I hold it to be of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and …

Niccolo Machiavelli
255 citations
I hold it to be of great prudence for men to abstain from threats and insulting words towards any one, for neither the one nor the other in any way diminishes the strength of the enemy; but the one makes him more cautious, and the other increases his hatred of you, and makes him more persevering in his efforts to injure you
Life
30

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Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear. ✨ Niccolo Machiavelli (2003). Discourses on Livy, p.302, OUP Oxford

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