"A prince must be a fox, to know how to avoid snares; and a lion, to terrify wolves."

"Thus it happens in affairs of state, that to try to avoid one trouble often leads to another."

"The people, when they are not restrained by fear, are always ready to commit every kind of excess."

"A prince who is not himself wise cannot be well advised."

"For where the fear of God is wanting, it is inevitable that the kingdom will come to ruin, or that it will be sustained by the fear of a prince, which will supply the want of religion."