Quotes with the Most
AP European History
Mr. Cicerchi
Directions: You are about to see a quote. It may or may not be a quote with the most. In either case, you are to individually identify who you think said each quote and state why you believe that person said it. This is going to be a lot of fun!(for me)
1. “I think that the aim of the perfect Courtier, which we have not spoken of up to now, is so to win for himself, by means of the accomplishments ascribed to him by these gentlemen, the favor and mind of the prince whom he serves that he may be able to tell him, and always will tell him, the truth about everything he needs to know, without fear or risk of displeasing him; and that when he sees the mind of his prince inclined to a wrong action, he may dare to oppose him…so as to dissuade him of every evil intent and bring him to the path of virtue.”
2. “Those that are lazy and indolent in a way that does harm to the city, and who can offer no just reason for their condition should either be forced to work or expelled from the Commune. The city would thus rid itself of that most harmful part of the poorest class…If the lowest order of society earn enough food to keep them going from day to day, then they have enough.”
3. “"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. ... My job is not to worry about those people. I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
4. “I must remind you that when Alfonso is weaned we ought to get a little slave-girl to look after him, or else one of the black boys to keep him company.”
5. “[She] died in childbirth after lengthy suffering, which she bore with remarkable strength and patience.”
6. “How many families do we see today in decadence and ruin!...Of all these families not only the magnificence and greatness but the very men, not only the men but the very names are shrunk away and gone. Their memory…is wiped out and obliterated.”
7. “Desiring to eliminate a worse evil by means of a lesser one, the lord priors…have decreed that the priors…may authorize the establishment of two public brothels in the city of Florence, in addition to the one which already exists…[They are to be located] in suitable places or in places where the exercise of such scandalous activity can best be concealed, for the honor of the city and of those who live in the neighborhood in which these prostitutes must stay to hire their bodies for lucre.”
8. “[My wife is] the delight of both my public and private hours.”
9. “My hope is to write a book that will be useful, at least to those who read it intelligently, and so I thought it sensible to go straight to a discussion of how things are in real life and not waste time with a discussion of an imaginary world…For the gap between how people actually behave and how they ought to behave is so great that anyone who ignores everyday reality in order to live up to an ideal will soon discover he has been taught how to destroy himself, not how to preserve himself.”
10. “For of men one can, in general, say this: They are ungrateful, fickle, deceptive, and deceiving, avoiders of danger, eager to gain.”
11. “You need to understand this: A ruler, and particularly a ruler who is new to power, cannot conform to all those rules that men who are thought good are expected to respect, for he is often obliged, in order to hold on to power, to break this word, to be uncharitable, inhumane, and irreligious. So he must be mentally prepared to act as circumstances and changes in fortune require. As I have said, he should do what is right if he can; but he must be prepared to do wrong if necessary.”
12. “Some of the greatest kings of our time have loved me and cultivated my friendship…When I was their guest it was more as if they were mine.”