Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.
Niccolo MachiavelliRead
Since it is difficult to join them together, it is safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.
Interpretation
It is often more secure to instill fear in others than to seek their love, especially when one cannot have both.
This quote suggests that in leadership and power dynamics, fear can be a more reliable means of control compared to love. Machiavelli implies that when one must choose between the two, being feared may safeguard one's position better than being loved, as love can be fickle, while fear can command respect and obedience.
In practice
This quote can be used in a discussion about political leadership during a debate.
Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.
For that reason, let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it; and in the world there are only the vulgar, for the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest on.
Many have imagined republics and principalities which have never been seen or known to exist in reality; for how we live is so far removed from how we ought to live, that he who abandons what is done for what ought to be done, will rather bring about his own ruin than his preservation.
Whoever conquers a free town and does not demolish it commits a great error and may expect to be ruined himself.
And here one must not that hatred is acquired just as much by means of good actions as by bad ones; and so, as I said above, if a prince wishes to maintain the state, he is often obliged not to be good; because whenever that group which you believe you need to support you is corrupted, whether it be the common people, the soldiers, or the nobles, it is to your advantage to follow their inclinations in order to satisfy them; and then good actions are your enemy.
The chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms.
The control of the production of wealth is the control of human life itself.
It is good to be a cynic - it is better to be a contented cat - and it is best not to exist at all.
Oh, breathe not his name! let it sleep in the shade, Where cold and unhonour'd his relics are laid
Remember one thing about democracy. We can have anything we want and at the same time, we always end up with exactly what we deserve.
Our plans never turn out as tasty as reality.
In every age 'the good old days' were a myth. No one ever thought they were good at the time. For every age has consisted of crises that seemed intolerable to the people who lived through them.
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