It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.
From Niccolo Machiavelli
The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.
Hatred is gained as much by good works as by evil.
It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.
A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interests.
Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds.
A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good example has such an influence that the good men strive to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life so contrary to his example.
If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.
It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.
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