The 60 best phrases of Machiavelli

Nicolás Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, philosopher and writer, born in the city of Florence during the year 1469.

Although this writer was not highly praised during his time later with the passage of time some of his reflections were very well received by a large part of the public, many of which even today are still regularly remembered by some persons.

If you would like to know which were some of the most interesting quotes of this famous writer, keep reading; here we will a review of the best phrases of Machiavelli.

• Related article: "The 5 ages of History (and their characteristics)"

The 60 most memorable phrases of Nicholas Machiavelli

Here you will find a selection with the 60 best phrases of Machiavelli, along with a small reflection on each of them.

1. Laws should not look towards things that are past, but provide for future ones.

The laws must be in charge of creating a more just society for all in the future, ensuring that those injustices that were experienced in the past will never be repeated.

2. Men offend the one they love before the one they fear.

Love is an emotional state that can make certain people take some confidence, and therefore, according to Machiavelli, it is not always indicated for a good leader.

3. When you see the server think more about his own interests than yours, and that he looks for inwardly his own benefits in all things, that man will never be a good servant, nor can you ever trust he.

We must know how to surround ourselves with the right peopleOtherwise, our own relatives will be the first to harm us.

4. A prince is never without legitimate reasons to break his promises.

Those people who are in command of a society do not have to justify themselves to third parties, because there is simply no one above them who can reprimand them.

• You may be interested in: "40 phrases of betrayal (in a friendship or in a couple)"

5. Wisdom consists in knowing how to distinguish the nature of the problem and in choosing the lesser evil.

In certain situations in life, only knowing how to choose the lesser evil will be something that benefits us, since it is not always possible to obtain positive aspects of all problems.

6. It is a common fault of men not to worry about the storm during the good weather.

When things are going well, there are many who tend to be unconcerned, an attitude that very often ends up being counterproductive.

7. There are three kinds of brains: the first discerns by itself, the second understands what the others discern, and the third does not understand or discern what the others discern. The first is excellent, the second good, and the third useless.

We must learn to think for ourselves if we want to become successful people in the future. If you want something to be done really well, always do it yourself.

8. The common people are always seduced by appearance and success.

There are many people who are easily manipulated by appearances, something that as they fail to change with the passage of time, sooner or later will end up harming them.

9. A prince who has a strong city and who is not hated by his people cannot be attacked.

Having the necessary resources is much more likely that we will be successful in the future. What is really worthwhile is the fact of being able to achieve great goals starting from only a very poor or scarce base.

• Related article: "The 6 forms of government that govern our social and political life"

10. The more sand has escaped the hourglass of our life, the more clearly we should see through it.

With the passage of time and the accumulation of personal experiences, it is very normal that some of us learn to see life in a much more pragmatic way. If something is destined to happen there is very little on our part that we can do to prevent it.

11. Just war is one that is necessary.

Throughout history, some wars have been simply unavoidable, no matter how many pacifists have tried by all means to avoid them.

12. Men go from one ambition to another: first they seek to insure against attack and then they attack others.

In the past, there were many who had a great warmongering sentiment and therefore, as soon as they emerged from a certain armed conflict, they did not hesitate to enter another.

13. Minorities have no place when the majority has a place to lean.

In the past the rights of minorities were never respected, something that many of us probably already sensed considering that in the present this also happens very often.

14. Politics has no relation to morals.

Certainly the politics and morals rarely go hand in handBecause if the politician wishes to be able to triumph in the future, he knows very well that hypocrisy and double standards will always be his most effective weapons.

15. History is the science of men, of men in time.

History is a science that tells us about ourselves, about the defects and virtues as human beings we all possess.

16. Whoever wants constant success must change his behavior with the times.

With the passage of time, everything changes and we must change with it if we want to be more successful people in the future.

17. Experience has always shown that things never happen well when they depend on many.

If for something to be carried out many people must do their part, it will be very difficult for it to happen. Even if it is purely statistical, in any work we do we will always find someone who does not keep his word.

18. Men are driven mainly by two impulses; either out of love or out of fear.

Love and fear certainly direct a good part of our daily actions, which is why every good leader must always know how to use both emotions to his own advantage.

19. Tardiness often robs us of opportunity and robs us of our strength.

Being punctual and early risers is something that will always allow us to take advantage of our day to day in a much more complete way.

20. The promise given was a necessity of the past; the broken word is a present necessity.

Although breaking a promise can benefit you momentarily, over time taking this action will always be a negative thing. As human beings we must always respect the word given.

21. There is no war to avoid; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others.

Sometimes wars favor some personal interestsThat is why, as we can see, Machiavelli was always a firm defender of armed conflicts.

• You may be interested in: "Psychology of conflict: theories that explain wars and violence"

22. Skill and perseverance are the weapons of weakness.

With perseverance and skill there are very few things that as people we cannot do, regardless of our level of strength or talent for it.

23. In all things human, when examined closely, it is shown that obstacles cannot be removed without the emergence of others.

Life in one way or another can always get us in the way, regardless of which path we want to choose as individuals.

24. God does not want to do everything, so as not to take away our free will and that part of the glory that corresponds to us.

Many of the ills that we as human beings suffer are caused in one way or another by ourselves, We must be aware that neither God nor the Devil have absolutely nothing to do with our misfortunes. personal.

25. He who cheats will always find someone who is deceived.

The lie is always much more attractive than the truth and therefore, some people always choose it on a recurring basis.

26. There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.

In the past, being a religious person could open certain doors for you, a ploy that, as we can see, the thinker Machiavelli used on more than one occasion.

27. Of human beings in general, it can be said that they are hypocritical and greedy.

Human beings tend to have many negative attitudes, something that luckily some of us manage to polish over time.

28. The best strength a prince can possess is the people's affection for him.

If a leader is loved by his people, without a doubt it is very difficult that this can be overthrown. The affection of those around you is always a very positive thing for anyone.

29. Men who do not do well are always afraid that others will respond to them with those actions that theirs deserve.

As a popular saying goes, whoever sows winds picks up storms, that is why it is very common for some people to fear a forceful reaction from their adversaries.

30. It is not titles that honor men, but men honor titles.

A noble title will never say anything about the man that we really are. Our personal values ​​will always be those really in charge of representing us within the society in which we live.

31. Men should be treated generously or destroyed, because they can take revenge for minor injuries, they cannot.

A very forceful attack on our part can save us many headaches in the future. That is why the surprise factor can always be decisive during a hypothetical military escalation.

32. Princes and governments are much more dangerous than other elements in society.

The one who runs a society is always the most dangerous individual within it., since he has all the tools to be able to do with his subjects whatever he eventually wants.

33. There can be no great difficulties where good will abounds.

If we put all our effort in the end we will undoubtedly achieve our goal, being able to achieve a great achievement will almost always require a great effort on our part.

34. Old offenses are not erased with new benefits, especially when the benefit is less than the injury.

If in the past they have disrespected us, we do not have to forgive them because today they are kind to us, Well, we must never forget what happened to us in the past if we do not want this to happen to us again in the past. future.

35. Men inherently do not trust new things that they have not experienced for themselves.

It is very true that as men until we try something for ourselves we tend not to believe in it, as rational beings there are many of us skeptical by nature.

36. It is doubly pleasant to lie to the impostor.

According to this philosopher, everyone should always be paid with the same currency. Something that is undoubtedly very in line with the Hindu idea of ​​Karma.

• Related article: "The 15 types of lies and their characteristics"

37. If the ruler does not recognize evils until he has them above him, he is not really wise.

Having a broad vision of society is something that every good leader must always have, because as this quote reveals to us, otherwise we will not be able to see our enemies coming.

38. There is no other way to protect yourself from flattery than to make others understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.

This quote undoubtedly holds a great lesson, we must always make it very clear to everyone around us that they must be honest with us, regardless of whether what they may say may be painful for you. U.S.

39. A change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.

A single symptom of weakness can be taken by our enemies as an invitation to attack us, which is why many leaders decided to rule with an iron fist in the past.

40. There is nothing more difficult to undertake, nor more doubtful to succeed, nor more dangerous to administer than the elaboration of a new order.

Creating a society from scratch is a very complicated job, a feat that throughout history very few men and women have been able to carry out.

41. Nothing great was ever achieved safely.

Every great achievement will always demand equally important actions from us and in most cases, danger will always be something that accompanies us in the course of our feat.

42. The wise prince must prefer to surround himself with men of good judgment whom he will give the freedom to tell the truth.

A painful truth in time can prevent us from much greater evils, and that is precisely why we must always surround ourselves with those people who speak to us openly.

43. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.

Throughout our lives there will be very few people who really get to know us, because it is also very likely that there are very few who have an interest in discovering it.

44. Men in general judge more by appearances than by reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.

As is often said, appearances can be deceiving and therefore, we should not judge anyone with just a first impression.

45. The first method of estimating the intelligence of a governor is to look at the men he has around him.

Tell me who you hang out with and I'll tell you who you are our friends say a lot about the person we really are.

• You may be interested in: "Theories of human intelligence"

46. He who wants to be obeyed must know how to command.

We must give very clear orders if we want them to be strictly followed, half measures will never be positive if we have control of an entire people.

47. The man forgets the death of his father before the loss of his estate.

Money is one of the greatest evils that our society has and as we can see from this quote, this evil was already very present in Machiavelli's times.

48. Never try to win by force what can be won by lying.

There are some things in life that cannot be won by force, in this type of situation subtlety and cunning will undoubtedly be much more effective.

49. Better to be loved than feared, if you can't be both.

Both love and fear are two of the most powerful emotions that exist and according to the opinion of Machiavelli, as leaders we must never worry about those men and women who love us or who they fear.

50. I am not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow him.

Society, according to this philosopher, had a very bad organizationThat was why, according to his criteria, it had to be reformed from the ground up.

51. A prince who is not wise cannot be well advised and therefore cannot rule.

Wisdom is a quality that every leader must always possess, because without it he will be doomed to failure in a totally inevitable way.

52. Nature creates few brave men; industry and training do a lot.

As we can see in this quote, according to Machiavelli, society can turn us into stronger and more powerful men over the years. This famous philosopher had a somewhat peculiar way of understanding the world around him.

53. Where the will is great, the difficulties cannot be great.

If as human beings we put all our effort in making something happen, we can be sure that sooner or later we will be able to fulfill our objective.

54. Men are seldom brave enough to be either extremely good or extremely bad.

Certainly most of us move on fairly measured scales of evil and goodness. Very few are those who come to stand out on a historical level for having been largely kind or evil.

55. To understand the nature of the people, one must be a prince and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be the people.

Knowing how to put ourselves in the shoes of others will give us a broader perspective of the situation, a way of seeing the world around us thanks to which we can achieve over time be much more prosperous and happy.

56. First of all, arm yourself.

How can we find out from this quote, in Machiavelli's time it was very important to be well armed. Insecurity was something that in those years was very present in any stratum of society.

57. 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 scare the wolves.

According to Machiavelli, as leaders of a people we must be cunning and aggressive because otherwise, it is more than likely that we will end up being burned.

58. The end justifies the means.

This is undoubtedly one of the most famous phrases of this thinker. Big goals in the vast majority of situations will always demand some tremendously complicated acts of us.

59. It is better to act and repent than not to act and repent.

If we do not act, defeat will be assuredThat is why when in doubt it is always better to take action.

60. Hatred is earned by both good and bad deeds.

All our actions can promote hatred in third parties, whether they have been carried out from our good faith or from our personal interest.