“There are actually three kinds of mind: one kind grasps things unaided, the second sees what another has grasped, the third grasps and sees nothing. The first kind is extremely valuable, the second valuable, the third useless” (91).

“Though a man who has seized power and is establishing a new monarchy cannot imitate the likes of Marcus Aurelius, that doesn’t mean he has to behave like Severus. What he must take from Severus are the policies that you need to found a state, and from Marcus the policies that bring stability and glory once the state is firmly established” (81).

Severus marched to Rome, and out of fear, the Senate elected him emperor and had Emperor Julian killed. He made the French Albinus co-emperor, wiped out another claim to the empire, and then had Albinus killed to consolidate his power.

“My conclusion is that since people decide for themselves whether to love a ruler or not, while it’s the ruler who decides whether they’re going to fear him, a sensible man will base his power on what he controls, not on what other have the freedom to choose” (68)

Who was Hannibal?

“So these rulers of ours, who were well-established kings and dukes yet still lost their states, should spare us their bad luck stories; they have only themselves to blame. In peacetime they never imagined anything could change” (97).

“A mercenary commander may or may not be an excellent military leader: if he is, you can’t trust him because he will always aspire to power himself…but if he isn’t a capable leader, he’ll ruin you anyway” (49).

“We can hardly describe killing fellow citizens, betraying friends, and living without loyalty, mercy, or creed as signs of talent. Methods like that may bring you power, but not glory” (34).

Who was Cesare Borgia?

“A ruler who has moved into a new region with a different language and customs must also make himself leader and protector of the weaker neighboring powers, while doing what he can to undermine the stronger” (10).

“A ruler will be respected when he is a genuine friend and a genuine enemy, that is, when he declares himself unambiguously for one side and against the other, This policy will always bring better results than neutrality. For example, if you have two powerful neighbors who go to war, you may or may not have reason to fear the winner afterwards. Either way it will always be better to take sides and fight hard. If you do have cause to fear but stay neutral, you’ll still be gobble up by the winner to the amusement and satisfaction of the loser; you’ll have no excuses, no defense and nowhere to hide. Because a winner doesn’t want half-hearted friends who don’t help him in a crisis; and the loser will have (want) nothing to do with you since you didn’t choose to fight alongside him and share his fate.”