Sunday, July 15, 2018

742 Machiavelli: Art of War. Oorlog en Leiderschap is een vak: ken de mens !


Bij Jay Dyer hoorde ik dat er een tweede boek van Machiavelli is waarin hij allerlei tricks beschrijft , zoals de False Flag.

Dit is het boek:   Art of War.   Machiavelli.  1138 pagina's!

Download de pdf hier.

Hier een samenvatting:

Summary and Conclusions: ( bron

Machiavelli's philosophy is based on his pessimistic view of human nature. He has been called a "pagan Augustinian". Aristotle and Plato also called attention to the imperfect nature of man, but Machiavelli rejected their approach. He follows Xenophon more closely. It was Xenophon who took a rational organization, the army, and applied the lessons learned in its construction and operation to the problems of society in general. Machiavelli follows his lead in linking military and civil societies. He goes a step beyond Xenophon when he applies the lessons of military practice to the internal affairs of his civic body. For all his recognition of the failings of human nature, Xenophon could not free himself from the Greek distinction between friend and foe. For him coercion was to be applied to the enemy, and both the army and the polis were to be based on friendship. Machiavelli does not recognize this distinction. To him everyone is a potential enemy, hence the civic rulers must employ the same measures employed by the general to defeat his enemies. This is the reason Machiavelli makes no distinction between the statesman and military commander and why his approach to politics is a military one.
Just as the unchanging character of human nature is the stable ingredient which makes the study of history important for the statesman, the presence of man himself at the controls in all human organizations makes the study of his character the basic activity for the successful leader. 
( Daarom vind ik kennis van de evolutie-psychologie belangrijk voor p  undits. JV)
Machiavelli's state and army are not abstract entities endowed with human characteristics or desires. All decisions are made by men and all evoke reactions in other men. Machiavelli's insistence on this principle is seen in each of the diverse topics included in this study. 
For him the proper decision to such questions as whether to form alliances or not, when to invade the enemy territory, when to use money, how to acquire and control colonies, how to use "peace" offensives, how to organize a community and whether to appease an aggressor or not are all based on an evaluation of the probable reaction of those humans affected by the decision. 
Likewise, his criteria for the selection of a leader and his precepts to guide the leader's actions in command of an army are based on principles of psychology. The reaction of the army is itself governed by an evaluation of the human material available to the leader. Such considerations as the proper type of soldier, the discipline to be developed, the training program to be followed, the most useful armament, the correct logistical procedures, and the proper role of infantry, cavalry and artillery are all made under the assumption that man has been, is, and always will be the central and essential weapon in war.

Based on this assumption, some of Machiavelli's major points are as follows:


(1) War between men is inherent and inevitable.

(2) War will be total or limited depending on the political objectives involved.

(3) Uncontrolled and unprepared for, war is destructive; but properly channeled and prepared for, it can serve socially useful purposes.

(4) The proper way to conduct a war is to carry it to the enemy; keep the initiative; maintain exclusive decision-making power; do not try to buy friends; do not remain neutral or passive when danger threatens, however remotely; always present your side as peace loving and leave your opponent every opportunity to retreat or surrender; use subversive agents inside the other society to pave the way; govern acquired territories through local intermediaries; do not risk total victory or defeat with less than all your forces; be prepared to adapt to the times-- to retreat if necessary to await another day.

(5) Leadership is a creative activity. It is the highest aspiration of man. It is the essential element in victory. The leader can and should use every means at his disposal to insure victory, including all manner of psychological tricks and ruses. The leader should educate himself by studying the example of virtuous heros of the past, especially Roman.

(6) The hold which fear and appearances have on the minds of men require the leader to employ techniques designed to take advantage of these human characteristics. In this connection money, religion, stratagems, and necessity all have important roles.

(7) The leader must be able to analyze a situation objectively and base his decisions on a careful estimate of the situation. He must not lose sight of his major objective in war, which is the destruction of the enemy's will and/or ability to resist.

(8) The army should be a citizen militia, highly trained and well disciplined, organized in small flexible units, armed with weapons for close combat, composed primarily of infantry. Quality is to be preferred to quantity.


Machiavelli's lasting importance is due to the way in which his theoretical structure is firmly grounded in a realistic appreciation of human nature. His uncritical acceptance of his sources led to some errors in his specific examples. The polemical nature of his writing led to some overstatement of position. He failed to appreciate the role of missile weapons in history. He was perhaps over-optimistic in his expectation that an essentially amateur militia would be able to defeat the professional armies of his day. 
Nevertheless, much of what he wrote is still valid today. 
He understood the importance of military factors in the achievement of political objectives, both in foreign and domestic policy. 
He recognized the close interrelationship between military organization and the social-political structure of a society. 
He saw that warfare was no longer going to be the exclusive affair of a specialized class of warrior who fought over largely private interests, but the central activity of the then developing state and hence the concern of its rulers and indeed off all is inhabitants. 
He warned that unless the people understood and participated in military affairs they could not control the army and if they did not control it, it would control them. 
He emphasized that the creation of an army cannot await the existence of an emergency, but is the result of long and careful planning. 
He believed that the discipline and other virtues acquired in a properly functioning military organization had great value to the civic life of a community. 
His appreciation of the importance of psychological factors as being frequently decisive in any confrontation of man by man requires continual renewal in this technological age. 

He outlines an effective strategy for conquest which has modern imitators. A citizen militia is still important in a modern army as a reserve element, but no major power could achieve its policies today without at least part of its army being professional. Discipline and training are as essential today as they ever were. Weapons are different now, but the principles governing their use are the same.

Since Machiavelli equates political and military affairs so directly, it is not surprising that his guides to action in the military field are so strikingly similar to his pronouncements on political questions. An interesting question then is which came first, the political theory or the military theory. In other words did Machiavelli derive his military doctrines from political doctrine or the reverse. To attempt to answer this question I have compared his three major books (The Prince, The Discourses and The Art of War).

Machiavelli himself states that he differs from most authors on the subject of rules and methods for a prince. His reference to imaginary republics is a clear attack on political philosophers such as Plato and Dante. The comments on making a profession of goodness refer to the mirror of princes literature in general. He attacks ancient writers while praising ancient statesmen and soldiers. It has been pointed out that The Prince does conform in style to this tradition of mirror of princes literature, but that in content it is radically different. Machiavelli can be taken at his word, that he does not recommend the precepts of the classical or medieval political theorists generally held in high regard in his time.

In his opinion the past is generally overrated by critics of contemporary affairs. Men's appetites change, hence they judge differently when they are old than they did when young and they tend to glorify the past. In spite of this he constantly urges his readers to imitate the ancients.

Machiavelli begins the introduction to Book One of The Discourses with the claim to have opened a new route, to have discovered new principles and systems; to what end he does not say. Antiquity is held in great esteem and imitated by artists; ancient virtue, however, is more admired than imitated. He proposes that we imitate also ancient military and political systems. His route leads to a revival of virtue. The Discourses also represents a departure from anything previously written.

In the introduction to The Art of War Machiavelli discusses the relation between civil and military affairs more explicitly. Men entering the army transform themselves and appear quite different from civilians, but on a closer look at civil and military institutions a close relation can be seen. Once again, in this book as in the others, Machiavelli is quite specific in denouncing the contemporary military practice and in recommending the ancient practice, subject to certain modifications of his own design. This book contains less political theory and more military details than the other two, but all three repeat the same arguments. The style and content, however, are noticeably different. Far from having no previous models, this book is copied almost word for word from specific Roman military textbooks. While Machiavelli does not mention who the writers are, he is careful to state his reasons whenever he deviates from them, even in the order in which he treats the subjects.
Machiavelli writes that he does not agree with most political theory, ancient or modern, nor with contemporary Italian military practice. What he does admire is ancient (Roman) political and military practice, and ancient military theory. The ancient political and military practices were in conformity and were expressed more adequately in the military texts and histories than in the political theory books. Contemporary political and military practice is inadequate and is also not expressed adequately in contemporary literature.


In two books then Machiavelli expressly breaks with one tradition and establish new precepts, while in the third he consciously stays as close to another tradition as possible; yet the theories in all three books are almost identical. It would seem unlikely that he would have devised the new precepts in the first books from strictly political considerations and then found that they corresponded exactly to the traditional ones followed in the third book. Evidently he considered military theory applicable to political problems before he wrote The Prince. This is further shown by reference to his correspondence written while still in office, and especially in his activities on behalf of the militia. Machiavelli's political theory then is an extension of his military theory, and the whole is based on classical military doctrines. His major contribution then to political theory is the view of the civic body as a proper field for the employment of precepts derived from military practice.




Ik kwam ook nog een enorme reeks van 632 quotes tegen, waarvan ik de eerste 60 hieronder plak:


“Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“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.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Never was anything great achieved without danger.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling you the truth will not offend you.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“it is much safer to be feared than loved because ...love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear their vengeance.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“Men are driven by two principal impulses, either by love or by fear.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Discourses
“All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“It is not titles that honour men, but men that honour titles.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
tags: honormentitles
“Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by the sense of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great. ”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“How we live is so different from how we ought to live that he who studies what ought to be done rather than what is done will learn the way to his downfall rather than to his preservation.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“…he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Men are so simple of mind, and so much dominated by their immediate needs, that a deceitful man will always find plenty who are ready to be deceived.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“The vulgar crowd always is taken by appearances, and the world consists chiefly of the vulgar.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“A man who is used to acting in one way never changes; he must come to ruin when the times, in changing, no longer are in harmony with his ways.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“And here comes in the question whether it is better to be loved rather than feared, or feared rather than loved. It might perhaps be answered that we should wish to be both; but since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
tags: fearlove
“There is nothing more important than appearing to be religious.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent, so that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate he will get some tinge of it.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“Appear as you may wish to be”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones. ”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present.”
“Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who wants to keep his authority must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“When evening comes, I return home and go into my study. On the threshold I strip off my muddy, sweaty, workday clothes, and put on the robes of court and palace, and in this graver dress I enter the antique courts of the ancients and am welcomed by them, and there I taste the food that alone is mine, and for which I was born. And there I make bold to speak to them and ask the motives of their actions, and they, in their humanity, reply to me. And for the space of four hours I forget the world, remember no vexation, fear poverty no more, tremble no more at death: I pass indeed into their world.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“Men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“There is no avoiding war, it can only be postponed to the advantage of your enemy.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“He who becomes a Prince through the favour of the people should always keep on good terms with them; which it is easy for him to do, since all they ask is not to be oppressed”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you down, or they bind you fast.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas in antiquity.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
tags: history
“it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Letters of Machiavelli
“Men never do good unless necessity drives them to it; but when they are free to choose and can do just as they please, confusion and disorder become rampant.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“A prince must not have any other object nor any other thought… but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only art befitting one who commands.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“He who builds on the people, builds on the mud”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Half of these aren't even Machiavelli.
Some are Plato, Thucydides etc....doesnt anyone check these?”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“One can say this in general of men: they are ungrateful, disloyal, insincere and deceitful, timid of danger and avid of profit...Love is a bond of obligation that these miserable creatures break whenever it suits them to do so; but fear holds them fast by a dread of punishment that never passes.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“Nature creates few men brave, industry and training makes many.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. This coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws on their side, and partly from the incredulity of men, who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“One should never fall in the belief that you can find someone to pick you up.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“When evening has come, I return to my house and go into my study. At the door I take off my clothes of the day, covered with mud and mire, and I put on my regal and courtly garments; and decently reclothed, I enter the ancient courts of ancient men, where, received by them lovingly, I feed on the food that alone is mine and that I was born for. There I am not ashamed to speak with them and to ask them the reason for their actions; and they in their humanity reply to me. And for the space of four hours I feel no boredom, I forget every pain, I do not fear poverty, death does not frighten me. I deliver myself entirely to them.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“For one change always leaves a dovetail into which another will fit.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.”
― Niccolò Machiavelli
“CHAPTER VI
Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired By One's Own Arms And Ability

LET no one be surprised if, in speaking of entirely new principalities as I shall do, I adduce the highest examples both of prince and of state; because men, walking almost always in paths beaten by others, and following by imitation their deeds, are yet unable to keep entirely to the ways of others or attain to the power of those they imitate. A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince
“Therefore the best fortress is to be found in the love of the people, for although you may have fortresses they will not save you if you are hated by the people.”
― Niccolò MachiavelliThe Prince

2 comments:

  1. 1. “I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    2. “It is much more secure to be feared than to be loved.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    3. “There’s no honey without bees.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    4. “Politics have no relation to morals.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    5. “It is not titles that honour men but men that honour titles.” Niccolo Machiavelli
    6. “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognise traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    7. “Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    8. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a rule is to look at the men he has around him.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    9. “Everyone see what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    10. “Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.” Niccolo Machiavelli
    11. “Never was anything great achieved without danger.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    12. “A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    13. “When you disarm people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    14. “Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    15. “The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.” Niccolo Machiavelli
    16. “Good soldiers will always procure gold.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    17. “It is just as difficult and dangerous to try to free a people that wants to remain servile as it is to enslave a people that wants to remain free.” Niccolo Machiavelli


    18. “To understand the nature of the people one must be a prince, and to understand the nature of the prince, one must be of the people.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    19. “Only a few know the real you.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    20. “Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes but few have the gift of penetration.” Niccolo Machiavelli
    21. “No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the enemy until it is ripe for execution.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    22. “There is no other way to guard yourself against flattery than by making men understand that telling the truth will not offend you.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    23. “He who wishes to be obeyed must know how to command.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    24. “One change always leaves the way open for the establishment of others.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    25. “A sign of intelligence is an awareness of one’s own ignorance.” Niccolo Machiavelli
    26. “The end justifies the means.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    27. “Tardiness often robs us of opportunity, and the dispatch of our forces.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    28. “It is better to act and repent, than not to act and repent.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    29. “The envious nature of men; so prompt to blame, so slow to praise.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    30. “The more sand has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” Niccolo Machiavelli

    ReplyDelete