Selected Political Writings Quotes

“good individuals cannot exist without good education, and good education cannot exist without good laws,”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“there are two distinct viewpoints in every republic: that of the populace and that of the elite. All the laws made in order to foster liberty result from the tensions between them,”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“He who becomes the ruler of a city that is used to living under its own laws and does not knock it down, must expect to be knocked down by it. Whenever it rebels, it will find strength in the language of liberty and will seek to restore its ancient constitution. Neither the passage of time nor good treatment willmake its citizens forget their previous liberty. No matter what one does, and what precautions one takes, if one does not scatter and drive away the original inhabitants, one will not destroy the memory of liberty or the attraction of the old institutions.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“Moreover, no one feels grateful to anyone for those benefits of freedom that all share in common, at least so long as they enjoy them.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“I enter the ancient courts of rulers who have long since died. There I am warmly welcomed, and I feed on the only food I find nourishing, and was born to savor. I am not ashamed to talk to them, and to ask them to explain their actions. And they, out of kindness, answer me. Four hours go by without my feeling any anxiety. I forget every worry. I am no longer afraid of poverty, or frightened of death. I live entirely through”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“why should one expect what had worked on one occasion to work on another? Machiavelli stressed that if the political culture of a community had changed—if it had become corrupt, or virtuous—then strategies that had once failed would now work, and vice versa.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“All the literary techniques of the humanist are brought to bear, but one of the chief casualties is intended to be humanism itself.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings

“Machiavelli was in constant trouble for failing to keep the politicians properly informed of what he was up to. 16 One cannot help but feel his behavior suggests a professional civil servant's contempt for the amateurs from whom he was obliged to take his instructions, an attitude that could easily have led him to long for more authoritarian government.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli, Selected Political Writings