Niccolo Machiavelli

“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”

“Politics have no relation to morals.”

“War is just when it is necessary; arms are permissible when there is no hope except in arms.”

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

“To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.”

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

“Men are so simple and yield so readily to the desires of the moment that he who will trick will always find another who will suffer to be tricked.”