Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas

J'en arrive maintenant à un point qui est, selon moi, le ressort et le secret de la domination, le soutien et le fondement de toute tyrannie. Celui qui penserait que les hallebardes, les gardes et le guet garantissent les tyrans, se tromperait fort. Ils s'en servent, je crois, par forme et pour épouvantail, plus qu'ils ne s'y fient. Les archers
... See moreEtienne (de) La Boétie • Discours de la servitude volontaire (La Petite Collection t. 76) (French Edition)
“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
Timothy Ferriss • Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World

The ancient law giver was a benevolent myth; the modern law giver is a terrifying reality. The world has become more like that of Machiavelli than it was, and the modern man who hopes to refute his philosophy must think more deeply than seemed necessary in the nineteenth century.
Bertrand Russell • History of Western Philosophy
The wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always do so when they can, and for this they will be praised not blamed; but when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so by any means, then there is folly and blame.
Niccolò Machiavelli • The Prince
Yet when it comes to the great captains of irregular warfare, the same can hardly be said. While there are many accounts of daring commando raids, and more thoughtful works that explore the complex relationships between elite military advisors and friendly indigenous fighters, there is precious little study of the principles that might be distilled
... See moreJohn Arquilla • Insurgents, Raiders, and Bandits
Many men dreamed at last of establishing above the cities a sort of sovereign power, which should look to the maintenance of order, and compel those turbulent little societies to live in peace. It was thus that Phocion, a good citizen, advised his compatriots m accept the authority of Philip, and promised them, at this price, concord and security.
Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges • The Ancient City: A Study of the Religion, Laws, and Institutions of Greece and Rome (Illustrated)
“Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good.”