Machiavellian Quotes

“Too much faith is the worst ally. When you believe in something literally, through your faith you'll turn it into something absurd. One who is a genuine adherent, if you like, of some political outlook, never takes its sophistries seriously, but only its practical aims, which are concealed beneath these sophistries. Political rhetoric and sophistries do not exist, after all, in order that they be believed; rather, they have to serve as a common and agreed upon alibi. Foolish people who take them in earnest sooner or later discover inconsistencies in them, begin to protest, and finish finally and infamously as heretics and apostates. No, too much faith never brings anything good...”
― Milan Kundera

“The universe runs on the principle that one who can exert the most evil on other creatures runs the show.”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“Let no one ever intimidate you, you are standing on no one's ground. But again, some have claimed the earth as their own and usurped power from the rest of us. But they are usurpers; power belongs to every one of us. Seek it as much as possible. There is no shame in that. In fact it's a necessity. Either you have power or you are trampled to death in the stampede to get to the top”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“There’s no English equivalent for silovik. It doesn’t translate succinctly because to create something as Machiavellian as a silovik requires both the KGB and the GRU, and then a shift from communism to capitalism followed by a gear-grinding reverse into despotism.”
― Tanya Thompson, Red Russia

“Without an opportunity, their abilities would have been wasted, and without their abilities, the opportunity would have arisen in vain.”
― Machiavelli Niccolo

“If you are my food, how am I supposed to feel pity towards you? That would mean starvation for me. “A hungry leopard told a fallen, panting, imploring gazelle”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“In politics what you see is not what you get”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“Once you are in power, never forget those who put you there. Deal with those who think they can do better than you and those who think you are god's representative on earth. Deal with each other according to his actions”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“Bob Moses had learned what was needed to make dreams become realities. He had learned the lesson of power.
And now he grabbed for power with both hands.
To free his hands for the grab, he shook impatiently from them the last crumbs of the principles with which he had entered public service and for which, during his years of idealism, he had fought só hard.”
― Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York

“If anyone rises to power, it's not only because he could, but also because the stars were aligned in his favor. Many with apparent means to take it failed simply because they weren't destined for the honor”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“The Golden Mean is for the weakling, it was not meant for the likes of Alexander the Great, Cyrus, Pharaohs, or Hitlers of the world”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“Powerless=lifeless.”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“The best society, in reality, is a society in which evils are limited by devices of Machiavellian construction (as opposed to devices of utopian or ideological construction). And in order to make such devices, you have to understand how things work. This is very different from how they “ought” to work.”
― J.R.Nyquist

“There are two rules for success...
1. Never reveal everything you know.”
― Ylond Miles-Davis, Machiavelli Rage

“You either play the game by its rules, or by someone's else.”
― Kiyo Giaozhi

“Remove this quote from your collection
“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call them fawning parasites. They are the people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions. What’s important to them is only their side just TO JUSTIFY THEIR MEANS. Oh, I’ve just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea C. Pilotin

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call them fawning parasites. They are the people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions. What’s important to them is only their side just to justify their means. Oh, I’ve just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea C Pilotin

“As the map of the Great Plain was being redrawn by a young Shazarian councillor, the ageing Shylonian king interrupted mid-speech to ask him his name. With a piercing glare and a haughty flick of his cloak, he retorted ‘Lord Ratilla, Shazarian Imperial Secretary, and who might you be?’ Behind the gasps of horror, the message was clear. It was Shazaria who now bestrode the Amaran world, henceforth the office of Shazarian minister now held greater prestige than even that of foreign monarchs. What became even clearer were the depths of Shazarian treachery. The impudent youth who stood before the kings of Amara stripping them of ancient provinces, was the same adolescent reputed to have delivered an eloquent speech which swayed the Shazarian councillors in favour of war.
Had this been their intention all along?”
― A. H. Septimius, Crowns Of Amara: The Return Of The Oracle

“Când sunt mai slab ca voi, vă cer libertatea pentru că asta corespunde principiilor voastre; când sunt mai puternic ca voi, vă iau libertatea pentru că asta corespunde principiilor mele.”
― Frank Herbert, Children of Dune

“Suspecting the evil behavior of its neighbor, a national security state seeks to protect itself by employing the same amoral or immoral methods, thus proving to its neighbor that it too must adopt such Machiavellian methods. The entire system operates at the lowest possible level. The Soviet Union used spies and executed spies, and the U.S. did the same while each proclaimed the moral high ground to their citizens.”
― Kent D. Shifferd, From War to Peace: A Guide to the Next Hundred Years

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call it a fawning parasite. The are people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions, what’s important to them is only their side- TO JUSTIFIY THEIR MEANS. Oh, I just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea C. Pilotin

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call it a fawning parasite. The are people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions, what’s important to them is only their side- TO JUSTIFY THEIR MEANS. Oh, I just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea C. Pilotin

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call them fawning parasites. They are the people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions. What’s important to them is only their side just to justify their means. Oh, I’ve just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea C. Pilotin

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. There are Machiavellian aspects (not that worse kind of malicious behavior) in us. One of these aspects is acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call them fawning parasites. They are the people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions. What’s important to them is only their side just to justify their means. Oh, I’ve just realized that the world is full of competition and others want to be just perfect jerks.”
― Bea Pilotin

“No one is perfect. This is the naked truth we all have to accept. And who the hell has said there are perfect ones, by the way? We won’t ever be perfect. We are all Machiavellians. It just depends on how we use its tactics to ensure we’re not bad Machiavellians. Because there are those bad ones who are acting obsequiously towards others in order to gain advantage and then backstabbing them in return. I call them fawning parasites. They are the people who are fond of picking unnecessary fights and they don’t care about their actions. What’s important to them is only their side just to justify their means.”
― Bea Pilotin

“It no longer shocks me to think that while I watch a highly intelligent man (like Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.) speaks the truth, I couldn't help but think how he possesses an ideal trait that is strongly compelled by love. And it inspires a deep sense of awe in me.”
― Bea Pilotin

“Die Selbstkritik hat viel für sich.
Gesetzt den Fall, ich tadle mich;
So hab' ich erstens den Gewinn,
Daß ich so hübsch bescheiden bin;
Zum zweiten denken sich die Leut,
Der Mann ist lauter Redlichkeit;
Auch schnapp' ich drittens diesen Bissen
Vorweg den andern Kritiküssen;
Und viertens hoff' ich außerdem
Auf Widerspruch, der mir genehm.
So kommt es denn zuletzt heraus,
Daß ich ein ganz famoses Haus.”
― Wilhelm Busch, Kritik des Herzens

“My dad is a modern-day vizier. Machiavelli reincarnated. He will say what needs to be said to support his point.”
― Soroosh Shahrivar, Tajrish

“He slits his throat with cotton, a common Persian expression. The slow, methodical way of getting your way.”
― Soroosh Shahrivar, Tajrish

“A politician, as we know, who serves the people, really serves them out of conviction and idealism, is eventually despised by them as a naïve imbecile. But a scoundrel of color, who can invent a few deadly aphorisms of his own, and can laugh and twinkle and joke, gets their adoration, and even if he is later exposed for what he is—a thief, a timeserver, a liar—the public becomes hysterical at the 'attacks' on him. In fact, the public will attack the outraged attackers of their darling.”
― Taylor Caldwell, Captains and the Kings: The Story of an American Dynasty