The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli
- Being a good politician and being a good person (in Christian sence) is incompatible.
- Related to Nietzsche who dubbled being "Christian" as being weak.
- Difficulty in managing an acquired city state is greatly reduced, if you supervise it.
- Giving freely, and spending liberally will lead to ruin.
- A prince should be feared than loved.
- Criminal Virtue: wisdom, strategy, strength, bravery, ruthlessness to be cruel in the name of state, but good as leaders.
- When siezing power, calculate all of the unsavoury business that needs to be conducted ahead of time and conduct them swiftly without dragging it too long.