A wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it. Let him act like the clever archers who, designating to hit the mark which appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains, take him much higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height, but to be able to with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach.
– Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince