Niccolò Machiavelli; the maxims
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli For men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves Because the prince, with little reluctance, takes the opportunity of the rebellion to punish the delinquents, to clear out the suspects, and to strengthen himself in the weakest places. And he who does not properly manage this business will soon lose what he has acquired, That he who is the cause of another becoming powerful is ruined; because that predominancy has been brought about either by astuteness or else by force, and both are distrusted by him who has been raised to power. That men ought to be well treated or crushed, because they can avail themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge. Whenever those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom, there are th...