Nicollo Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher and a writer born in the year 1469. He is also known as the father of political philosophy or political science. He gave his service as a diplomat and gave his advice towards better military affairs. Though Machiavelli was the father of politics, his approach towards politics was not bound by moral ethics. He thought that politics is like a cunning game in which players were bound to rules. He did not belong to the school of thought that believed that the righteous wins in politics; Machiavelli believed that politics was supposed to have a crafty edge with the highest power belong to the most deceptive and witty one. Machiavelli's work paved the way for republicanism.
On one of Machiavelli's famous statues, there is this line inscribed "TANTO NOMINI NULLUM PAR ELOGIUM", which means "So great a name (has) no adequate praise" or "No eulogy (would be) a match for such a great name". One of Machiavelli's well-known works is his book "the prince", in which he states that a feared ruler is much better than a loved one. Machiavelli believed in using violence to keep people in control and enemies at bay. His diplomatic methods used after his death were often called "Machiavellian", which were often unethical means to gain power and control over the state. Machiavelli also did not believe in an ideal King like Plato and Aristotle. Below are some of the famous Niccollo Machiavelle Quotes.
Before all else, be armed.
Machiavelli believed that having all the necessary tools to protect ourselves is very important. As we cannot trust anyone in this world, we must be prepared for any situation that we may or may not predict.
The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.
Time is a very essential element of life and time can never be stopped. Times keep running; time is always fleeting. If we see our life in an hourglass when sand keeps falling and our time keeps getting to the end, we realize what is right. We gain the wisdom of what is important in life. Over the years, we become wise beings by the experiences we have gained over the years.
Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.
Machiavellian thoughts state that fear and love are two elements a ruler is likely to possess. If the subjects of the ruler can earn both these qualities, then it is very efficient to rule. But if both of them cannot be achieved, then a ruler must choose to keep his kingdom fearful of him or he'll have to work according to the expectations of the people.
Princes and governments are far more dangerous than other elements within society.
Many dangerous aspects prevail in society. But dangerous people can be tamed by the government or prince. However, if the prince chooses not to help people, the prince becomes the most dangerous person in the kingdom. The ruler can turn authoritarian and totalitarian; thus, ruler is a precarious element.
Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.
Human desire is ever increasing. It can hardly be tamed if the person is greedy and lusty. According to Maslow, a great psychologist, a person seeks security for himself, and when he receives that, he seeks social status. More or less, Machiavelli is conveying a similar message. A person first saves himself and then tries to harm others. He is never really satisfied with his security and keeps wanting more.
Continue reading some of the best Niccollo Machiavelle Quotes....
Never was anything great achieved without danger.
Anything great a man wants to achieve is often risky. Nothing great comes out of no risk. And playing it all safe and taking no risk is the biggest risk of all. When we risk nothing, we often end up achieving nothing of value.
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
Decisions a ruler takes are often influenced by the people around him. Are what kind of people a ruler chooses to have around him tells a lot about the ruler itself. So it is said that the intellectual prowess of a ruler can be determined by the company he likes to keep.
It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.
The meaning of this quote is titles have no meaning at all unless we humans put meanings in them. If from tomorrow, we put no value in titles, titles will lose their desire from the human heart. It is our emotions that make non-living things so valuable.
The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.
Machiavellian had a very violent approach towards politics. He believed that only the ones who break their moral barriers could rule over a state. And if a ruler has to harm his subjects to rule over a state, he must certainly do it once and for all.
Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.
We have all heard the famous quote, "Where there is a will, there is a way." No matter how difficult the obstacles are, if a man desires something very bad and is a will to do anything for it, he will achieve it. No obstacle is ever greater than a strong human desire.
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It is double pleasure to deceive the deceiver.
To be tricked feels awful. To trick someone feels witty. But if we deceit something that was in a plan to deceive us, we feel the double pleasure of saving ourselves and destroying the one who was about to hurt us.
One who deceives will always find those who allow themselves to be deceived.
A man usually ends up finding what he wants. Things we are looking for often manifest. A man who is looking for people who are foolish enough to get tricked ends up finding such people.
To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.
Only a second person can understand a first person's nature. To understand the qualities and nuances of a prince, one must observe the ruler by the vision of his people and understand the people one must be a keen king.
A wise man will see to it that his acts always seem voluntary and not done by compulsion, however much he may be compelled by necessity.
A wise man often keeps his pride and works to be seen as a person who is not forced to do something by others, but even a person who does not want to be controlled is controlled by unavoidable circumstances.
He who has not first laid his foundations may have the great ability to lay them afterward, but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building.
Foundation is very important to build a solid and strong building. Every big monument and building often contains a strong base, including the Eiffel tower and Egyptian pyramids. An erudite architect may be able to build a building later with his intelligence, but it is a risky project because no building is safe and strong without a proper foundation.
Few more Niccollo Machiavelle Quotes...
A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.
A prince is the ruler of his state. He can if he wants to break or law or amend the laws. So in this sense, a prince never runs of laws or changed to save himself of his shortcomings, especially in a nondemocratic state.
The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.
There is a fine nuance between a wise and a foolish man. While a fool may take an ample amount of time to complete a task, a wise man does that very task quickly. And this very difference differentiates a wise and a foolish.
Of mankind, we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.
Men possess several qualities. And according to Nicollo, some prominent ones are that humans are fickle and keep changing their decisions; they are falsely self-righteous and have a greedy nature with unending desires.
Men are more apt to be mistaken in their generalizations than in their particular observations.
The general ideas are the ideas about which people are often bullish. They think that the general ideas they have are often right. But that is often false, and the ideas they make via keen observations are the right ideas.
Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.
Humans often deem valuable the things that they superficially see. Most men think that what they see is the truth, but eyes can be easily deceived. The men that can see one's soul just by observing have a special gift. And this gift is not given to everyone.
