… to a Prince who wants to do great things, it is necessary to learn to deceive.

A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.

It is of the greatest important in this world that a man should know himself, and the measure of his own strength and means; and he who knows that he has not a genius for fighting must learn how to govern by the arts of peace.

Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.

Verträge bricht man um des Nutzens willen.

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.