"How laudable it is for a prince..." - Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli

“It is a common failing of man not to take account of tempests during fair weather.”

“We must distinguish between those who depend on others, that is between those who to achieve their purposes can force the issue and those who must use persuasion. In the second case, they always come to grief, having achieved nothing; when, however, they depend on their own resources and can force the issue, then they are seldom endangered.”

“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.”

“It takes a lot of people to create a success. That's why I say that few leaders are successful unless a lot of people want them to be.”

“States will never be happy untilrulers become philosophers orphilosophers become rulers.”

“A leader's attitude is caught by his or her followers more quickly than his or her actions.”

“No police officer could compel a satyagrahi to give evidence against a person who has confessed to him. A satyagrahi would never be guilty of a betrayal of trust.”

“I love to see honest and honorable men at the helm, men who will not bend their politics to their purses, nor pursue measures by which they may profit, and then profit by their measures.”

“Behavior is a much better barometer of what you are than words.”