resemblance between Fortune and women and concludes that it is the bold rather than the cautious man that will win and hold them both. - Niccolò Machiavelli

... By disarming, you at once give offense, since you show your subjects that you distrust them, either as doubting their courage, or as doubting their fidelity, each of which imputations begets hatred against you.

One Must Be A Fox In Order To Recognize Traps, And A Lion To Frighten Off Wolves

And he who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it may expect to be destroyed by it, for in rebellion it has always the watchword of liberty and its ancient privileges as a rallying point, which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget.