Appear As You May Wish To Be

He Who Becomes A Prince Through The Favour Of The People Should Always Keep On Good Terms With Them; Which It Is Easy For Him To Do, Since All They Ask Is Not To Be Oppressed

(a Ruler) Cannot And Should Not Keep His Word When To Do So Would Go Against His Interests Or When The Reason He Pledged It No Longer Holds.

No Enterprise Is More Likely To Succeed Than One Concealed From The Enemy Until It Is Ripe For Execution.

A Prince Ought To Have No Other Aim Or Thought, Nor Select Anything Else For His Study, Than War And Its Rules And Discipline; For This Is The Sole Art That Belongs To Him Who Rules, And It Is Of Such Force That It Not Only Upholds Those Who Are Born Princes, But It Often Enables Men To Rise From A Private Station To That Rank. And, On The Contrary, It Is Seen That When Princes Have Thought More Of Ease Than Of Arms They Have Lost Their States. And The First Cause Of Your Losing It Is To Neglect This Art; And What Enables You To Acquire A State Is To Be Master Of The Art.

The New Ruler Must Determine All The Injuries That He Will Need To Inflict. He Must Inflict Them Once And For All.