“A man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil.”

—  Niccolo Machiavelli , book The Prince

Variant: A man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good.
Source: The Prince (1513), Ch. 15; translated by W. K. Marriot

Original

Un uomo che voglia fare in tutte le parti professione di buono, conviene che rovini fra tanti che non sono buoni.

The Prince (1513)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Niccolo Machiavelli 130
Italian politician, Writer and Author 1469–1527

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