Quote of the Day

It always turns out that the party that is not your ally calls for your neutrality, while your ally asks that you declare yourself with action. In order to avoid immediate peril, an irresolute prince most often embraces neutrality and most often comes to grief…. And let no state suppose that it can choose sides with complete safety. Indeed, it had better recognize that it will always have to choose between risks, for that is the order of things. We never flee one peril without falling into another. Prudence lies in knowing how to distinguish between degrees of danger and choosing the least danger as the best.

—Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince Ch. 21 (trans. Daniel Donno)