Machiavelli (c. 1469-1527)
“The desire to acquire possessions is a very natural and ordinary thing, and when those men do it who can do so successfully, they are always praised and not blamed, but when they cannot and yet want to do so at all costs, they make a mistake deserving of great blame.”
- From The Prince (chapter 3) by Machiavelli, translated and printed by the Henry Regnery Company, 1948.
