When the red carpets didn’t welcome him, Steve Bannon found an alternative stage. He embraced Carhartt cosplay, grew out the hair, and declared himself a champion of “the people.” But make no mistake — he never stopped living like royalty. His personal life was padded by old Goldman money. The bank account never left Bel Air. The Rolex never came off.
~ John Mac Ghlionn via The Hill
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Every one admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith, and to live with integrity and not with craft. Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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There are two methods of fighting, the one by law, the other by force: the first method is that of men, the second of beasts; but as the first method is often insufficient, one must have recourse to the second.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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You call me a misanthrope because I avoid society. You err; I love society. Yet in order not to hate people, I must avoid their company.
~ Caspar David Friedrich
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A university isn’t a state—it can’t simply impose its rules with force. It’s a special kind of community whose legitimacy depends on mutual recognition in a spirit of reason, openness, and tolerance. At the heart of this spirit is free speech, which means more than just chanting, but free speech can’t thrive in an atmosphere of constant harassment.
~ George Packer via The Atlantic
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Men are so simple, and so subject to present necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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The Romans, foreseeing troubles, dealt with them at once, and, even to avoid a war, would not let them come to a head, for they knew that war is not to be avoided, but is only put off to the advantage of others.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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There was only one Christian and he died on the cross.
~ Friedrich Nietzsche
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Never do any enemy a small injury for they are like a snake which is half beaten and it will strike back the first chance it gets.
~ Niccolò Machiavelli
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