Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

Let them hate as long as they fear.

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.

There is nothing strange about fear: no matter in what guise it presents itself it is something with which we are all so familiar that when a man appears who is without it we are at once enslaved by him.

No one loves the man whom he fears.

Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.

Can you be cruel and proud? For a great man among the commonalty, and in particular among such as we shall have to do with, will not be thought anything worth if he be not feared and dreaded, and at times renowned for his cruelty. It is thus that the Flemings wish to be governed; and among them men's lives should be no more valued, nor should they have more pity shown to them, than swallows or larks, which are caught in the proper season for the table.

If you've got 'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.

When Shonda Rhimes calls, you feel like you get called into the principal's office a little bit, and you think, 'Maybe I better take that call.'

We would rather be feared than respected.

It is a great matter to be in authority over others; for authority, if it be rightly used, will make you feared beyond your actual resources.

I mean, there was a portion, of course, that I think, when I look back now, that there was a portion of what attracted me must have been the awe of him being a powerful man in this environment, not to take away from who he is as a real person.

Power may be at the end of a gun, but sometimes it's also at the end of the shadow or the image of a gun.

I think political people are afraid of me.

Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.

You don't realize it, but often people are frightened of the director.

Machiavelli taught me it was better to be feared than loved. Because if you are loved they sense you might be weak. I am a man of the people and help them but it is important to do so through strength.

Fear controls you.

Men are swayed more by fear than by reverence.

You know, if you think about it, the most powerful people on this earth probably never raise their voices - they just say it and people hop to, because they have that power.

The thing about Republicans is that they don't care so much about respect, but they love fear, at least in others.

My words must be powerful to make people so afraid of them. It's rather nice to feel I have power.

I don't usually experience that because there are few people who intimidate me, but Woody was one of them.

Force is never more operative than when it is known to exist but is not brandished.

Whether it's a blessing or a curse, it's a fact that we have power. Everyone—friend and enemy—looks to see how we use it, how we treat it, how we keep it.

It is one thing to persuade, another to command …