“ because men are attracted more by the present than by the past, and when they find the present good they enjoy it and seek no further ”
Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince (1532). copy citation
| Author | Niccolò Machiavelli |
|---|---|
| Source | The Prince |
| Topic | past present |
| Date | 1532 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by W. K. Marriott |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h.htm |
Context
“The previous suggestions, carefully observed, will enable a new prince to appear well established, and render him at once more secure and fixed in the state than if he had been long seated there. For the actions of a new prince are more narrowly observed than those of an hereditary one, and when they are seen to be able they gain more men and bind far tighter than ancient blood; because men are attracted more by the present than by the past, and when they find the present good they enjoy it and seek no further; they will also make the utmost defence of a prince if he fails them not in other things. Thus it will be a double glory for him to have established a new principality, and adorned and strengthened it with good laws, good arms, good allies, and with a good example;”
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