Cruelties Should Be Committed All At Once.

War Is A Profession By Which A Man Cannot Live Honorably; An Employment By Which The Soldier, If He Would Reap Any Profit, Is Obliged To Be False, Rapacious, And Cruel.

The Best Fortress Which A Prince Can Possess Is The Affection Of His People.

The Fact Is That A Man Who Wants To Act Virtuously In Every Way Necessarily Comes To Grief Among So Many Who Are Not Virtuous.

A Prince Need Trouble Little About Conspiracies When The People Are Well Disposed, But When They Are Hostile And Hold Him In Hatred, Then He Must Fear Everything And Everybody.

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.