Such was, or must have been the origin of society and of law, which gave new fetters to the weak and new power to the rich; irretrievably destroyed natural liberty, fixed forever the laws of property and inequality; changed an artful usurpation into an irrevocable right; and for the benefit of a few ambitious individuals subjects the rest of mankind to perpetual labor, servitude, and misery.

jean jacques rousseau, second discourse, p.125

From this one can draw a general conclusion that will never (or hardly ever) be proved wrong: He who is the cause of someone else's becoming powerful is the agent of his own destruction; for he makes his protege powerful either through his own skill or through his own strength, and either of these must provoke his protege's mistrust once he has become powerful.

machiavelli, the prince, ch.3 p.14

The Romans always looked ahead and took action to remedy problems before they developed. They never postponed action in order to avoid a war, for they understood you cannot escape wars, and when you put them off only your opponents benefit.

machiavelli, the prince, ch.3 p.11

There is a general rule to be noted here: 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.

machiavelli, the prince, ch.3 p.10

compare to thucydides and his modern-day disciple donald kagan, who advise politicians to never take half measures. half measures led to the spartan defeat and the cuban missile crisis, and apparently, if machiavelli is to be believed, to every rebellion against a prince.

Thus, you [as a new prince] make enemies of all those to whom you have given offense in acquiring power, and in addition you cannot keep the goodwill of those who have put you in power, for you cannot satisfy their aspirations as they thought you would.

machiavelli, the prince, ch.3 p.7

All states, all forms of government that have had and continue to have authority over men, have been and are either republics or principalities.

machiavelli, the prince, ch.1 p.6

The purchase of Louisiana was perhaps the constitutional turning point in the history of the Republic, inasmuch as it afforded both a new area for national legislation and the occasion of the downfall of the policy of strict construction. But the purchase of Louisiana was called out by frontier needs and demands. As frontier States accrued to the Union the national power grew. In a speech on the dedication of the Calhoun monument Mr. Lamar explained: "In 1789 the States were the creators of the Federal Government; in 1861 the Federal Government was the creator of a large majority of the States."

frederick jackson turner, the significance of the frontier in american history, ch. 1