"Before all else, be armed...." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli
Before all else, be armed.
More by Niccolo Machiavelli
“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.”
“One never finds anything perfectly pure and ... exempt from danger.”
“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
“Possession of arms implies an element of fear, if not of cowardice.”
“The unarmed man is not just defenseless - he is also contemptible.”
“We established however some, although not all its [self-government] important principles . The constitutions of most of our States assert, that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves, in all cases to which they think themselves competent, (as in electing their functionaries executive and legislative, and deciding by a jury of themselves, in all judiciary cases in which any fact is involved,) or they may act by representatives, freely and equally chosen; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed.”
More on Security
“Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
“I want to make as much money as I possibly can so that when my day comes, my mother and sister is fine. My close friends are fine. They don't have to worry about anything ever again.”
“'Safety', the wife of Pablo said. 'There is no such thing as safety. There are so many seeking safety here now that they make a great danger. In seeking safety now you lose all.'”