# Machiavelli's most famous lines (the ones he actually wrote)

From The Prince and The Art of War: Niccolò Machiavelli's lines that are still quoted, with the chapter. 'The end justifies the means' is not here: Wikiquote lists it as a misquotation.

- 2 votes · 13 items
- Jul 13, 2024 · Arianna C.
- https://even.best/en/l/3023/machiavelli-s-most-famous-lines-the-ones-he-actually-wrote

## Top 12

1. **… one who deceives will always find someone who will let himself be deceived.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XVIII.
2. **… men do harm either out of fear or out of hatred.** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. VII.
3. **… it is much safer to be feared than loved.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XVII.
4. **… he must take from the beast the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot defend himself from snares and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XVIII.
5. **All armed prophets have conquered, and the unarmed have been destroyed.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. VI.
6. **… men forget the death of their father sooner than the loss of their inheritance.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XVII.
7. **… it seemed more fitting to follow the real truth of things than the imagination of them.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XV.
8. **One should never allow disorder in order to avoid a war, for war is not avoided but only postponed to your disadvantage.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. III.
9. **Whoever becomes master of a city used to living free and does not destroy it can expect to be destroyed by it.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. V.
10. **So a prince must know how to use both the beast and the man.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. XVIII.
11. **… the nature of peoples is fickle: it is easy to persuade them of something, but hard to keep them persuaded.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Prince, ch. VI.
12. **Nature produces few brave men; diligence and training make many.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Art of War, book VII.
13. **He is rarely defeated who knows his own strength and the enemy's.** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — The Art of War, book VII.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.