A Battle That You Win Cancels All

....for Friendships That Are Acquired By A Price And Not By Greatness And Nobility Of Character Are Purchased But Are Not Owned, And At The Proper Moment They Cannot Be Spent.

If Someone Puts Up The Argument That King Louis Gave The Romagna To Pope Alexander, And The Kingdom Of Naples To Spain, In Order To Avoid A War, I Would Answer As I Did Before: That You Should Never Let Things Get Out Of Hand In Order To Avoid War. You Don't Avoid Such A War, You Merely Postpone It, To Your Own Disadvantage.

There Is No Surer Sign Of Decay In A Country Than To See The Rites Of Religion Held In Contempt.

A Prince... Must Learn From The Fox And The Lion... One Must Be A Fox In Order To Recognize Traps, And A Lion To Frighten Off Wolves. Those Who Act Simply As Lions Are Stupid. So It Follows That A Prudent Ruler Cannot, And Must Not, Honour His Word When It Places Him At A Disadvantage And When The Reasons For Which He Made His Promise No Longer Exist.

For Without Invention, No One Was Ever A Great Man In His Own Trade.