“A man who wishes to profess at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good.”

“Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good. Hence a prince who wants to keep his authority must learn how not to be good, and use that knowledge, or refrain from using it, as necessity requires.”

“The fact is that a man who wants to act virtuous in every way necessarily comes to grief among so many who are not virtuous.”

“...the manner in which we live, and that in which we ought to live, are things so wide asunder, that he who quits the one to betake himself to the other is more likely to destroy than to save himself; since any one who would act up to a perfect standard of goodness in everything, must be ruined among so many who are not good.”

“He is a hypocrite who professes what he does not believe; not he who does not practice all he wishes or approves.”

“There are a great many opinions in this world, and a good half of them are professed by people who have never been in trouble."(The Mill)”