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Who really said it

It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both

Written by Niccolò Machiavelli 1469–1527 · Florentine statesman & political theorist; The Prince written c.1513, published 1532
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Genuinely Machiavelli: the line condenses a passage in The Prince, Chapter 17, which asks “whether it be better to be beloved than feared” and concludes it is “much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two.” The pithy “if you cannot be both” wording is a modern paraphrase of his longer, more qualified sentence.

Last verified 7 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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“It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both” Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 17 (written c.1513, published 1532). His sentence reads "it is much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two"; the popular "if you cannot be both" is a modern paraphrase.

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Provenance

The primary source

Work
The Prince (Il Principe)
Author
Niccolò Machiavelli
Location
Chapter 17 — “Of Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared”
Date
Written c.1513; first published 1532

From this arises the question whether it be better to be beloved than feared, or to be feared than beloved. … It is much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two. ↑ the popular version compresses this into “if you cannot be both”

Machiavelli’s fuller point is that a prince should wish to be both loved and feared, and choose fear only when the two cannot be combined — a nuance the shortened quote tends to drop.

The Prince, Chapter 17 (Wikisource)

How we traced it

Public domain

Machiavelli’s text (1532) and all standard English translations quoted here are long in the public domain.

This reflects the original work, which is public domain. If your exact English wording comes from a specific modern translation, that translation may itself still be under copyright — check the edition you quote.

Fact-check

The real misunderstanding

The attribution to Machiavelli is correct — the trouble is with the wording and the meaning. The popular one-liner is a paraphrase that flattens a more careful argument.

Machiavelli’s own words paraphrase

“If you cannot be both” is a modern condensation. Machiavelli’s sentence in The Prince Ch. 17 runs “it is much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two” (Wikisource ↗). He wrote in Italian; every English form is a translator’s wording.

a blanket endorsement of ruling by fear

Machiavelli says a prince should aim to be both loved and feared, choosing fear only if forced — and warns above all to avoid being hated. Yale SOM argues the quotable version corrupts this into the false lesson that cruelty is always necessary (Yale Insights ↗).

Bottom line: it really is Machiavelli, from The Prince Ch. 17 — but read the whole sentence, which says a prince should want to be both loved and feared and pick fear only when he must (Wikisource ↗).

Context

Why the line endures

Chapter 17 is the emotional core of The Prince: Machiavelli coolly weighs love against fear as instruments of rule and decides fear is the safer bet, because love “is preserved by the link of obligation which… is broken at every opportunity,” while fear is held by “a dread of punishment which never fails.”

But he immediately hedges: the wise prince makes himself feared without becoming hated. The famous soundbite keeps the cold calculation and loses the caution.

One should wish to be both — but if forced to choose, it is safer to be feared.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Power Leadership

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Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

The Prince, Chapter 17 (full text)en.wikisource.org

Primary source confirming “much more safe to be feared than to be loved, when you have to choose between the two.”
No, Machiavelli Did Not Say It’s Better to Be Feared Than Lovedinsights.som.yale.edu

Yale SOM essay on how the popular quote misrepresents his advice to be both loved and feared.
The Prince (complete, Marriott translation)gutenberg.org

Full public-domain English text of The Prince for reading Chapter 17 in context.
The Prince, Chapter 17 (Lit2Go)etc.usf.edu

University of South Florida hosting of Chapter 17 with the fear-vs-love passage.

The author

About Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli

1469–1527 · Florentine statesman & political theorist

Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine diplomat, historian and political philosopher who served the Republic of Florence until the Medici returned to power in 1512. Out of office, he wrote The Prince (c.1513), a hard-eyed manual on acquiring and holding power that gave us the adjective “Machiavellian.” The book was printed in 1532, five years after his death.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince, trans. Christian E. Detmold, Chapter 17 (“Of Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared”). Written c.1513; first published 1532.

MLA (9th ed.)

Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Translated by Christian E. Detmold, 1532.

APA (7th ed.)

Machiavelli, N. (1532). The prince (C. E. Detmold, Trans.). (Original work published 1513)

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Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both’?” Last verified 7 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/it-is-better-to-be-feared-than-loved-if-you-cannot-be-both

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