Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men… — Niccolo Machiavelli
Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasions for it.
In the original Italian
è necessario a chi dispone una republica, ed ordina leggi in quella, presupporre tutti gli uomini rei, e che li abbiano sempre a usare la malignità dello animo loro, qualunque volta ne abbiano libera occasione.
Discourses on Livy · 1531
★ 6.2Other tags relating to this quote
Person
Provenance
Current citation
Machiavelli, Niccolo. Discourses on Livy, translated by Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella. Oxford University Press, 2009, bk. 1, ch. 3.
Original citation
Machiavelli, Niccolò. Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio [Discourses on the First Ten of Titus Livy]. Papal Privilege, 1531, bk. 1, ch. 3
