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They might make their profit of it, as out of a merchant.

— Philippe de Commines

Qu'ils en fissent leur profit comme d'un marchand.

Original text (French)

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Source and credibility

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Source: Bk. II, ch. 10. Reported in Jules Michelet, History of France, tr. G. H. Smith (New York, 1882), vol. i, p. 409
Source quality: Secondhand citation Quoted from another book or article rather than from the original.

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Now in my opinion, out of all the countries I have personally known, England is the one where public affairs are best conducted and regulated with least violence to the people. There no buildings are knocked down or demolished through war, and disaster and misfortune befall those who make war.

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Nor should anything said after dinner be taken for counsel.

He who has the profits of war has the honour.

Two princes who wish to remain on friendly terms should never see each other but send good and wise men to one another, and these should maintain their friendship and amend any faults.

Kings and princes have much more power when they undertake some enterprise on the advice of their subjects. They are then more feared by their enemies.

The two dukes were wise after the event (as the Bretons say).

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Philippe de Commines (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.