God Creates Men, But They Choose Each

In Truth, There Never Was Any Remarkable Lawgiver Amongst Any People Who Did Not Resort To Divine Authority, As Otherwise His Laws Would Not Have Been Accepted By The People; For There Are Many Good Laws, The Importance Of Which Is Known To Be The Sagacious Lawgiver, But The Reasons For Which Are Not Sufficiently Evident To Enable Him To Persuade Others To Submit To Them; And Therefore Do Wise Men, For The Purpose Of Removing This Difficulty, Resort To Divine Authority.

Men Rise From One Ambition To Another: First, They Seek To Secure Themselves Against Attack, And Then They Attack Others.

How Laudable It Is For A Prince To Keep Good Faith And Live With Integrity, And Not With Astuteness, Every One Knows. Still The Experience Of Our Times Shows Those Princes To Have Done Great Things Who Have Had Little Regard For Good Faith, And Have Been Able By Astuteness To Confuse Men's Brains, And Who Have Ultimately Overcome Those Who Have Made Loyalty Their Foundation.

For Among Other Evils Caused By Being Disarmed, It Renders You Contemptible; Which Is One Of Those Disgraceful Things Which A Prince Must Guard Against.

The More Sand Has Escaped From The Hourglass Of Our Life, The Clearer We Should See Through It.