Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

Creative betrayal is the essence of successful statesmanship.

A real diplomat is one who can cut his neighbor's throat without having his neighbor notice it.

Politics. The art of governing mankind by deceiving them.

Deception is the knowledge of kings.

Every Country hath its Machiavel.

To know how to dissimulate is the knowledge of kings.

Politics is the art of controlling your environment.

What this White House really needs is a chief of staff who can read Machiavelli in the original Italian.

The practice of politics in the East may be defined by one word: dissimulation

Politics is the art of making wha appearts to be impossible possible.

The king is so subtle with his words that he would confound the apostolic religion itself. He will find the weak points of the pope's character and will trip him up to his destruction.

The liquor of statecraft is distilled from the mash you got.

War is like government, a matter of tact.

How laudable it is for a prince to keep good faith and live with integrity, and not with astuteness, every one knows. Still the experience of our times shows those princes to have done great things who have had little regard for good faith, and have been able by astuteness to confuse men's brains, and who have ultimately overcome those who have made loyalty their foundation.

I'm Machiavelli's offspring, I'm the king of New York, king of the coast, one hand, I juggle them both.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.

Tactics are manipulative.

There are no techniques in politics.

War is the continuation of politics by other means.

There are no friends at cards or world politics.

Divide and rule, the politician cries; unite and lead, is watchword of the wise.

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.

The diplomat holds all acts honorable which bring him success, all things are righteous which serve his ends. If cheating is necessary, he will cheat; if lying is useful, he will lie; if bribery helps, he will bribe; if murder serves, he will order murder; if burglary, seduction, arson or forgery brings success nearer, all and each of these will be done.

To rule is an art, not a science.

A good politicians knows his friends and a good politician knows his enemies.