Niccolo Machiavelli Quotes
Whoever takes it upon himself a commonwealth and prescribe laws must presuppose all men naturally bad, and that they will yield to their innate evil passions as often as they can do so with safety.
Niccolo Machiavelli, 1469-1527, Florentine statesman and political philosopher, Discourse on Livy
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
This is the earliest surviving attempt of the Romans to formulate a legal code.
Generally we make laws to try and stop bad actions. Without the bad actions, there would generally be no laws.
Catherine II—the Great—appointed a commission to suggest model laws for Russia based on some of the principles of the European Enlightenment. The laws were never officially adopted but they are interesting in that they were the product of “liberal” thinking at the time.
This quotation is often cited when issues arise about interpreting the Constitutionality of something centuries later.
This Cahier was the consensus of the Clergy of Blois in 1789. There were cahiers of several provinces of France—some by the clergy, some by the nobles. What is fascinating is the emergence of many of the pre-revolutionary French concepts. The example of the American revolution and its principles was known throughout the educated classes of France.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance diplomat, philosopher and writer, best known for The Prince (Il Principe), written in 1513. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.
