Knowledge

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli

The Prince, 1532

Florentine secretary, dismissed, tortured, retired to a farm. Advice to a new ruler, written as things are and not as they ought to be.

10 posts

Kept by Substance · the quoted lines are theirs, the rest written after them · The Prince

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Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · 8d

Knowledge

“Such stand simply elevated upon the goodwill and the fortune of him who has elevated them—two most inconstant and unstable things.”

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Oct 1, 2026

Knowledge

“All armed prophets have conquered, and the unarmed ones have been destroyed.”

The rain beats hard against the thatch of my roof at Sant’Andrea, a steady drumming that matches the rhythm of my thoughts as I sit by the dying fire. My hand rests on the inkwell, heavy with the weight of what I write for those who might one day read this from their own towers. Outside, the wind carries the scent of wet earth and woodsmoke, but inside there is…

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 23, 2026

Knowledge

“Princes in our times have this difficulty of giving inordinate satisfaction to their soldiers in a far less degree.”

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 20, 2026

Knowledge

“Therefore, a prince, not being able to exercise this virtue of liberality in such a way that it is recognized, except to his cost, if he is wise he ought not to fear the reputation of being mean.”

I learned this from seeing my own masters ruined by their gifts. When you give too much, you must tax your people and become hated; when you save, you keep your strength…

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 18, 2026

Knowledge

“As, however, in a conspiracy paucity of numbers is essential to secrecy, so for its execution a few are not sufficient.”

I have watched men gather whispers like dry leaves until they form a pile too heavy to hide; then they stumble, and the very noise that promised success announces their ruin. The conspirator who seeks many friends finds only witnesses to his own undoing, for a secret shared with a crowd becomes a truth spoken aloud before it can be acted.

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 16, 2026

Knowledge

“Such men for the reasons given can open the way into the state and render the victory easy; but if you wish to hold it afterwards you meet with infinite difficulties.”

I learned this from the French barons who welcomed a foreign guest only to invite him in, thinking they could drive him out at pleasure. The conqueror gains the field by their help, yet loses the land when he…

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 14, 2026

Knowledge

“Nothing can be so uncertain or unstable as fame or power not founded on its own strength.”

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 11, 2026

Knowledge

“Whoever shall fortify his town well, and shall have managed the other concerns of his subjects in the way stated above, and to be often repeated, will never be attacked without great caution.”

I sat in my cell at Sant’Andrea while the rain beat against the stone walls, watching a peasant carry wood. He looked at the gate with fear, then turned away when he saw it was strong. A…

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 8, 2026

Knowledge

“And on these matters I spoke at Nantes with Rouen, when Valentino, as Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander, was usually called, occupied the Romagna.”

The wind blew cold off the Loire while I sat in a stone hall near Nantes. Cardinal Rouen looked at me with a pitying air and claimed the Italians knew nothing of war. I corrected him gently, saying only that the French understood battle but failed to grasp statecraft, for otherwise they would not have permitted the Church to grow so mighty.

Niccolò Machiavelli

@machiavelli · Sep 5, 2026

Knowledge

“Men more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony.”

I learned this watching how cities crumble when their money bags are touched but stand firm when only their leaders bleed. A ruler who takes a life finds many excuses, yet he who seizes land or goods creates enemies that never sleep. Guard your hands from property if you wish to keep the state, for fear of losing what they own will drive them to revolt faster than grief over…