The Prince

you wish to please me, and to bring success and honour to yourself, do right and study, because others will help you if you help yourself."

Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be—and are ruined

Men will not look at things as they really are, but as they wish them to be—and are ruined

For he who innovates will have for his enemies all those who are well off under the existing order of things, and only lukewarm supporters in those who might be better off under the new. This lukewarm temper arises partly from the fear of adversaries who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of mankind, who will never admit the merit of anything new, until they have seen it proved by the event.

Hence it is that all armed proph­ets have conquered, and the un­armed ones have been des­troyed.

ful 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 he who is the cause of an­other be­com­ing power­

the phys­i­cians say it hap­pens in hec­tic fever, that in the be­gin­ning of the mal­ady it is easy to cure but dif­fi­cult to de­tect, but in the course of time, not hav­ing been either de­tec­ted or treated in the be­gin­ning, it be­comes easy to de­tect but dif­fi­cult to cure. This it hap­pens in af­fairs of state, for when the evils that arise have been fore­seen (which it is only given to a wise man to see), they can be quickly re­dressed, but when, through not hav­ing been fore­seen, they have been per­mit­ted to grow in a way that every­one can see them, there is no longer a rem­edy.

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.

anxious not to err for fear it should hap­pen to them as it has to those who have been de­spoiled.