This Machiavelli quote was the epigraph in Book 1 of the Destined series – Fated: Cinderella’s Story.
Everyone sees what you appear to be, few experience what you really are.
Machiavelli
Just for fun, I turned it into an art print for you! Because who doesn’t love intense historical quotes juxtaposed with glam pastel art. 😂
Click the image below to download a high res 15×19″ PDF file (~14 MB) that you can print at any local printer like Walgreens or Target. (You can also shrink it down to a smaller size…I just wanted to give you options. I think it would make a cute postcard size print!)
Although this quote comes from a passage of unsurprisingly terrible-yet-practical advice for princes, in which Machiavelli advises the prince to act religious publicly but privately do whatever he wants, I think the fundamental observation holds true. No one but you can know your real intentions, beliefs, and motivations. That means people may misjudge you at times, but it also means you can be free not to draw your value and identity from their good opinion. I hope this quote inspires you when you need help remembering that. xo
More art prints coming soon…
