A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.

Essendo adunque un Principe necessitato sapere bene usare la bestia, debbe di quella pigliare la volpe e il lione; perchè il lione non si defende da’ lacci, la volpe non si defende da’ lupi.

Niccolo Machiavelli

The Prince

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Original Citation

Machiavelli, Niccolò. Il Principe [The Prince]. Rome: Antonio Blado d'Asola, 1532.

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Current Citation

Machiavelli, Nicolò. The Prince, translated by Peter Bondanella. Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Illustrated Quote

A quote by Niccolo Machiavelli about man and animals: “A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast…”

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A prince being thus obliged to know well how to act as a beast must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.