"The unarmed man is not just defenseless..." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli
The unarmed man is not just defenseless - he is also contemptible.
More by Niccolo Machiavelli
“Good order and discipline in any army are to be depended upon more than courage alone.”
“An armed republic submits less easily to the rule of one of its citizens than a republic armed by foreign forces. Rome and Sparta were for many centuries well armed and free. The Swiss are well armed and enjoy great freedom. Among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible. It is not reasonable to suppose that one who is armed will obey willingly one who is unarmed; or that any unarmed man will remain safe among armed servants.”
“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.”
More on Arms
“Among other causes of misfortune which your not being armed brings upon you, it makes you despised.”
“There is simply no comparison between a man who is armed and one who is not. It is simply unreasonable to expect that an armed man should obey one who is unarmed, or that an unarmed man should remain safe and secure when his servants are armed.”
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms . . . disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes . . . Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
More on Defense
“I'm a blowfish. I'm not a shark, I'm a blowfish.”
“And where is the Prince who can afford to so cover his country with troops for its defense, as that ten thousand men descending from the clouds, might not in many places do an infinite deal of mischief, before a force could be brought together to repel them?”
“The United States is contributing massively to the defence of Europe and we should be very grateful.”