"When neither their property nor their honor..." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli

“Men rise from one ambition to another: first, they seek to secure themselves against attack, and then they attack others.”

“You know better than I that in a Republic talent is always suspect. A man attains an elevated position only when his mediocrity prevents him from being a threat to others. And for this reason a democracy is never governed by the most competent, but rather by those whose insignificance will not jeopardize anyone else's self-esteem.”

“I hold it to be a proof of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words toward anyone, for neither diminishes the strength of the enemy.”

“I am a happy camper so I guess I’m doing something right. Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

“So long as you have food in your mouth, you have solved all questions for the time being.”

“Marriage is tolerable enough in its way if youre easygoing and dont expect too much from it. But it doesnt bear thinking about.”

“Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.”

“Men go forth to marvel at the height of mountains, and the huge waves of the sea, the broad flow of the rivers, the vastness of the ocean, the orbits of the stars, and yet they neglect to marvel at themselves. Variant: Men go abroad to admire the heights of mountains, the mighty billows of the sea, the broad tides of rivers, the compass of the ocean, and the circuits of the stars, and pass themselves by.”

“If we do not exert the right of eating our neighbor, it is because we have other means of making good cheer”