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A review by yoggi01
The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
3.5
- Loyal army much better than mercenary army, mercenary army unreliable
- "If you think about it, there'll always be something that looks morally right but would actually lead a ruler to disaster, and something else that looks wrong but will bring security and success."
- If you're going to be generous make sure it's in the public eye and that people notice.
- You want to be both loved and feared, but if you had to choose one it's feared since it's safer. Fear is something you can control, love isn't. Regardless make sure you aren't hated.
- "Hence a sensible leader cannot and must not keep his word if by doing so he puts himself at risk, and if the reason that made him give his word in the first place are no longer valid."
- The end justifies the means. or the public only looks at the end result.
- Negative traits: changeable, superficial, effeminate, fearful, indecisive.
- Positive traits (for a ruler): impressions of greatness, spirit, seriousness, and strength.
- "A ruler will also be respected when he is a genuine friend and a genuine enemy, that is, when he declares himself unambiguously for one side and against the other"
- Never ally with a stronger party against a commone enemy, you will be at their mercy once the fighting is over.
- "To conclude then: fortune varies but men go on regardless. When their approach suit their times they're successful, and when it doesn't they're not. My opinion on the matter is this: it's better to be impulsive than cautious; fortune is female and if you want to stay on top of her you have to slap and thrust. You'll see she's more likely to yield that way than to men who go about her coldly. And being a woman she likes men young, because they're not so cagey, they're wilder and more daring when they master her."
- "If you think about it, there'll always be something that looks morally right but would actually lead a ruler to disaster, and something else that looks wrong but will bring security and success."
- If you're going to be generous make sure it's in the public eye and that people notice.
- You want to be both loved and feared, but if you had to choose one it's feared since it's safer. Fear is something you can control, love isn't. Regardless make sure you aren't hated.
- "Hence a sensible leader cannot and must not keep his word if by doing so he puts himself at risk, and if the reason that made him give his word in the first place are no longer valid."
- The end justifies the means. or the public only looks at the end result.
- Negative traits: changeable, superficial, effeminate, fearful, indecisive.
- Positive traits (for a ruler): impressions of greatness, spirit, seriousness, and strength.
- "A ruler will also be respected when he is a genuine friend and a genuine enemy, that is, when he declares himself unambiguously for one side and against the other"
- Never ally with a stronger party against a commone enemy, you will be at their mercy once the fighting is over.
- "To conclude then: fortune varies but men go on regardless. When their approach suit their times they're successful, and when it doesn't they're not. My opinion on the matter is this: it's better to be impulsive than cautious; fortune is female and if you want to stay on top of her you have to slap and thrust. You'll see she's more likely to yield that way than to men who go about her coldly. And being a woman she likes men young, because they're not so cagey, they're wilder and more daring when they master her."