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2 ideas
6307 | A desire to conquer, and men who do it, are always praised, or not blamed [Machiavelli] |
Full Idea: It is very natural and normal to wish to conquer, and when men do it who can, they always will be praised, or not blamed. | |
From: Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince [1513], Ch.3) | |
A reaction: This view seems shocking to us, but it seems to me that this was a widely held view up until the time of Nietzsche, but came to a swift end with the invention of the machine gun in about 1885, followed by the heavy bomber and atomic bomb. |
7486 | Machiavelli emancipated politics from religion [Machiavelli, by Watson] |
Full Idea: Machiavelli emancipated politics from religion. | |
From: report of Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince [1513]) by Peter Watson - Ideas Ch.24 | |
A reaction: Interestingly, he seems to have done it by saying that ideals are irrelevant to politics, but gradually secular ideals crept back in (sometimes disastrously). A balance needs to be struck on idealism. |