"Nature that framed us of four elements,..." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli

“The reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order.”

“It is often found that modesty and humility not only do no good, but are positively hurtful, when they are shown to the arrogant who have taken up a prejudice against you, either from envy or from any other cause.”

“The Romans never allowed a trouble spot to remain simply to avoid going to war over it, because they knew that wars don't just go away, they are only postponed to someone else's advantage. Therefore, they made war with Philip and Antiochus in Greece, in order not to have to fight them in Italy... They never went by that saying which you constantly hear from the wiseacres of our day, that time heals all things. They trusted rather their own character and prudence- knowing perfectly well that time contains the seeds of all things, good as well as bad.”

“Men's minds tend to fear more keenly those things that are absent.”

“Man wants to live, but it is useless to hope that this desire will dictate all his actions.”

“Nobody wants his cause near as bad as he wants to talk about his cause.”

“So long as the man with ambition is a failure, the world will tell him to let go of his ideal; but when his ambition is realized, the world will praise him for the persistence and the determination that he manifested during his dark hours, and everybody will point to his life as an example for coming generations. This is invariably the rule. Therefore pay no attention to what the world says when you are down. Be determined to get up, to reach the highest goal you have in view, and you will.”

“Let us not underestimate the privileges of the mediocre. As one climbs higher, life becomes ever harder, the coldness increases, responsibility increases.”

“To pace about, looking to obtain status, looking to attain 'importance' - I can think of nothing more ridiculous.”