--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Just as artists who draw landscapes get…" description: "\"“Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley to study the mountains and go up to the mountains to look down on the valley, so one has to..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg" --- # Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley… ![“Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley to study the mountains and go up to the mountains to look down on the valley, so one has to be a prince to get to know the character of a people and a man of the people to know the character of a prince.” quote by Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg) > ““Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley to study the mountains and go up to the mountains to look down on the valley, so one has to be a prince to get to know the character of a people and a man of the people to know the character of a prince.”” [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. Understanding both rulers and subjects requires seeing each from the other's perspective to grasp true character. **In simple terms:** Leaders must see from the viewpoint of those they lead. Key Takeaway Empathy reveals hidden motives. Themes politics leadership perspective Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - government policy - corporate management - conflict resolution Key Concepts power dynamics social insight empathy Questions to Reflect On - How can leaders balance empathy with authority? - What risks arise when rulers ignore the people? A Different Perspective Empathy can be exploited for manipulation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/king/) ## Related quotes > [If one tries to think about history, it seems to me - it's like looking at a range of mountains. And the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/if-one-tries-to-think-about-history-it-seems-to-me-it-s-like-looking/) [Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/) > [“When facing the rocky mountains, do not look for pity. Keep ascending until the mountaintop experience becomes a reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gift-gugu-mona/when-facing-the-rocky-mountains-do-not-look-for-pity-keep-ascending/) [Gift Gugu Mona](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gift-gugu-mona/) > [The moment seemed right to me for a full and, if possible, authoritative portrait of the life and character of the Prince of Wales.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dimbleby/the-moment-seemed-right-to-me-for-a-full-and-if-possible/) [Jonathan Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dimbleby/) > [Specifically, we talked about making the character of the prince not so charming, at least in the beginning, and I'm playing around with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dancy/specifically-we-talked-about-making-the-character-of-the-prince-not/) [Hugh Dancy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dancy/) > [“A prince may be seen happy today and ruined tomorrow without having shown any chance in his character. For the prince who relies entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-jordan/a-prince-may-be-seen-happy-today-and-ruined-tomorrow-without-having/) [Neil Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-jordan/) > [“Therefore, a wise prince must think of a method by which his citizens will need the state and himself at all times and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/therefore-a-wise-prince-must-think-of-a-method-by-which-his-citizens/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Without doubt, princes become great when they overcome difficulties and hurdles put in their path. When fortune wants to advance a new prince... She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/without-doubt-princes-become-great-when-they-overcome-difficulties/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I never knew about racial segregation until Martin Luther King.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bradley/i-never-knew-about-racial-segregation-until-martin-luther-king/) [Charles Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bradley/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [They say that the commons of England would first destroy the king's friends and afterward himself, and then bring the Duke of York to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-cade/they-say-that-the-commons-of-england-would-first-destroy-the-king-s/) [Jack Cade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-cade/) > [Kenny King, his character on TV is him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lashley/kenny-king-his-character-on-tv-is-him/) [Bobby Lashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lashley/) > ['Melanin Man' was inspired by the words of an Uber driver in L.A. Before I got out of the car he said, 'They're scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/melanin-man-was-inspired-by-the-words-of-an-uber-driver-in-l-a-before/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [People from all walks of life that you might find as a King Diamond fan - you don't look a certain way; you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-diamond/people-from-all-walks-of-life-that-you-might-find-as-a-king-diamond/) [King Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-diamond/) > [“Kings don’t move mountains as a favor to a friend,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-whalen-turner/kings-don-t-move-mountains-as-a-favor-to-a-friend/) [Megan Whalen Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-whalen-turner/) > [“Wasn’t it Machiavelli who said ‘Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darius-brasher/wasn-t-it-machiavelli-who-said-any-man-who-tries-to-be-good-all-the/) Darius Brasher ## 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/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/because-there-are-three-classes-of-intellects-one-which-comprehends/) [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/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“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/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [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/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [There is nothing as likely to succeed as what the enemy believes you cannot attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/there-is-nothing-as-likely-to-succeed-as-what-the-enemy-believes-you/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities and are often more influenced by the things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/for-the-great-majority-of-mankind-are-satisfied-with-appearance-as/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [That prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against; for, provided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/that-prince-is-highly-esteemed-who-conveys-this-impression-of-himself/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“Anyone who studies present and ancient affairs will easily see how in all cities and all peoples there still exist, and have always existed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/anyone-who-studies-present-and-ancient-affairs-will-easily-see-how-in/) [Niccolò Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I believe that it is possible for one to praise, without concern, any man after he is dead since every reason and supervision for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/i-believe-that-it-is-possible-for-one-to-praise-without-concern-any/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [Men are always averse to enterprises in which they foresee difficulties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/men-are-always-averse-to-enterprises-in-which-they-foresee/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“He who causes another to become powerful ruins himself, for he brings such a power into being either by design or by force, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/he-who-causes-another-to-become-powerful-ruins-himself-for-he-brings/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [One never finds anything perfectly pure and ... exempt from danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/one-never-finds-anything-perfectly-pure-and-exempt-from-danger/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) [Explore all 590 Niccolò Machiavelli quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley to study the mountains and go up to the mountains to look down on the valley, so one has to be a prince to get to know the character of a people and a man of the people to know the character of a prince.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Niccolò Machiavelli" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get-down-in-the-valley-to-study/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get-down-in-the-valley-to-study/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22e/niccolo-machiavelli-368_art_just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get_2989506.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Just as artists who draw landscapes get down in the valley to study the mountains and go up to the mountains…” — Niccolò Machiavelli", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Niccolò Machiavelli", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Just as artists who draw landscapes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get-down-in-the-valley-to-study/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/just-as-artists-who-draw-landscapes-get-down-in-the-valley-to-study/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```