It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both. If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
The slogan most associated with Machiavelli, of course, is “the ends justify the means,” a phrase not actually found in any of his writings. Even so, it would seem to capture what most people mean when they use the term “Machiavellian” in a derogatory way.
“It is not titles that honor men, but men that honor titles.” “All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively." “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. ”
“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” “If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
According to Benner, Machiavelli's moral precepts are rooted in his conception of human agency as “bounded” and responsible: he posits that human nature generates a capacity for choice and action that permits people to overcome external forces (such as “fortune”) in order to realize tangible moral goods.
Machiavelli believed that public and private morality had to be understood as two different things in order to rule well. As a result, a ruler must be concerned not only with reputation, but also must be positively willing to act unscrupulously at the right times.
Among the precepts espoused by Machiavelli: leaders should always mask their true intentions, avoid inconsistency, and frequently “act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state.” His name has become synonymous with cunning tyrants.
Machiavelli was a 16th century Florentine philosopher known primarily for his political ideas. His two most famous philosophical books, The Prince and the Discourses on Livy, were published after his death.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a political theorist from the Renaissance period. In his most notable work, The Prince, he writes, "It is better to be feared than to be loved, if one cannot be both." He argues that fear is a better motivator than love, which is why it is the more effective tool for leaders.
Niccolò Machiavelli got it right with this quote on Change and Innovation in his 16th century political treatise, The Prince. “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.
Machiavelli has a pessimistic view of human nature and assumes that all men are evil, 27 without any possibility of redemption. This pessimistic conception of men is central to his moral philosophy. Political decisions, especially in judging the morality of the prince, should take this reality into account.
In this work, Machiavelli argued that the influence of even a virtuous prince could only last so long. Therefore, a republic, where people are “born free,” was the superior form of government. The best republics, he wrote, were those with good laws, a strong religion, severe criminal punishments, and a citizen army.
Machiavelli was the first political writer to separate politics from morality, placing great emphasis on practical strategies over philosophical ideas. Instead of focusing on what was right or wrong, he considered what needs to be achieved.
“A prince, therefore, always ought to take advice, but only when he wishes and not when others wish. He ought to make it clear that he does not want advice unless he asks for it.
“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” “This above all: to thine own self be true.” “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.” “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.”
Edison Quote: “I will not say I failed 1000 times, I will say that I discovered there are 1000 ways that can cause failure.” Thomas A. Edison Quote: “I will not say I failed 1000 times, I will say that I discovered there are 1000 ways that can cause failure.”
“There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” “The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” “There is no sin except stupidity.” “There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”