Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian political philosopher, musician, poet, and playwright. He is a figure of the Italian Renaissance and a central figure of its political component, most widely known for his treatises on realist political theory (The Prince) on the one hand and republicanism (Discourses on Livy) on the other.
Books
The Prince
Il Principe (The Prince) is a political treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Originally called De Principatibus (About Principalities), it was written in 1513, but not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli’s death. The treatise is not representative of the work published during his lifetime, but it is the most remembered, and the work responsible for bringing “Machiavellian” into wide usage as a pejorative term. It has also been suggested by some critics that the piece is, in fact, a satire.
Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.
Never was anything great achieved without danger.
If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.