Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes

Common sense is the measure of the possible; it is composed of experience and prevision; it is calculation applied to life.

The rest is a mere matter of detail, to be settled with judgment, discretion, and caution.

One of the hardest tasks as a human being is knowing when to keep an open mind, and when not to.

Wisdom is exercised in the choices you make.

Wisdom consists in being able to distinguish among dangers and make a choice of the least harmful.

My errors will point to thinking men the various roads, and will teach them the great art of treading on the brink of the precipice without falling into it.

Prudence is foresight and far-sightedness. It's the ability to make immediate decisions on the basis of their longer-range effects.

Kerry is an adult - he thinks things through. He learns from the present as well as the past. To George Bush, thinking things through is for sissies.

We need to be able to make decisions even though part of the information that we have is incorrect and wrong.

Knowing what is right does not make a sagacious man.

Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.

I think of the need for more wisdom in the world, to deal with the knowledge that we have. At one time we had wisdom, but little knowledge. Now we have a great deal of knowledge, but do we have enough wisdom to deal with that knowledge?

Any penalty - I've told you a hundred times - can be eliminated by concentration or good judgment.

Wisdom - meaning judgment acting on experience, common sense, available knowledge, and a decent appreciation of probability.

Misprize common sense at your peril is my motto.

One of the functions of intelligence is to take account of the dangers that come from trusting solely to the intelligence.

It is a wise man who knows where courage ends and stupidity begins.

I've always made my decisions based on two factors: intellectual analysis and my gut. And when they meet, that's a go from me. That's when I see the goal.

When you encounter seemingly good advice that contradicts other seemingly good advice, ignore them both.

Fools admire, but men of sense approve.

True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.

Chess helps you to concentrate, improve your logic. It teaches you to play by the rules and take responsibility for your actions, how to problem solve in an uncertain environment.

All you need do is listen to very smart people and sift out the ideas that are unworthy or implausible, and I wouldn't pretend for a moment that I hadn't made lots of mistakes and there are companies, perhaps, that we had been investors in.

Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.

In real life, the most important decision you ever make is, where does reality leave off and make-believe begin? If you make a mistake about that, you're dead. You know, you're out on the street corner. You think there's no bus coming. You step out, you're dead.