I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.

Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli

Topics: Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

I shall always esteem it not much to live in a city where the laws...

I shall always esteem it not much to live in a city where the laws...

He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.

Because just as good morals, if they are to be maintained, have need of the...

Because just as good morals, if they are to be maintained, have need of the...

Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony.

Men sooner forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony.

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack,...

Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack,...

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be...

A wise ruler ought never to keep faith when by doing so it would be...

I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats...

I consider it a mark of great prudence in a man to abstain from threats...

A son could bear complacently the death of his father while the loss of his...

A son could bear complacently the death of his father while the loss of his...

The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily...

The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuously in every way necessarily...

A prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of...

A prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of...

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it...

No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it...

Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but...

Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but...

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more...

There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more...

When you disarm your subjects you offend them by showing that either from cowardliness or...

When you disarm your subjects you offend them by showing that either from cowardliness or...

Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach...

Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach...

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust...

When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust...

States that rise quickly, just as all the other things of nature that are born...

States that rise quickly, just as all the other things of nature that are born...

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe...

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe...

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity...

The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity...