There are many who think a wise prince ought, when he has the chance, to foment astutely some enmity, so that by suppressing it he will augment his g… - Niccolò Machiavelli

But while it was their opportunities that made these men fortunate, it was their own merit that enabled them to recognize these opportunities and turn them to account, to the glory and prosperity of their country.

The salvation of a republic or a kingdom is not, therefore, merely to have a prince who governs prudently while he lives, but rather one who organizes the government in such a way that after his death it can be maintained.

The memory of their former freedom will not let them rest; so that the safest course is either to destroy them, or to go and live in them.