Quote by Niccolo Machiavelli

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and common thing; and when men succeed in this they are always praised rather than condemned. But when they lack the ability to do so and yet want to acquire more at all costs, they deserve condemnation for their mistakes.

The wish to acquire more is admittedly a very natural and co

Summary

This quote highlights the human tendency to desire continual acquisition and progress. It acknowledges that striving for more is a natural inclination and is often applauded in society. However, it criticizes those who lack the means or ability to obtain more, yet relentlessly pursue it at any expense. The quote suggests that such individuals should be negatively judged for their misguided actions and misguided decisions.

By Niccolo Machiavelli

Liked the quote? Share it with your friends.

Random Quotations

To begin, begin.

To begin, begin.

William Wordsworth

When you do the wrong thing, knowing it is wrong, you do so

When you do the wrong thing, knowing it is wrong, you do so because you haven't developed the habit of effectively controlling or neutralizing strong inner urges that tempt you, or because you have established the wrong habit and don't know how to eliminate them effectively.

W. Clement Stone

Control

With children use force with men reason; such is the natural

With children use force with men reason; such is the natural order of things. The wise man requires no law.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Reform Correction

Upper classes are a nation's past the middle class is its fu

Upper classes are a nation's past the middle class is its future.

If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, y

If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything.

Procrastination

Men are more easily governed through their vices than throug

Men are more easily governed through their vices than through their virtues.

Napoleon Bonaparte

Men

I was just so lucky to have a wonderful life after a tough m

I was just so lucky to have a wonderful life after a tough marriage.

Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a rel

Thus we hope to teach mythology not as a study, but as a relaxation from study to give our work the charm of a story-book, yet by means of it to impart a knowledge of an important branch of education.

Thomas Bulfinch

Knowledge

I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of m

I never weary of great churches. It is my favorite kind of mountain scenery. Mankind was never so happily inspired as when it made a cathedral.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Great

I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if

I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family.

Sanford I. Weill

Family

I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., h

I visited Jobs for the last time in his Palo Alto, Calif., home. He had moved to a downstairs bedroom because he was too weak to go up and down stairs. He was curled up in some pain, but his mind was still sharp and his humor vibrant.

Walter Isaacson

Humor

Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his pres

Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.

Future