The Prince

 𝟏𝟏 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 : 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢'𝐬 "𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞"

1. 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭

"... if one is on the spot, disorders are seen as they spring up, and one can quickly remedy them; but if one is not at hand, they are heard of only when they are great, and then one can no longer remedy them."

2. 𝐁𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭

"... he who is the cause of another becoming powerful is ruined; because that predominancy has been brought about by astuteness or else by force, and both are distrusted by him who has been raised to power."

3. 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭

"A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it."

4. 𝐁𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮

"The mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not; if they are, you cannot trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness, either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others contrary to your intentions; but if the captain is not skillful, you are ruined the usual way."

5. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝

"... to exercise the intellect the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of illustrious men, to see how they have borne themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeat, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former."

6. 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭

"A wise prince ought to observe some such rules, and never in peaceful times stand idle, but increase his resources with industry in such a way that they may be available to him in adversity, so that if fortune changes it may find him prepared to resist her blows."

7. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥

"... every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel."

8. 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐥

"... above all things he must keep his hands off the property of others, because men more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony. ... he who has once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts for seizing what belongs to others; but reasons for taking life, on the contrary, are more difficult to find and sooner lapse."

9. 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

"... men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see you, to few to come in touch with you. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them; and in the actions of all men, and especially of princes, which it is not prudent to challenge, one judges by the result."

10. 𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

"I must not fail to warn a prince, who by means of secret favours has acquired a new state, that he must well consider the reasons which induced those to favour him who did so; and if it be not a natural affection towards him, but only discontent with their government, then he will only keep them friendly with great trouble and difficulty, for it will be impossible to satisfy them. And weighing well the reasons for this in those examples which can be taken from ancient and modern affairs, we shall find that it is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who, being discontented with it, were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it."

11. 𝐀𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐫𝐬

"It is that of flatterers, of whom courts are full, because men are so self-complacent in their own affairs, and in a way so deceived in them, that they are preserved with difficulty from this pest, and if they wish to defend themselves they run the danger of falling into contempt. Because there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that to tell you the truth does not offend you; but when every one may tell you the truth, respect for you abates."