---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For whoever believes that great…"
description: "\"“For whoever believes that great advancement and new benefits make men forget old injuries is mistaken.”\" — Niccolò Machiavelli"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/niccolo-machiavelli-368_forget-old_for-whoever-believes-that-great-advancem_460037.jpg"
---

#  For whoever believes that great advancement and new…

![“For whoever believes that great advancement and new benefits make men forget old injuries is mistaken.” quote by Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/niccolo-machiavelli-368_forget-old_for-whoever-believes-that-great-advancem_460037.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/niccolo-machiavelli-368_forget-old_for-whoever-believes-that-great-advancem_460037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/13c/niccolo-machiavelli-368_forget-old_for-whoever-believes-that-great-advancem_460037.jpg)

> ““For whoever believes that great advancement and new benefits make men forget old injuries is mistaken.””

[Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Advancement should not erase memory of past harms; forgetting can lead to repeated mistakes.

**In simple terms:** Remember past injuries.

Key Takeaway

Balance progress with memory.

Themes

history progress justice

Mood

cautious critical

Type

political ethical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- social reform
- education curricula
- leadership training

Key Concepts

Political ethics collective memory

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies honor past grievances while advancing?
- What mechanisms prevent forgetting past harms?

A Different Perspective

Focusing only on progress may ignore necessary reparations.

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> [“Whoever thinks that in high personages new benefits cause old offences to be forgotten, makes a great mistake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-goldstone/whoever-thinks-that-in-high-personages-new-benefits-cause-old/)

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> [“I soon learnt that even when new benefits are provided, people do not conclude that there is more spare cash in their wallet than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-gillard/i-soon-learnt-that-even-when-new-benefits-are-provided-people-do-not/)

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> [“Those who believe that where great personages are concerned new favors cause old injuries to be forgotten deceive themselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/machiavelli-niccolo/those-who-believe-that-where-great-personages-are-concerned-new/)

[Machiavelli Niccolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/machiavelli-niccolo/)

> [We promised new benefits to seniors like preventive screening and diabetes testing. We kept that promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rogers/we-promised-new-benefits-to-seniors-like-preventive-screening-and/)

[Mike Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rogers/)

> [“If you are a policy maker, don’t apply bandages to old injuries when what we need is early, corrective surgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uri-gneezy/if-you-are-a-policy-maker-don-t-apply-bandages-to-old-injuries-when/)

[Uri Gneezy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uri-gneezy/)

> [The greatest difficulty in the world is not for people to accept new ideas, but to make them forget old ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/the-greatest-difficulty-in-the-world-is-not-for-people-to-accept-new/)

[Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/)

> [We musn't forget old people with their rotten bodies, old people who are so close to death, something that young people don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/we-musn-t-forget-old-people-with-their-rotten-bodies-old-people-who/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [Age is a state of old mind. It gets to a point where if you get old enough, you forget how old you are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/age-is-a-state-of-old-mind-it-gets-to-a-point-where-if-you-get-old/)

[Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/)

> [I love that my friends understand that I'm not gonna forget about the old me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-love-that-my-friends-understand-that-i-m-not-gonna-forget-about-the/)

[Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/)

> [“... we absolutely mustn't forget it. We mustn't forget old people with their rotten bodies, old people who are so close to death, something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/we-absolutely-mustn-t-forget-it-we-mustn-t-forget-old-people-with/)

[Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/)

> [Make new friends but dont forget your old because new is silver and old is gold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/make-new-friends-but-dont-forget-your-old-because-new-is-silver-and/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“As we have seen, so many of the things we once took for granted have proved unreliable that we may have to “forget” old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/as-we-have-seen-so-many-of-the-things-we-once-took-for-granted-have/)

[Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/)

> [People forget I'm that old. They still think it's 1988, when I was 26. They think I'm Peter Pan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-ryder/people-forget-i-m-that-old-they-still-think-it-s-1988-when-i-was-26/)

[Shaun Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-ryder/)

## More by Niccolò Machiavelli

> [Men generally decide upon a middle course, which is most hazardous, for they know neither how to be entirely good nor entirely bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-generally-decide-upon-a-middle-course-which-is-most-hazardous-for/)

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[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [It is the duty of a man of honor to teach others the good which he has not been able to do himself because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/it-is-the-duty-of-a-man-of-honor-to-teach-others-the-good-which-he/)

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> [“Anyone who believes that new benefits make men of high station forget old injuries deceives himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/anyone-who-believes-that-new-benefits-make-men-of-high-station-forget/)

[Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [He who has once begun to live by rapine always finds reasons for taking what is not his.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/he-who-has-once-begun-to-live-by-rapine-always-finds-reasons-for/)

[Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

> [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/)

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> [Speaking generally, men are ungrateful, fickle, hypocritical, fearful odanger and covetous ogain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/speaking-generally-men-are-ungrateful-fickle-hypocritical-fearful/)

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[Explore all 590 Niccolò Machiavelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/)

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> [“Anyone who believes that new benefits make men of high station forget old injuries deceives himself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/anyone-who-believes-that-new-benefits-make-men-of-high-station-forget/)

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