On the necessary cruelty of princes
“I think we have to distinguish between cruelty well used and cruelty abused” (30).
“So the conclusion is: If you take control of a state, you should make a list of all the crimes you have to commit and do them all at once. That way you will not have to commit new atrocities every day, and you will be able, by not repeating your evil deeds, to reassure your subjects and to win their support by treating them well. He who acts otherwise, either out of squeamishness or out of bad judgement, has to hold a bloody knife in his hand all the time” (30-31)
“Do all the harm you must at one and the same time, that way the full extent of it will not be noticed, and it will give least offense. One should do good, on the other hand, little by little, so people can fully appreciate it” (31)
“Whenever you have to kill someone, make sure you have a suitable excuse and an obvious reason; but above all else, keep your hands off other people’s property; for men are quicker to forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance” (52).
