"Among other causes of misfortune
which your not being armed brings upon you,
it makes you despised..."
by:
Niccolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527) Italian Statesman and Political Philosopher
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The full quote is: "For among other causes of misfortune which your not being armed brings upon you, it makes you despised, and this is one of those reproaches against which, as shall presently be explained, a Prince ought most carefully to guard."
 -- Terry Berg, Occidental, CA     
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    Most of us are despised, despite whatever arms we have or do not have.
     -- David L Rosenthal     
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     -- Robert, Sarasota      
    Thank you Terry. In the representative Republic that was the U.S., each individual was a sovereign noble. Those of a free heart are despised of those who would support victimless crimes, compelled compliance, licensing, differing forms of social slavery, and other causes of misfortune.
     -- Mike, Norwalk     
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    We are only sovereign nobles within the bounds of our own home, not when we travel in public where it is the collective people who are the sovereigns. So if you must have your guns, keep them in your homes, not on our streets, in our bars, and in our churches (etc)... and while we are at it, lets tax the hell out of their sale, as they are a vice just as drink and tobacco and gasoline are, and thus the societal costs should be borne by those who are inflicting them upon the rest of us.
     -- Anonymous, Reston, VA US     
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    Reston, VA, is right again. Thanks for a fine reply.
     -- Dick, Fort Worth     
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    Reston and Dick are wrong again... The free individual is never subservient to the collective -- his sovereignty does not change because he walks in the commonwealth. His weapons serve as his rightful defense wherever he goes and serves to deter those who covet and steal. He stands ready to defend his life, the lives of his family and friends, and his property. The collective of armed citizens IS the militia, and those unarmed and dependent on others for protection are indeed despised by those who have accepted the responsibility proudly.
     -- E Archer, NYC     
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    Gracious but the true colors do come out. (Incidentially, it is well said that a conservative is a liberal that has been mugged..). For Reston and Dick, i do hvae some bumper stickers that say "Unarmed...please don't hurt me." For the rest of you, and I know you know this, the one, single most effective deterrent to crime is the concealed handgun law. Funny liberals just don't like that. Golly our founding fathers were wise men.
     -- Michael , Houston, TX     
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    I intend not to never be despised, which is why I made a stop to the Sheriff's department on my way home from work today to renew my concealed pistol license. To all of the collectivists out there, I am sovereign of my own body. It is funny how liberals selectively agree with that: they believe a woman has a right to "choose" to kill an unborn child because she is sovereign of her body, but I am not sovereign in my own body to protect my own life. Hypocrites!
     -- Ken, Allyn, WA     
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    O how blind we are to the happiness of others especially with a gun tucked in our belt...
     -- Robert, Sarasota     
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    Robert...what you said makes no sense at all. Does that go for the police too? Or to those armed citizens who have lost their lives preventing the death of another innocent person like the shoot out at Beaumont a few years ago? "An armed society is a polite society." (And by the way...if you don't want to protect yourself, and are not brave enough to protect anyone else when it really matters...you can rest assrued that there are many of us who would protect you...even at the cost of life and limb.)
     -- Michael , Houston, TX     
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    "... it makes you despised, and this is one of those reproaches against which, as shall presently be explained, a Prince ought most carefully to guard." - it's funny how an incomplete quote can appear to mean the reverse of what was intended in its full context. Machiavelli was not referring to an armed populace. He was referring to the armies of a Prince. - It was preceeded by: "we often see that when Princes devote themselves rather to pleasure than to arms... "
     -- jwala sharma, Indore/Mumbai     
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    An armed society is a polite society." (And by the way...if you don't want to protect yourself, and are not brave enough to protect anyone else when it really matters...you can rest assrued that there are many of us who would protect you...even at the cost of life and limb
     -- jwala sharma, indore india     
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    I can see why Jwala Sharma of Mumbai doesn't understand this statement. One, he's from Mumbai. Two, the Armies of the Prince are the PEOPLE. Read, listen and learn before you speak next time. Tom Sawyer has a good saying you should follow, ""It's better to remain silent and risk appearing to be dumb - than to say something and prove it".
     -- DaveIsHere, Potsville     
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    a Prince ought most carefully to guard." - it's funny how an incomplete quote can appear to mean the reverse of what was intended in its full context. Machiavelli was not referring to an armed populace. He was referring to the armies of a Prince. - It was preceeded by: "we often see that when Princes devote themselves rather to pleasure than to arms... "
     -- jwala sharma, mumbai/delhi     
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    better u should read the things again before writing anything Mr. Davelshere the statement is totally suits on you that " Tom Sawyer has a good saying you should follow, ""It's better to remain silent and risk appearing to be dumb - than to say something and prove it".
     -- jwala sharma     
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    Machiaveli wasn't writing about an armed populace - read a little of European history and you'll instantly see kings and potentates regularly desired/enforced an unarmed population. And, again, read the time/context and intent of Machiavelli's works and you'll also see he was writing for prices, kings, potentates, and misc rulers, not for the underclasses. Writing crap in support of the Second Amendment is fine (although misguided), but don't corrupt the meaning of quotes or use partials.
     -- Sean, Phoenix, AZ     
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    "(And by the way...if you don't want to protect yourself, and are not brave enough to protect anyone else when it really matters...you can rest assrued that there are many of us who would protect you...even at the cost of life and limb.)" Where do you get this crap? The US has the highest rate of gun-related crimes in the world, bar none.
     -- Sean, Phoenix, AZ     
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     -- ed, ther      
    For those that want to disarm US "When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred. " Niccolo Machiavelli So you see he was writing about an armed populace your reading is shoddy at best. However even assuming you were correct on that point how would that negate the principle that "For among other causes of misfortune which your not being armed brings upon you, it makes you despised"? Keep in mind that it's the 2nd amendment that insures your right to enjoy the rest of them.
     -- Ryan, Mesa AZ     
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     -- NeemaTamDar, Belgium     
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