“Men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, but of more serious ones they cannot.”Niccolò Machiavelli · Principele · 1532 · capitolul 3
Never leave an enemy half-defeated: humiliation without removal plants tomorrow's revenge.
The logic is cold: a light injury leaves the victim alive and capable of revenge, while a devastating one removes any means of response. Machiavelli maps the mechanics of resentment in power: half-measures create permanent enemies. A ruler who humiliates a rival without eliminating him harvests that man's revenge later, when circumstances allow.
Why it matters Even without violence, the principle applies to conflicts: leave behind no humiliated, half-satisfied enemies. Be generous or firm, never ambiguous.