude is fickle, and that while it is easy to persuade them of a thing, it is hard to fix them in that persuasion” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
20. “Everything that occurs in the world, in every epoch, has something that corresponds to it in ancient times.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses
Motivational Machiavelli Quotes
1. “Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
2. “I conclude therefore that, fortune being changeful and mankind steadfast in their ways, so long as the two are in agreement men are successful, but unsuccessful when they fall out. For my part I consider that it is better to be adventurous than cautious, because fortune is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her; and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who go to work more coldly. She is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
3. “One can say this in general of men: they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit…Love is a bond of obligation that these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so; but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
4. “I hold strongly to this: that it is better to be impetuous than circumspect; because fortune is a woman and if she is to be submissive it is necessary to beat and coerce her.”
― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
5. “Men desire novelty to such an extent that those who are doing well wish for a change as much as those who are doing badly.” ― Machiavelli
6. “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.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
7. “For, in truth, there is no sure way of holding other than by destroying” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
8. “There is no other way of guarding against adulation, than to make people understand that they will not offend you by speaking the truth. On the other hand, when everyone feels at liberty to tell you the truth, they will be apt to be lacking in respect to you.” ― Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince – The Original Classic Edition
See also: 80 When Someone Is Lying And You Know The Truth Quotes
9. “He who causes another to become powerful ruins himself, for he brings such a power into being either by design or by force, and both of these elements are suspects to the one whom he has made powerful.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli , The Prince
10. “Hence it comes that all armed prophets have been victorious, and all unarmed prophets have been destroyed.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
11. “as the physicians say it happens in hectic fever, that in the beginning of the malady it is easy to cure but difficult to detect, but in the course of time, not having been either detected or treated in the beginning, it becomes easy to detect but difficult to cure” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
12. “And yet we cannot define as skillful killing one’s fellow citizens, betraying one’s friends, and showing no loyalty, mercy, or moral obligation. These means can lead to power, but not glory.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
13. “Minds are of three kinds: one is capable of thinking for itself; another is able to understand the thinking of others; and a third can neither think for itself nor understand the thinking of others. The first is of the highest excellence, the second is excellent, and the third is worthless.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
14. “Occasionally words must serve to veil the facts. But let this happen in such a way that no one becomes aware of it; or, if it should be noticed, excuses must be at hand to be produced immediately.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
15. “God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
16. “But in Republics there is a stronger vitality, a fiercer hatred, a keener thirst for revenge. The memory of their former freedom will not let them rest; so that the safest course is either to destroy them, or to go and live in them.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
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17. “Women are the most charitable creatures, and the most troublesome. He who shuns women passes up the trouble, but also the benefits. He who puts up with them gains the benefits, but also the trouble. As the saying goes, there’s no honey without bees.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, Mandragola
18. “But confining myself more to the particular, I say that a prince may be seen happy to-day and ruined to-morrow without having shown any change of disposition or character. This, I believe, arises firstly from causes that have already been discussed at length, namely, that the prince who relies entirely upon fortune is lost when it changes. I believe also that he will be successful who directs his actions according to the spirit of the times, and that he whose actions do not accord with the times will not be successful. Because men are seen, in affairs that lead to the end which every man has before him, namely, glory and riches, to get there by various methods; one with caution, another with haste; one by force, another by skill; one by patience, another by its opposite; and each one succeeds in reaching the goal by a different method. One can also see of two cautious men the one attain his end, the other fail; and similarly, two men by different observances are equally successful, the one being cautious, the other impetuous; all this arises from nothing else than whether or not they conform in their methods to the spirit of the times. This follows from what I have said, that two men working differently bring about the same effect, and of two working similarly, one attains his object and the other does not.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
19. “For since men for the most part follow in the footsteps and imitate the actions of others, and yet are unable to adhere exactly to those paths which others have taken, or attain to the virtues of those whom they would resemble, the wise man should always follow the roads that have been trodden by the great, and imitate those who have most excelled, so that if he cannot reach their perfection, he may at least acquire something of its savour. Acting in this like the skilful archer, who seeing that the object he would hit is distant, and knowing the range of his bow, takes aim much above the destined mark; not designing that his arrow should strike so high, but that flying high it may alight at the point intended.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
20. “We have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean; the rest have failed.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
Machiavelli Human Nature Quotes
1. “Alexander never did what he said, Cesare never said what he did.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
2. “A prince is also esteemed when he shows himself a true friend or a true enemy, that is, when, without reservation, he takes his stand with one side or the other. This is always wiser than trying to be neutral, for if two powerful neighbors of yours fall out they are either of such sort that the victor may give you reason to fear him or they are not. In either case it will be better for you to take sides and wage an honest war.” ― Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince
3. “Thus it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious, and also to be so; but you must have the mind so disposed that when it is needful to be otherwise you may be able to change to the opposite qualities. And it must be understood that a prince, and especially a new prince, cannot observe all those things which are considered good in men, being often obliged, in order to maintain the state, to act against faith, against charity, against humanity, and against religion. And, therefore, he must have a mind disposed to adapt itself according to the wind, and as the variations of fortune dictate, and, as I said before, not deviate from what is good, if possible, but be able to do evil if constrained.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
4. “The Romans never allowed a trouble spot to remain simply to avoid going to war over it, because they knew that wars don’t just go away, they are only postponed to someone else’s advantage. Therefore, they made war with Philip and Antiochus in Greece, in order not to have to fight them in Italy… They never went by that saying which you constantly hear from the wiseacres of our day, that time heals all things. They trusted rather their own character and prudence— knowing perfectly well that time contains the seeds of all things, good as well as bad.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
5. “In peace one is despoiled by the mercenaries, in war by one’s enemies.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
6. “..it happens in all human affairs that we never seek to escape one mischief without falling into another. Prudence therefore consists in knowing how to distinguish degrees of disadvantage, and in accepting a less evil as a good.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
7. “A man who wishes to profess at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
8. “It is a common fault of men not to reckon on storms in fair weather.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
9. “Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be – and are ruined” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
10. “Men must either be caressed or else destroyed.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
11. “In general you must either pamper people or destroy them; harm them just a little and they’ll hit back; harm them seriously and they won’t be able to. So if you’re going to do people harm, make sure you needn’t worry about their reaction.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
12. “Let no man, therefore, lose heart from thinking that he cannot do what others have done before him; for, as I said in my Preface, men are born, and live, and die, always in accordance with the same rules.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius
13. “Let no man, therefore, lose heart from thinking that he cannot do what others have done before him; for, as I said in my Preface, men are born, and live, and die, always in accordance with the same rules.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius
14. “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.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
15. “Never do an enemy a small injury.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli
16. “Without an opportunity, their abilities would have been wasted, and without their abilities, the opportunity would have arisen in vain.” ― Machiavelli Niccolo
17. “As a general thing anyone who is not your friend will advise neutrality while anyone who is your friend will ask you to join him, weapon in hand.” ― Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince
18. “…the manner in which we live, and that in which we ought to live, are things so wide asunder, that he who quits the one to betake himself to the other is more likely to destroy than to save himself; since anyone who would act up to a perfect standard of goodness in everything, must be ruined among so many who are not good.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
19. “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 when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you.” ― Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince
20. “Any injury we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance.” ― Machiavelli, Niccolo, The Prince
Final Word
I hope that you have found the stoic inspiration behind these machiavelli quotes. Niccolo Machiavelli was a special individual, who wrote many captivating ideas, way ahead of his time.
This kind of ‘cruelty’ we can find in these sentences is often the harsh truth that we have to face every now and then.
And Machiavelli definitely helps us to understand it!
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