Machiavelli Niccolo the Prince 1985

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The University o Cicago Press, Cicago 6067

Te niversiy of Cicago Press Ld. ondon

0 0 0 07

© 1985, 998 by Te Univrsit of ChicagoAll rh rrd. Sod Ediion 1998Prited e Uited Stat of Amra

7

LIBRARY OF ONGRESS ATAN PUBCAON DAA

Maciaveli Niccol 6-27.[Principe Engis]The prince / Niccol Maciaveli: transated wit an

introducion by Harvey C. Manseld - 2nd edp. cm

Incudes bibliograpical references and indexSBN 0226500 (alk paper)-SBN 0226

00446 (pbk. a. paper) Poiica scienceEary work to 00 2 Politi

cal eics-Early works to 00 Tile]·M 20dc2 �772

CP@ e paper sed in tis pulication eets te minium

requirements of te Aerican Nationa Sandard ornforation Sciences-Peranence o Paper for Printed

ibrar Mterias S Z2



Contents

Introduction

A Note on the Translation

Chronoogy

Map

Te Prnce

vii

x

Dedicatory Letter 3

How Many Are the Kinds of Principaities and in

What Modes They Are Acquired 5

Of Hereditar Principaities 6

f. Of Mixed Principaities 7

Why the Kngdom of Darius Which Aeander Seized

Did Not Rebe om His Successors after exander'sDeath 6

How Cities or Prncipaities Which Lived by TheirOwn aws before They Were Occupied Should Be

Administered 20

Of New Principalities That Are Acquired through

Ones Own Arms and Virtue 2

Of New Principaities That Are Acquired by OthersArms and Fortune 2

Of Those Who Have Attained a Prncipaiy throughCrimes 34

X Of the Civil Principaliy 38

v



X. Wha Md h c All Picipalii ShldB Mad 42

X O Eccliaica Picipalii 4 5

X Hw May Kid Miiay Th A adCcig Mcay Sldi 48

X O Axiiay, Mixd ad O Ow Sldi 54

XV Wha a Pc Shd D Rgadig h Miiay 58

XV O Th Thig Which M ad EpcialyPic A Paid Bamd 61

XV O ialiy ad Paimy 62

XV O Cy ad Mcy ad Whh B Bd Tha ad h Cay 65

XV Wha Md aih Shd B Kp y Pic 68

XX O Aidig Cmp ad Had 71

X. Whh ad May Oh Thig WhichA Mad ad D y Pic Ey Day A U U 8 3

XX Wha a Pic Shd D B Hld i Em 87

XX O Th Whm Pic Ha a Scai 92

X. Wha Md a A B Aidd 93

XXV Why h Pic ay Ha Thi Sa 96

XX Hw Mch Ca D i Hma Aai ad iWa Md May B Oppd 98

XXV Exhai Si aly ad H m h

Baaia 101

AppdixMachiali Dcm 10, 15 3 107

Gay 13

Biligaphy 4

dx Pp Nam 4 5



Introduction

Anyone who picks up Machiavelli's e Prne holds in his

hands the most famous book on politics ever written. Itsclosest rival might be Platos Republ, but that book discusses politics in the context of things above politics, andpolitics turns out to have a limited and subordinate place. Ine Prne Machiavelli also discusses politics in relation tothings outside politics, as we shall see, but his conclusion isvery dierent Politics according to him is not limited by

things above it, and things normally taken to be outsidepolitics-the "givens in any political situationturn outto be much more under the control of politics than politicians, peoples, and philosophers have hitherto assumedMachiavelli's e Prne, then, is the most famous book onpolitics when politics is thought to be carried on for its ownsake, unlimted by anything above it The renown of e

Prne is precisely to have been the rst and the best bookto argue that politics has and should have its own rules andshould not accept rules of any kind or from any sourcewhere the object is not to win or prevail over others ePrne is briefer and pithier than Machiavellis other majorwork, Dsoure on Lvy, for The Prne is addressed to Lorenzo de' Medici, a prince like the busy executive of our

day who has little time for reading So e Prne with itspolitical advice to an active politician that politics should notbe limited by anything not political, is by far more famousthan the Doure on Lvy.

We cannot, however, agree that The Prne is the mostfamous book on politics without immediately correctingthis to say that it is the most infamous. It is famous for itsinfamy, for recommending the kind of politics that eversince has been caed Machiavelian The essence of thispolitics is that you can get away with murder: that nodivine sanction, or degradation of soul, or twinge of conscience will come to punish you. If you succeed, you will

Vl



1\ 'V 'I ae to ae te inamy o murder beaue wenI quire wo an aquire tey will be praied or noted (Capter . Toe riminal wo are inamou

ae merely been on te loing ide. Maiaelli and Maiaellian politi are amou or inamou or teir willingne to brae inamy.

Yet it mut be reported tat te preailing iewamong olar o Maiaelli i tat e wa not an eil manwo taugt eil dotrine and tat e doe not deere iinamy. Wit a iew to i preerene or republi oer

prinipalitie (more eident in Dsourses on Lvy tan ine Prne but not abent in te latter) tey annot belieee wa an apologit or tranny; or impreed by te udden burt o Italian patriotim in te lat apter o ThePrne tey orgie im or te ardoni oberationwi are not ully onitent wit ti generou eeling butare tougt to gie it a ertain piquany (ti i te opinion

o an earier generation o olar); or on te bai oMaiaeli' aying in Capter tat we ould take ourbearing rom wat i done rater tan rom watould be done tey onlude tat e wa a orerunner omodern politial iene wi i not an eil ting beaueit merely tell u wat appen witout paing judgmentIn um te preailing iew o te olar oer exue

or Maiaelli e wa a republian a patriot or a ientitand tereore, in expliit ontradition to te reation omot people to Maiaelli a oon a tey ear o i dotrine Maiaell wa not Maiaellian.

Te reader an orm i own judgment o tee eue or Maiaelli I do not reommend tem, ieybeaue tey make Maiaelli le intereting Tey tranorm im into a erald o te uture wo ad te lukto ound te tune we ear o oten todaydemoray,nationalim or eldetermination and iene Intead oallenging our aorite belie and oring u to tink,Maiaelli i enlited into a oru o elongratulation

iii



• w pric wo i ao a propt abov a at Mo. wa a "mr xcutor of tig tat ad b ordrdo i by God (Captr 6); c oud b admird� r

t grac tat mad im worty of pakig wit God.Or oud it b aid a Maciavi ay i Captr 26tat Mo ad "virtu t virtu tat mak a pricdpdt o o o but imf ? Captr 13 Macia vi rt t bibica tory of David ad Goiat toiutrat t city of o ow arm. Sau ordi arm to David David rfud tm ayig accordig to

Maciavi tat wit tm coud ot giv a good accout of im ad accordig to t Bib tat t Lord"wi divr m out of t ad of ti Piiti. Macia vi ao giv David a kif to go wit i ig t kif wic accordig to t Bib took from t fa Goiat ad ud to cut o i ad

Mut t w prict truy w prict b

i ow propt ad mak a w rigio o a to b i owmatr? grat powr of rigio ca b i watMo ad David foudd ad i wat Savoaroa aryaccompid i Maciavi ow tim ad city. uarmd pric wom diparag i Captr 6 actuaydipo of formidab wapo cary to t art of war. uarmd propt bcom armd if u rigio for

i ow purpo ratr ta God ad bcau t priccaot acquir gory for imf witout brigig ordr toi pricipaity uig rigio for imf i uig it to awr uma citi gray.

at tr captr of tak up t qutio of ow far ma ca mak i ow word. at ar timit t o Maciavi poitica cic (or t "art of

war) by fortu? At t d of Captr 24 bam"t pric of our wo accu fortu for tir troub ad ot tir ow idoc. quit tim ty do ottak accout of t torm to com but ty oudtyca. y biv tat t pop wi b digutd by t

ii



s

o 50 1 2 kmsH .

0 .le



Dedicatoy Lette

Niccl Machiavelli he Magnicen Lrenz de

Medici is csmary ms f he ime fr hse wh desire

acqire favr! wih a Prince cme mee him wihhings ha hey care ms fr amng heir wn r wihhings ha hey see please him ms. Ths ne sees hem2many imes eing presened wih hrses arms clh fgld precis snes and similar rnamens wrhy f

heir greaness. Ths since desire er myself yrMagnicence3 wih sme esimny f my hmage4 y have fnd nhing in my elngings ha care smch fr and eseem s grealy as he knwledge f heacins f grea men learned y me m lng experience wih mdern hings and a cnins reading f anciennes. Having hgh and examined hese hings wih

grea diligence fr a lng ime and nw redced hem ne small vlme send i yr Magnicence

And alhgh dge his wrk ndeserving f yrpresence ye have mch cndence ha hrgh yrhmaniy i may e acceped cnsidering ha n greaergif cld e made y me han give y he capaciy eale ndersand in a very shr ime all ha have learned

I. it: acquire grace. 'Acquire is an economc term that NM oftenuses to refer to noneconomic gain, especiay conquest-here, to the favoro grace that would seem to be in the gift of a prince.

2 NM switches om a singular to the purala device he uses frequenty.

3 Lorenzo de Medici (1491519) grandson of orenzo the

Magnicent (14499); he became duke ofUrbino in 156 NM had atrst intended to dedicate The Prince to Giuliano de Meicison oforenzothe Magnicent and duke of Nemourswho died in 56. See NMs etterto Vettori of December 01513printed in the Appendix

servtu, a feuda term of submission esewhere to be transatedas "seritude

3



I brin up the reatet exampe. For ince men amotaway wak on path beaten by other and proceed in theiracton by imitaton unabe either to tay on the path of

other atoether or to attan the virtue of thoe whom youmtate a prudent man houd away enter upon the path

beaten by reat men and imtate thoe who have been motexceent o that f h own virtue doe not reach that far iti at eat n the odor of it. He houd do a prudent archerdo when the pace they pan to hit appear too ditant andknowin how far the trenth 1 of their bow carrie they et

ther am much hiher than the pace intended not to reachuch heiht wth their arrow but to be abe with the ad ofo hih an aim to achieve their pan.

I ay then that in atoether new principaitie wherethere a new prnce one encounter more or e dcutyin maintainn them accordn to whether the one whoacquire them i more or e virtuou. And becaue the

reut of becomin prince from private indvidua preuppoe either vrtue or fortune it appear that one or theother of thee two thin reieve in part many dicutienonethee he who ha reed e on fortune ha maintained himef more. To have the prnce compeed to cometo ive there n peron becaue he ha no other tate maket ti eaer. But to come to thoe who have become

prnce by ther own virtue and not by fortune I ay that themot exceent are Moe Cyru Romuu Theeu andthe ike. And athouh one houd not reaon about Moea he wa a mere executor of thn that had been orderedfor him by God nonethee he houd be admred if onyfor that race which made him deerin of peakin withGod But et u conider Cyru and the other who haveacqured or founded kindom you wi nd them a admirabe and if their particuar action and order are conid

: vue Te fma ua yu

22



ered, they will appear no derent om those of Moses, who had so great a teaher And as one examnes theratons and lves, one does not see that they had anythng

else from fortune than the opportunty, whh gave themthe matter enablng them to ntrodue any form theypleased. Wthout that opportunty ther vrtue of sprt

would have been elmnated, and wthout that vrtue theopportunty would have ome n van.

It was neessary then for Moses to nd the people ofIsrael n Egypt, enslaved and oppressed by the Egyptans, so

that they would be dsposed to follow hm so as to get out ofther servtude. It was ttng that Romulus not be reevedn Alba, that he should have been exposed at brth, f he wasto beome kng of Rome and founder of that fatherland.Cyrus needed to nd the Persans malontent wth theempre of the Medes, and the Medes soft and eemnate

beause of a long peae Theseus ould not have demon

strated hs vrtue f he had not found the Athenans dsersed. Suh opporuntes, therefore, made these menhapy, and ther exellent vrtue enabled the oportunty to be reognied hene ther fatherlands were ennobled by and beame very happy.

Those lke these men, who beome prnes by thepaths of vrtue, aqure ther prnpalty wth dulty but

hold t wth ease and the dultes they have n aquringther prnpalty arse n part from the new orders andmodes that they are fored to ntrodue so as to found therstate and ther seury. And t should be onsdered thatnothng s more dult to handle, more doubtful of su-ess, nor more dangerous to manage, than to put oneself atthe head of ntrodung new orders For the ntroduer has

those who benet from the old orders as enemes, and hehas lukewarm defenders n all those who mght benetfrom the new orders. hs lukewarmness arses partly omfear of adversares who have he laws on ther sde andpartly from the nrdulty of men, who do not truly be

2



envied them for their qualit the remain powerful s UI "honored and happ

o such high examples I want to add a lesser example

but it wil have some proportion with the others and I want it to suce for other similar cases this is Hieroof racuse. From private individual he became prince ofracuse nor did he receive anthing more from fortunethan the opportunit. For when the racusans were op-pressed the chose him as their captain and om there heproved worth of being made their prince nd he was of

such virtue even in private fortune that he who wrote ofhim said "that he lacked nothing of being a king except akingdom 5 Hiero eliminated the old militar and organizeda new one; he left his old friendships and made new ones;and when he had friendships and soldiers that were his ownhe could build an building on top of such a foundation; sohe went through a great deal of trouble to acquire and little

to maintain.

Possibe sources: Poybus 8 1; 8; Justin, Sue 18 8. the Dedicatory Letter to the Dsorses on Livy.

�VIIOf New Principalities That Are

Acquired by Others Arms

and Fortune

hose who become princes from private idividl solel b fortune become so with little trouble but maitainthemselves with much. he have no dicult along thepath because the there but the diculties arise when

25



Vaenn by e vuga, acque s sae ug e fune f s fae an s ug e same, nwsanng e fac a e mae use f evey ee an a

se ngs a su be ne by a puen an vuusman pu s s n e saes a e ams an fune f es a g

. , as was sa a ve, w eve

s

n

y

i

unans a s mg be abe, w gea vue, ay em ae, aug ey mg ave bea w asp f e acec an w ange e

bung. us, f ne cnses a e seps f e uke,

ne w see a e a a f msef gea funansf fuue pwe, wc I n juge supeuus scuss; f I n knw wa bee eacng I cu gve a new pnce an e eampe f s acns. An f ses n bng p m, was n s fau,

because s ase fm an eanay an eeme agny f fune

Aeane V I a vey many cues, b pesenan fuue, wen e ece make s sn e uke gea.Fs, e n see e pa beng abe make m f any sae a was n a sae f e Cuc an wen eece ake a f e Cuc, e knew a e uke fMan an e Veneans wu n cnsen becauseFaenza an Rmn a f ng been une e pecn

f e Veneans Beses s, e saw a e ams f Iay,an especay e ams f anyne wm e mg ave

been abe make use wee n e ans f se wa fea e geaness f e ppe; an s e cu nus em, as ey wee a w e sn an e Cnnaan e accmpces5 I was us n c ssa

us s

�

es an bng s e saes s as be abe

ak msef

l

secuey f pa f em. s was easyf

O

he

un

a

Veneans, mve bye causes, wee engage n geng e Fenc cme

The Osn and oonna wee he wo pncpa nobe amieso Rome which had ong ogh or conto o Rome and he papacy

27



soldiers Once they were deadhe seized and held the principate3 of that city without any civil controversy Andalthough he was defeated twice by the Carthaginians and in

the end besiegednot only was he able to defend his city butalsoleaving part of his men for defense against the siegehe attacked Africa with the othersIn a short time he eedSyracuse from the siege and brought the Carthaginians to

dire necessity;they were compelled of necessity to come toan agreement with himto be content with the possession ofA ica and to leave Sicily to Agathocles. Thus whoever

might consider the actions and virtue of this man will seenothing or little that can be attributed to fortune. For as wassaid above not through anyones support but through theranks of the militarywhich he had gained for himself with athousand hardships and dangershe came to the principateand afterwards he maintained it with many spirited anddangerous policies. Yet one cannot call it virtue to kill one 's

citizens betray one s friends to be without faith withoutmercy without religion; these modes can enable one toacuire empire but not glo y. For if one considers thev rtue of Agathocles n entering nto and escaping fromdangers and the greatness of his spirit in enduring andovercoming adversitiesone does not see why he has to bejudged inferior to any most excellent captain.Nonetheless

his savage cruelty and inhumanitytogether with his innitecrimesdo not permt him to be celebrated among the mostexcellent men Thusone cannot attribute to fortune or tovirtue what he achieved without either.

In our times during the reign of Alexander VI Liv-erotto da Fermo4having been left a fatherless child someyears before was brought up by a maternal uncle of his

3 O pincpaty pnpato can man th uling o dominatngoc a wl a th am of dominaon

4 Ootto Euducci da Fmo who took pow in Fmo onDcmb 26, 50 and a ya lat wa angld by od of aBogia a Sngagia.

3



g eatne of ope Aexande and of Cea e Bo ga,h on,and of the unde takng. Whe Govann and the othe we e epondng to thee dcuon, Lve otto at a t oke

tood up,ayng that thee we e thng that houd be pokenof n a mo e ec et pace and he wthd ew to a oom ntowhch Govann and a the othe ctzen came behnd hm.No oone we e they eated than ode came out of ec etpace and ked Govann and a the othe Ae thhomcde, Lve otto mounted on ho e, ode th ough thetown and beeged the hghet magt acy n the paace o

that th ough fea they we e compeed to obey hm and toetabh a gove nment of whch he wa made p nce Andnce a thoe who coud have hu thm becaue they we e macontent we e dead, he t engthened hmef wth newcv and mta o de , o that n the pe od of one yea that he hed the p ncpaty,he wa not oy ecu e n thecty of Fe mo but had become fea ome to a h neghbo

And to ove th ow hm woud have been a dcutove th ow Agathoe f he had not pe mtted hmef to bedeceved by Cea e Bo ga when at Sngaga, a wa adabovehe took the O n and the Vte. The e Lve ottotoo wa taken, one yea afte the pa cde he commtted,and togethe wth Vteozzo, who had been h mate nh v tue and c me,he wa t anged

Someone coud queton how t happened that Agathoe and anyone ke hm, afte n ntec uete coud ve fo a ong tme ecu e n h fathe and,defend hmef agant exte na eneme,and neve beconp ed agant by h ctzennamuch a many othe have not been abe to mantan the tate th ough c uetyeven n peace tme,not to menton unce tan tme of

wa . Ibeeve that th come om c uete bady ued o we ued. Thoe can be caed we ued (fto peak we of ev that a e done at a t oke, out of the

8 lt: oended.

37



necessity to secure oneselfand then are not persisted in butare turned to as much utility for the sub jects as one canThose cruelties are badly used which though few in the

beginning rather grow with time than are eliminated.Those who observe the rst mode can have some remedyfor their state with God and with menas had Agathocles;asfor the others it is impossible for them to maintain them selves.

Hence it should be noted that in taking hold of a statehe who seizes it should review all the oenses necessary for

him to commitand do them all at a strokeso as not to haveto renew them every day and by not renewing them tosecure men and gain them to himself with bene ts. Who ever does otherwiseeither through timidity or through badcounselis always under necessity to hold a knife in his hand;nor can one ever found himself on his sub jects ibecause offresh and continued in juriesthey cannot be secure against

him For in juries must be done all togetherso thatbeingtasted lessthey oend less;and benetsby little so that they may be tasted better.9 And above allaprince should live with his sub jects so that no single accidentwhether bad or good has to make him change; for whennecessities come in adverse times you will not be in time foreviland the good that you do does not help youbecause

it is judged to be forced on you and cannot bring you d/

any grattu e

S Discouses on Livy 4

�IX

Of e Cv Prncpy

But coming to the other policy when a private citizenbecomes prince of his fatherland not through crime or



inhe ing o Nehe due o Minnd he Fo enine Thee owe hd o he wo inci conce n one h o eigne no ene ino Iy wih m he

ohe h none o hem en ge hi e. Thoe who conce ned hem he mo we e he oe nd he Venein Ando hod bck he Venein he union o lhe ohe wneeded in he deene o Fe o hod down he oehey mde ue o he b on in Rome Since hee we ediided ino wo cion O ini nd Coonn he e wwy cue o qu e3beween hemnd nding wih

m in hnd unde he eye o he oni hey e heoni ceie Sixu4 omeime oe u i o une o widomcoud nee eee him om hee inconenience. Andhe b eiy o hei ie w he cue o i;o in he enye on he e ge h oe iedhe woud he oubeuing down one o he cion5Io innceone oe

hd mo eimined he Coonnnohe one hoie ohe O ini oe u,which mde he Coonn ie ginndhe e woud no be ime o eimine he O ini

Thi b ough he emo o ce o he oe o behed in ow eeem inIy. Then Aexnde VI oe;6o lhe oni he e he ee been he howed how oecoud ei wih money nd o ce. Wih Due Venino

hi in umen nd wih he inion o he F ench heoo uniy he did lhe hing I dicued boe in hecion o he duke And hough hi inen migh no hebeen o mke he Chu ch g ebu he he dukenone

sanda Sxs V (-8 fm 7 8 M sad f hm

n oentine Histoies V "hs nwas h s wh bgan shwhw mch a n d d and hw many hngs vsy ad sd b hddn nd na ahy.

S M oentine Histoies (nd M ms nnn V fm 8 9 bwn

Sxs V and xand V (wh was m 9



whch s not su centThey o nee wnt to be your solers2whle you re not

mng wrbut when wr comesthey ether ee or leve

It shoul be lttle trouble or me to persue nyone o thspontbecuse the present run oItly s cuse by nothngother thn ts hvng ree or pero o mny yers onmercenrrms These rms once me some progress orsomen my hve ppere bo mong themsevesbutwhen the oregner cme they showe wht they wereHence Chrles ng o Frnce ws llowe to seze Ity

wth chl3 An he who s tht our sns were the cuse ot spoe the truth.4 But the sns were surely not those hebelevebut the onesI hve to on becuse these werethe sns o prnces they too hve suere the punshmentor them.

I wnt to emonstrte better the lure o these rms.Mercenry cptns re ether excellent men o rms or not:

they re you cnnot trust them becuse they lwys s-pre to thr own gretnessether by oppressng you whore ther ptron or by oppressng others contrry to yourntentonbut the cptn s not vrtuoushe runs you nthe ornry wy. An one respons tht whoever hsrms n hn wl o thsmercenror notI wou replytht rms hve to be employe ether by prnce or by

republc. The prnce shoul go n personn perorm hm-sel the oce o cptn The repubc hs to sen ts ct-zensn when t sens one who oes not turn out to be

n the literal sense of " soldier n your pay3 The chalk used to designate which houses would lodge French

soldiers along ther unresisted nvasion route the expression is attrbuted

to Pope Alexander VI by the French historan Philppe de Cones nhis Memo

4. his was Savonarola in his sermon ofNovember , 49, whosad that the French invason was God's punshment ofItaly and FlorenceSee oue on Ly 5, 56 for more ofNM on Savonarola and 2 18 on the sins of talian princes.



�XIII

Of Auxary, xed, and One's

Own Soders

Auxlararms,whch are the other useless arms,are thoseof a power that s called to come wth ts arms to help anddefend you, as was done by ope Julus n recent tmes.When he had seen n the campagn of Ferrara the sad result

of hs mercenararms,he turned to auxlary onesand heagreed wth Ferdnand, ng of Span, that Ferdnandwould help hm wth hs men and armes These arms canbe usefu and good n themselves, but for whoever callsthem n, they are almost always harmful, because whenthey lose you are undonewhen they wn,you are left therprsoner. And athough ancent hstores are full of exam

ples, nonetheless I do not wsh to depart from ths recentexample of ope JulusIIwhose course of thrustng hmselfentrely nto the hands of a foregner, when he wantedFerraracould not have been less thought out But hs good

fortune gave rse to a thrd thng so that he dd not reap thefrut of hs bad chocefor when hs auxlares were defeatedat Ravenna, the Swss rose up and, beyond all expec

taton, hs own and others, drove out the vctors and hecame out a prsoner nether of hs enmes, who had ed,nor of hs auxlares, snce he had won wth other asthan thers. The Florentnes, who were entrely unarmed,brought n ten thousand French to sa to capture t,2forwhch course they ncurred more danger than n any othertme of ther travals The emperor of Constantnople,so as

to oppose hs neghbors, sent ten thousand Turks ntoGreece when the war was nshed,they refused to leave.3

52·2. 500.3 EmpeoJoh Caacuzee 3 5 3

4



This was the beginning of the servitude of Greece underthe in dels.

Let himthen who wants to be unable to win mae

use of these armssince they are much more dangerous thanmercenary arms. For with theseruin is accomplishedtheyare all uniteda resolved to obey someone else. But mercenar arms when they have won need more time andgreater opportunity to hurt you since they are not onewhole body and have been found and paid for by youInthem the third party whom you may put at their head

cannot quicly seize so much authority as to oend youIn sum in mercenararms laziness is more dangerousinauxiliararmsvirtue is

A wise princethereforehas always avoided these armsand turned to his own. e has preferred to lose with his ownthan to win with otherssince he judges it no true victorythat is acquired with alien arms shall never hesitate to

cite Cesare Borgia and his actions This due came intoRomagna with auxiliary armsleading there entirely Frenchtroops with whom he too Imola and Forl. But whensuch arms no longer appeared safe to him he turned tomercenaries judging there to be less danger in themand hehired the Orsini and Viteli. Then in managing them hefound them doubtfulunfaithfuland dangerous;he elimi-

nated themand turned to his own arms And one can easilysee the dierence between these arms if one considers whata dierence there was in the reputation of the due whenhe had only the French and when he had the Orsini andVitelli and when he was left with his own soldiers and

himsef over them his reputation will be found always tohave increasedbut he was never so much esteemed as when

everyone saw that he was the total owner of his arms.I did not want to depart from examples that are Italian

and recentyetI do not want to leave out iero of Syracusesince he was one of those named above by me4 When heas

4 n Chapte 6



arms, but much inerior to one 's own And the examplegien is enough,because the kingdom o rance would beunconquerable i the ordering o Charles had been ex

panded or presered But lack o prudence in men beginssomething in which, because it tastes good then, they donot perceie the poison that lies underneath,as I said aboeo consumptie eers 7

hereore,he who does not recognize eils when theyarise in a principality is not truly wise, and this is gien toew And i one considers the rst

Roman Empire,one wil ndhiring o Goths,because rom that beginning the orces othe Roman mpire began to weaken,and all the irtue thatwas taken om it was gien to them

I conclude thus,that without its own arms no principality is secureindeed it is wholy obliged to ortune since itdoes not hae irtue to deend itsel 8in adersity And it has

always been the opinion and judgment o wise men thatnothing is so in rm and unstable as ame or power notsustained by one 's own orce" And one 's own arms arethose which a e composed o either sub jects or citizens oryour creatures al others are either mercenary or auxiliarAnd the mode o ordering one 's own arms will be easy tond

aboe ! !and i one sees how Phiip,ather o Alexander theGreat,and how many republics and princes hae armed and

ordered themselesI submit mysel entirely to these orders

7. In Chapter 3 where NM referred to diseases not to remedes.8 One manuscrpt has "wth fath at this point.

Quoted by NM n Latn from Tactus Anna XI the

words eum motaium (of mortal thngs) have bee omtted by N Mafter nothng

t: discourses on. ! The four namedn ths chapter are Cesare Borga Hero, Dad

and Chares VII. In Chapter NM mentions Moses Cyrus, Romulusand Theses.



order ?If e anted to retreat from here ho ould e hae to do it ?If they retreatedho ould e hae to follo them ?" And he put before them as he ent along the

chances that can occur to an army he listened to theiropinions gae his o n supported it ith reasons so thatbecause of these continued cogitations there could neerarise hile he led the armyany accident for hich he didnot hae the remedy.

Butas to the exercise of the minda prince should readhistories and consider in them the actions of excellent men

should see ho they conducted themseles in arsshouldexamine the causes of their ictores and lossesso as to beable to aoid the latter and imitate the former Aboe lheshould do as some excellent man has done in the past hofound someone to imitate ho had been praised and glor-ed

beside himsel as they say Alexander the Great imitated

Achi es Caesar Alexander Scipio Cyrus And hoeerreads the life of Cyrus ritten by Xenophon ill thenrecognze in the life of Scipio ho much glory that imita-tion brought himho much in chastitaabilithuman-ityand liberality Scipio conformed to hat had been rit ten of Cyrus by Xenophon

A ise prince should obsere such modes and neer

remain idle in peaceful times but ith his industry makecapital of them in order to be able to pro t from them inadersities so that hen fortune changes it ill nd himready to resist them

5 Th tit of Xnophons book s actay yrpaidia "TEdcaon o Cys.



�xv

Of hose hings for Which Men

And Especialy Princes Are

Praised or Blamed

It remains now to see what the modes and government of aprince should be with sub jects and with friends And be-cause I know that many have written of thisI fear that inwriting of it againI may be held presumptuousespecialysince in disputing this matter I depart from the orders ofothers But since my intent is to write something useful towhoever understands itit has appeared to me more ttingto go directly to the eectual truth of the thing than to theimagination of it And many have imagined republics and

principalities that have never been seen or known to exist intruthfor it is so far from how one lives to how one shouldlive that he who lets go of what is done for what should bedone learns his ruin rather than his preservation For a manwho wants to make a profession of good in all regards mustcome to ruin among so many who are not good Hence it isnecessary to a prince if he wants to maintain himsel to

learn to be able not to be goodand to use this and not use itaccording to necessityhusleaving out what is imagined about a prince and

discussing what is trueI say that all men whenever onespeaks of themand especially princessince they are placedhigherare noted for some of the qualities that bring themeither blame or praise And this is why someone is consid

ered liberal someone mean (usingvro [avaricious ] in our language is still one who desires to

have something by rapine sero mean ] we ca one whore ainssidered a giversomeone rapacioussomeone cr elsome

1



liberlhurs you. or i i is used iruously nd s i shouldbe usedi my no be recognizednd you will no escpehe inmy o is conrry. And soi one wns o minin

nme or liberliy mong men i is necessry no o leeou ny kind o lish dsplyso h prince who hs donehis wil lwys consume ll his resources in such deeds.Inhe end i wll be necessryi he wns o minin nmeor liberliy o burden he people exrordinrily o berigorous wh xes nd o do ll hose hngs h cn bedone o ge money This wil begin o mke him hed by his

sub jecsnd lile eseemed by nyone s he beco es poorso hing oended he mny nd rewrded he ew wih hisliberliy o his he eels eery les hrdshp nd runs inorsk eery sligh dnger When he recognizes hs ndwns o drw bck rom i he immediely incurs heinmy o menness.

Thussince prince cnnowihou dmge o him

sel use he irue o liberliy so h i is recognized heshould noi he is prudencre bou nme or menness or wih ime he will lwys be held more nd more liberl

when i is seen h wih his prsimony his income is enoughor him h he cn deend himsel rom whoeer mkeswr on himnd h he cn underke cmpigns wihouburdening he people o he comes o use liberiy wih ll

hose rom whom he does no ke who re in nie ndmenness wih ll hose o whom he does no gie whore ew n our imes we he no seen gre hings doneexcep by hose who he been considered menhe ohershe been elimined Pope Julius I while he mde useo nme or liberliy o in he ppcydid no hink ominining i lerso s o be ble o mke wr The pres

en kng o rnce2 hs crried on mny wrs whouimposng n exrordnry x on his sub jecsonly becuse

i onds ous



the extra expenses were administered with his long practiced parsimony.I the present ing o Spain had beenheld liberal,he would not hae been able to mae or win so

many campa gns.hereore,so as not to hae to rob his sub ects,to beable to deend himselnot to become poor and contemptible,nor to be orced to become rapacious,a prince shouldesteem it little to incur a name or meanness,because this isone o those ices which enable him to rule. And i someoneshould say Caesar attained empire with liberality,and many

others, because they hae been and hae been held to belibera,hae attained ergreat ran,I respondeither youare already a prince or you are on the path to acquiring it inthe rst case this liberality is damaging; in the second it isindeed necessary to be held liberal And Caesar was one othose who wanted to attain the principate o Rome; but iater he had arried there, had he remained alie and not

been temperate with his expenses,he would hae destroyedthat empire. And i someone should reply many hae beenprinces and hae done great things with their armies whohae been held ery liberal,I respond to you either theprince spends rom what is his own and his sub ects or romwhat belongs to someone else.In the rst case he should besparing; in the other, he should not leae out any part oliberality. And or the prince who goes out with his armies,who eeds on booty, pllage, and ransom and manages onwhat belongs to someone else, this liberality is necessary;othe ise he would not be ollowed by his soldiers. And owhat is not yours or your sub ects 'one can be a bigger gier,as were Cyrus, Caesar, and Aexander, because spend

ing what is someone else s does not tae reputation omyou but adds it to you; only spending your own is whatharms you. And there is nothing that consumes itsel asmuch as liberality whle you use it,you lose the capacity to

3. Frdnand t Caholic



ain thro gh the in de ity of princes and the one who hasknown best how to se the fo has come o t best. B t it isnecessary to know we how to co or this nat re,and to be a

great pretender and dissemb er and men are so simp e andso obedient to present necessities that he who deceies wi a ways nd someone who wi et himse f be deceied.

Ido not want to be si ent abo t one of the recente amp es. e ander VI neer did anything, nor eertho ght of anything,b t how to deceie men,and he a waysfo nd a s b ject to whom he co d do it nd there neer

was a man with greater e cacyin arming it with greater oaths, who obsered it ess nonethe ess, his deceits s cc eded at his wi , beca se hewe knew this aspect of the wor d

Th s, it is not necessary for a prince to hae a theaboe m ntioned a ities in fact,b t it is indeed necessaryto appear to hae them.Nay,I dare say this,that by haingthem and a ways obsering t em,they are harmf and byappearing to hae them, they are sef , as it is to appearmercif ,faithf ,h mane,honest,and re igio s,and to beso;b t to remain with a spirit b i t so that,if yo need not tobe those things,yo are ab e and know ow to change to thecontrar. This has to be nderstood that a prince, andespecia y a new prince,cannot obsere a those things forwhich men are he d good,since he is often nder a necessity,to mantain his state,of acting against faith,against charity,against h manity,against re igion. nd so he needs to hae aspirit disposed to change as the winds of fort ne and ariations of things command him,and as Isaid aboe,not departfrom good,when possib e,b t know how to enter into ei ,

when forced by necessity prince sho d th s take great care that nothing escape his mo th that is not f of the aboementioned e a ities and that,to see him and hear him,he sho d appeara mercy, a faith, a honesty, a h manity, all re igion.nd nothing is more necessarto appear to hae than this



my tmes.

3 lit niveslly4. lit toces5 ne mnscipt sys te few ve no plce tee n te

totes ve divded Cse sso nd sso cceptng no pceCo n Betelli plce.

6. ppently Feinn te Ctolic wom NM nesittinglynmes in Cpte I .

�XIX

Of Avodng Contempt and

Hatred

But be use I hve spoke o the most mpo tt o thequltes metoed bove, Iwt to ds ou se o the othe s b e y ude ths gee lty, tht the p e s ws sdbove p t,should thk how to vod those thgs tht

7



make him haefu and conempibe. When he aoids hemhe wi hae done his par and wi nd no danger in hisoher infamies Wha makes him haed aboe a as I said is

o be rapacious and a usurper of he propery and he womenof his subjecs. From hese he mus absain and wheneerone does no ake away eiher propery or honor from hegeneraiy of men hey ie conen and one has ony ocomba he ambiion of he few which may be checked inmany modes and wih ease Wha makes him conempibeis o be hed ariabe igh eeminae pusianimous irres-

oue from which a prince shoud guard himsef as om ashoa. He shoud conrie ha greaness spiriedness graiy and srengh are recognized in his acions and he shoudinsis ha his judgmens in he priae concerns of his sub jecs be irreocabe. And he shoud mainain such anopinion of himsef ha no one hinks eiher of deceiinghim or of geing around him

he prince who gies hs opinion of himsef is highyrepued and agains whoeer is repued i is dicu oconspire dicu o moun an aack proided i is under-sood ha he is exceen and reered by his on subjecs.For a prince shoud hae wo fears one wihin on accounof his subjecs he oher ouside on accoun of exernapowers From he aer one is defended wih good arms

and good friends; and if one has good arms one wi awayshae good friends And hings inside wi aways remainseady if hings ouside are seady uness indeed hey aredisurbed by a conspiracy; and een if hings ouside are inmoion proided he has ordered and ied as said as ongas he does no forsake himsef he wi aways wihsandeer hrus as I said abis he Sparan did Bu as o

ee Chae ave t iveaiy3 Chae ave whee Nai i featued a a rice f a civl

ciaiy NM de dice hee a he de Discuss n Ly 6 that abi wa i fact ied by a cacy

7



subjecs when hings ouside are no moing one has ofear ha hey may be conspiring secrey From his heprince may secure himsef sucieny if he aoids beinghaed or despised and keeps he peope saised wih him;his is necessary o achiee as was said aboe a enghAnd one of he mos powerfu remedies ha a prince hasagains conspiracies is no o be haed by he peope gener-ay5 Fo whoeer conspires aways beiees he wi saishe peope wih he deah of he prince bu when he be-iees he wi oend hem he does no ge up he spiri oadop such a course because he dicuies on he side ofhe conspiraors are innie And one sees om experienceha here hae been many conspiracies bu few hae had agood end For whoeer conspires canno be aone bu hecanno nd company excep from hose he beiees o bemaconens; and as soon as you discose your inen o amaconen you gie him he maer wih which o become

conen because manifesy he can hope for eer adan-age from i So seeing sure gain on his side and on heoher dubious gain fu of danger he mus indeed eiher bea rare friend or an aogeher obsnae enemy of he princeo obsere his faih wih you. And o reduce his o brieferms say ha on he par of he conspiraor here isnohing bu fear jeaousy and he anicipaion of erriing

punishmen bu on he par of he prince here is he maj-esy of he principaiy he aws he proecion of friendsand of he sae which defend him so ha when popuargood wi is added o a hese hings i is impossibe haanyone shoud be so rash as o conspire. For whereas aconspiraor ordinariy has o fear before he execuion of heei in his case (haing he peope as enemies) he mus fear

aferwards oo when he excess has occurred nor can hehope for any refuge

haptes 6 lt by he uveal



ition o the powerul and their inolence and judging itneceary or them to have a it in their mouth to correctthem and on the other ide knowing the hatred o the

generaity o people againt the great which i ounded init ear and wanting to ecure them intended thi not to ethe particular concern o the king o a to take om him thelame he would have rom the great when he avored thepopular ide and rom the popular ide when he avored thegreat and o he contituted a third judge to e the one who would eat down the great and avor the eer ide without

lame or the king Thi order could not e etter or moreprudent or a greater caue o the ecurity o the king andthe kingdom From thi one can iner another notale thing:that prince hould have anything ameale adminiteredy other avor y themelve Again I conclude that aprince hould eteem the great ut not make himel hatedy the people

It might perhap appear to many conidering the ieand death o ome Roman emperor that there were ex-ample contrary to my opinion ince one may nd ome-one who ha alway lived exceently and hown great virtue o pirit and ha nonethele lot the empire or indeedeen killed y hi own uject who conpired againt himSince I want thereore to repond to thee ojection

I hall dicu the qualitie o certain emperor howingthe caue o their ruin to e not unlike that which Ihave advanced and in part I hal oer or coniderationthing that are notale or whoever read aout the actiono thoe time And I want it to uce or me to take al theemperor who ucceeded to the empire rom Marcu thephiloopher to Maxiinu: thee were Marcu Coodu

hi on Pertinax Julianu Severu hi on AntoninuCaracala Macrinu Heliogaalu Aexander and Max

lt. f the nvesal. lt th f gae.1. Aexane eves.



iminu And rt t i to e noted that wherea in otherprincipalitie one ha to contend onl with the amitionof the great and the inolence of the people the Roman

emperor had a third dicult of having to ear with thecruelt and avarice of their oldier Thi wa o dicult thatit wa the caue of the ruin of man ince it wa dicult toati the oldier and the people For the people lovedquiet and therefore loved modet prince and the oldierloved a prince with a mlitary pirit who wa inolent crueland rapaciou The wanted him to practice thee thing

on the people o that the could doule their pa andgive vent to their avarice and cruelt Thee thing awarought aout the ruin of thoe emperor who nature or art did not have a great reputation uch that the couldhold oth in check And mot of them epeciall thoe whocame to the principate a new men once the recognizedthe dicult of thee two divere humor turned to at

iing the odier caring lttle aout injuring the peopleThi coure wa neceary for ince prince cannot fail toe hated omeone the are at rt forced not to e hated the people generall and when the cannot continuethi the have to contrive with l indutry to avoid thehatred of thoe communitie which are mot powerfulAnd o thoe empeor who ecaue the were new had

need of extraordnary upport tuck to the oldier ratherthan the people whch nonethele turned out ueful forthem or not according to whether that prince knew how tokeep hmelf n repute wth them From the caue men-tioned aove Marcu Pertinax and Alexander all living amodet life lover of jutice enemie of cruet humane

unves s sngula hee accdng t sme M acceted bhabd; t s lua and tanslated as "cmmuntes n the next causeunves s deved m the medeval Latn unvesas, whch meansbth a egal bd catn and (smetmes) the cmmunt nwhch sch bdes deend. NM's usage lacks the legalsm medevausage.



thigs wee acceted by Albius as tue. But ate Seveushad deeated Nige ut him to death ad bought eace toaais i the ast he etued to Rome ad comlaied ithe Seate that Albius hadly gateul o the beets hehad eceived om him had ediously sought to kill himad o this it was ecessay o Seveus to go uish hisigatitude he he wet to meet him i Face ad tookom him his state ad his lie

hus whoeve examies miutey the actios o thisma will d him a vey ece lio ad a vey astute ox will see that he was eaed ad eveed y eeyoe ad othated by the amy ad will ot mael that he a ewma could have held so much owe9 Fo his vey geateutatio always deeded him om the hated that theeole could have coceived o him becuse o his obbe-ies But his so Atoius [Caacala] was himsel a ma who had most excellet ats that made him mavelous i

the sight o the eole ad leasig to the soldies. Fo he was a militay ma ey caable o eduig evey toubledisdaiul o a delicate ood ad oa othe sotess whichmade hm loved by al the amies. Noetheess his eocityad cuelty wee so geat ad so uhead oo ateiite idiidual killigs he had ut to death a geat at othe eole o Rome ad all the eole o Alexadiathat

he became most hateul to all the wold. He ega to beeaed eve by those whom he had aoud him so that he was killed by a cetuio i the midst o his amy. Hee it isto be oted that deaths such as these which ollow om thedecisio o a obstiate siit caot e aoided by icesbecause ayoe who does ot cae about death ca hut20him but the ice may well ea them le because they ae

ey ae He should oly guad agaist dg gae ijuyto ayoe o those whom he uses ad ha ud him i the

19 lt eme. lt e.



service f his principlit s Antninus hd dne. He hdput t deth with disgrce brther f tht centurin ndthretened him ever dy yet he kept him in his bdygurd

which ws rsh plicy likely t bring ruin s hppenedt him.2

But let us cme t Cmmdus wh held the empire with gret ese becuse he hd it by hereditr right beingthe sn f Mrcus. It ws enugh fr him ny t fw inthe ftsteps f his fther nd he wuld hve stised bththe slders nd the peple But since he hd cruel nd

bestil spirit s s t prctice his rpcity n the peple heturned t indulging the rmies nd mking them licentiusOn the ther hnd by nt keeping his dignity by descending ften int theters t ght with glditrs nd by dingther ver bse things hrdly deserving f the imperil mjesty he becme cntemptible in the sight f the sldersAnd since he ws hted n ne side nd despised n the

ther he ws cnspired ginst nd put t dethIt remins nw t tell f the qulities f Mxiinus.He ws very wrlke mn nd since the rmes weredisgusted with the sftness f Aexnder whm I discussedbve when he ws put t deth they elected Mximinus tthe empire. He did nt pssess it fr lng becuse tw thingsmde him hted nd cntemptible: ne ws being f very

bse rigin22 becuse he hd frmerly herded sheep inThrce (which ws very well knwn everywhere ndbrught gret disdin fr him in the sight f everyne) thether ws tht becuse t the strt f his principlity he hddeferred ging t Rme nd tking pssessin f the imperil thrne he hd estblished n pinin f himself s ver

2 ee als iscuss n Liy whee NM says that the centn was the nstrument exectve f anthe cnspat Macnswh was aacala's pefect and s nt sad t have seed gave njryfrm aacala Macns pcamed hmself emper n 217 and wasvethwn n 2 18

22. lt beng vey base.

80



keep them his ries Similary, sie the kigom o thesulta is i the has o the soliers, he also is require tokeep them his ries, without respet or the people

you4 hae to ote that the sulta's state is orme ulike allother priipalities beause it is similar to the Christiapotiate, whih aot be alle either a hereitary pri-ipaliy or a ew priipality. For it is ot the sos o the olprie who are the heirs a beome the lors, but the oe who is elete to that rak by those who have the authoriyor it this beig a aiet orer, oe aot al it a

ew priipality, beause some o the iulties i ewpriipalities are ot i it; or i the prie is iee ew, theorers o that state are ol a are orere to reeive him asi he were their hereitary lor

But let us retur to our matter I say that whoeverosiers the isourse writte above wil see that eitherhatre or isai has bee the ause o the rui o the

emperors ame beore, a wil also kow whee it arisesthat, though some o them proeee i oe moe asome i the otrary moe, i whihever moe, oe othem ame to a happy e a the others to uhappy esFor to Pertiax a lexaer, beause they were ewpries, it was useless a harmul to wish to imitate Marus, who was i the priipate by hereitary right; a

similarly, or Caraalla, Commous, a Maximius it was aperiious thig to imitate Severus, beause they i othave as muh virtue as woul allow them to ollow i hisootsteps hereore, a ew prie i a ew priipaliyaot imitate the atios o Marus, or agai is it ees-say to ollow those o Severus; but he shoul take romSeverus those parts whih are eessary to ou his statea om Marus those whih are ttig a glorious tooseve a state that is areay establishe a rm

4 The frmal pural yu

82



against yo And becase yo cannot remain narmed yomst trn to a mercenary miitay which is o the qalitydescribed above; and even it were good it cannot be so

good as to deend yo against power enemies and sspectsbjects. So as said a new prince o a new principalityalways has ordered the arms there. The histories are ll oexamples o ths.

Bt when a prince acqres a new state that is added asa member to his old one then t s necessay to disarm thatstate except or those who were yor partisans in acqiing

it. These too it is necessary to render sot and eeminatein time and with opportnity and to be ordered so that theams o al yor state are only wth yor own soldiers whoive next to yo in yor old state

Or ancients and those who were esteemed wise sedto say that it was necessary to hold Pstoia with parties andPisa with ortresses; and becase o this they norished

dierences in some towns sbject to them so as to holdthem more easily. n times when taly was in balance in acertain mode this wold have been good to do bt do notbelieve that one cold give t today as a teaching. For donot believe that divisions ever do any good; on the contrary when the enemy approaches o necessity divided cities areimmediaely lost becase the weaer party always joins the

external orces and the other will not be abe to rleThe Venetians moved as beleve by the reasons wrt-

ten above norished the Gel and Ghibelline sects in thecities sbject to them. Althogh the Venetians never letthem come to blood stll they norished these contentionsamong tem so that occpied as those citizens were withtheir dierences they did not nite against the Venetians.

As may be seen this did not trn ot according to their planlater becase when they were deeated at Vail one partyimmediately became daring and too all o their state rom

L ee hape



thm Such mod, thror, impl wak i th pric.For i a igorou ricipalit uch diiio ar r pr-mittd, cau th rig prot ol i tim o pac,a uct ca maagd mor ail through thm;ut wh war com, uch a ordr how it ow allaou

ithout dout pric com grat wh th or-com diculti mad or thm ad oppoitio mad tothm So ortu, pciall wh h wat to mak a wpric gratic h ha a gratr cit to acquirrputatio tha a hrditar pricmak mi arior him ad mak thm udrtak trpri agait him,o that h ha cau to orcom thm ad to clim highro th laddr that hi mi ha rought or him Thr-or ma udg that a wi pric, wh h ha th opportuit or it, hould atutl ourh om mit o that wh h ha cruhd it, hi grat mrg th mor

rom itPrc, ad pciall tho that ar w, ha oudmor aith ad mor utilit i tho m who at th gi-ig o thir tat wr hld to upct tha tho whom th trutd at th giig. Padolo Ptrucci,pric o Sia, ruld hi tat mor with tho who had upct to him tha with th othr But o caot

pak roadl o thi thig cau it ari accordig to thuct I wil ol a thi, that th pric wl alwa al to wi or to himl with th gratt a tho m who i th gig o a pricipalit had mi,ad who ar o uch qualit that to maitai thml thd omwhr to a. Th ar all th mor orcd tor him aithull a th kow it i mor car or

thm to cacl out with dd th iitr opiio o hatak o thm Ad o th pric alwa xtract mor urom thm tha om tho who, whil rig him withtoo much curit, glct hi aair.

Ad c th mattr rquir it, I do ot wat to la

85



foreigners hn of he people, ogh o omi hem. Thesle in Miln bil b Frneso Sforz hs brogh nd will bring more wr o he Sforz hose hn n oher

disorder of h se. Therefore he bes forress here is, isno o be hed b he people, bese lhogh o mhve forresses, if he people hold o in hred forresses dono sve o for o peoples who hve en p rms foreigners wil never be ling o ome o heir id. In orimes forresses hve no been seen o bring pro o nprine, nless o he Coness of Forl, when Con iro-

lmo, her onsor, died for b mens of forress she wsble o espe poplr prising,5 o wi help from Miln,nd o reover her se. 6 And he imes hen were sh h foreigner old no help he people B ler, forresses were worh lile o her when Cesre Borgi ed her,nd her hosile people joined wih he foreigner. Therefore,hen nd before i wold hve been more sere for her no

o be hed b he people hn o hve hd forresses So,hving onsidered hese hings, I shll prise whoevermes forresses nd whoever does no, nd I shll blmenone who, rsing in forresses, hins lile of beinghed b he peope

5 lt mpetus

6 Ths st s vv eal Doure on Ly

6 aorenne Hore V 34

�XXI

What a Pince Should Do to Be

Held in Esteem

Nohing mes prine so mh eseemed s o rr ongre enerprses nd o give rre exmples of himsel In



our time we hae erdinand of Aragon the preent king ofSpain hi man can be called an almot new prince becauefrom being a weak king he ha become by fame and by glory

the rt king among the hritian; and, if you conider hiaction you will nd them all er great and ome of themextraordinay In the beginning of hi reign he attackedGranada and that enterprie wa the foundation of hi tateirt he made it at leiure and wthout fear of being interfered with he kept the mind of the baron of atiepreoccupied; while thinking of that war they did not think

of innoating. And in the meantime he acquired reputationand power oer them whch they did not perceie e waable to utain armie with money from the hurch and thepeople, and with that long war to lay a foundation for hiown military, which later brought him honor Beide thi,in order to undertake greater enterprie alway making ueof religion he turned to an act of piou cruelty expelling the

Marrano from hi kingdom and depoiling t of them; norcould there be an example more wretched and rarer thanthi e attacked Africa under thi ame cloak, made hcampaign in Italy and ha lately attacked rance; and o heha alway done and ordered great thing, which hae alwaykept the mind of hi ubject in upene and admiration,and occupied with thei outcome And hi action hae

followed upon one another in uch a mode that he ha neerallowed an interal between them for men to be able to work quietly againt him

It alo help ery much for a prince to gie rare example of himelf in goerning internally, imilar to thoe that

I Bth n th ntn a th mal plual yu.2 lt mp3 h Maan wh w xpll fm pan n 50-2 by

Fnan, w Jw an Mlm wh ha bn bly nvtt htanty

4 n 2, whn Fnan n th Hly agu

8 8



ae od of Messe enab da Miano when he ooni aises of soeone who woks fo soehing exao-dina in ii ife eihe fo good o fo i and of iking aode of ewading o nishing hi of whih h wi besaid And aboe la ine shod onie o gie hisefhe fae of a gea an and of an exeen aen6 in eeaion of his

A ine is aso eseeed when he is a e fiend and ae ene ha is when wiho an hesiaion he dis-oses hisef in so of soeone agains anohe This

ose is awas oe sef han o eain nea beaseif wo owes ose o o oe o gis eihe he ae ofsh ai ha if one wins o hae o fea he winne ono In eihe of hese wo ases i wi awas be oese o o o disose osef and o wage oen wa foin he s ase if o do no disose ose o wiawas be he e of whoee wins o he ease and

saisfaion of he one who was defeaed and o hae noeason no anhing o defend o o gie o efge Fo whoee wins does no wan sse fiends who a nohe hi in adesi whoee oses does no gie oefge sine o did no wan o shae his fone wih asin hand

Aniohs ae ino Geee soned hee b he

Aeoians o exe he Roans fo i Aniohs sensokesen o he Ahaeans who wee fiends of he Ro-ans o ge he o eain in he idde and on heohe side he Roans sogh o esade he o ake as fo he. This ae ae fo deision in heoni of he Ahaeans whee he egae o Aniohs was esading he o eain nea o whih he Ro-

an egae esonded: "As o wha he sa oeoe

· Benabo Viscnti, duke f Milan frm 13 t 38.6 O man, n me M. it: gd.



that you houd not intervene in the war, nothng i moreaien to your interet; without thank, without dignity you wi be the prze o the victor 8

And it wi away happen that the one who i notriendy wil eek your neutraity, and he who i riendyto you wi ak that you decare youre with arm Andirreoute prince, in order to ecape preent danger, oowthat neutra way mot time and mot time come to ruinBut, when he prince dicoe hime body in upport oone ide, i the one to whom you adhere win, athough he

i poweru and you remain at hi dicretion, he ha anobigation to you and ha a contract o ove or you; and menare never o indecent a to cruh you with o great an exampe o ingratitude hen, too, victorie are never o cearthat the winner doe not have to have ome repect, epeciay or jutice But i the one to whom you adhere oe,you are given reuge by him; and he hep you whie he can,

and you become the companon o a ortune that can reviven the econd cae, when thoe who ght together are ouch quaity that you do not have to ear the one who win,o much the greater i the prudence o joining ide; or youait in the ruin o one with the aid o the other who oughtto ave him, i he were wie; and when he ha won, heremain at your dicretion; and with your aid it i impoibe

that he not winAnd here it i to be noted that a prince mut beware

never to aociate with omeone more poweru than hime o a to attack other, except when neceity pree a wa aid above or when you win, you are et hi prioner,and prince houd avoid a much a they can being at thedicretion o other he Venetian accompanied ranceagaint the duke o Mian, and they coud have avoidedbeing in that companyrom which their ruin reuted

8 Quted Lat fm L He v. 4

. ed



�XX

Of Those hom Princes Have as

SecretariesThe choce o mstes s o o sma motace to ace they ae good o ot accodg to the deceo the ce Ad the st coecte that s to e made othe a o a lod s to see the me he has aod hmad whe they ae caale ad athl he ca always e e-ted wse ecase he has kow how to ecogze them ascaale ad to mata them as athl Bt they aeothewse oe ca always ass avoale dgmet ohm ecase the st eo he makes he makes thschoce

Thee was o oe who kew Messe Atoo da Ve-

ao as mste o Padolo Petcc ce o Sea2 who dd ot dge Padolo to e a most wothy ma scehe had Atoo as hs mste Ad sce thee ae theekds o as oe that destads y tsel aothe thatdsces what othes destad the thd that destadsethe y tsel o thogh othes the st s most ecel-let the secod ecelet ad the thd selesst oows

theeoe o ecessty that Padolo was ot the stak he was the secod Fo eve tme that oe has the dgmet to ecogze the good o evl that someoe doeso says althogh he does ot have the vetveess yhmsel he kows the ad deeds ad the good o hs mstead etols3 the oe ad coects the othe ad the mstecaot hoe to deceve hm ad emas good hmsel

Anono Godn d Venfo (459530), pofessor of w he Sudo of Sen

2 Ths s he seond e eu hs been ed "prne ofSen hpe 20) n Diou on Livy I 6 he s ed ynof Sen

ex

92



Bt as to how a ice ca kow his miiste hee is amode that eve ails Whe yo ee a miiste thikigmoe o himsel tha o yo ad i actios lookig osomethig sel to himsel oe so made will eve e agood miiste; eve wil yo e ale to tst him ecasehe who has someoe's state i his hads shold eve thiko himsel t always o the ice ad he shold eveememe aythig that does ot etai to the ice Ado the othe side the ice shold thik o the miste soas to kee him goodhooig him makig him ich

oligatig him to himsel shaig hoos ad des withhim so that he sees he caot stad withot the ice adso that may hoos do ot make him desie moe hoosmch wealth does ot make him desie moe wealth admay des make him ea chages Whe theeoemiistes ad ices i elatio to miistes ae so costitted they ca tst oe aothe whe it is othewise the

ed is always damagig eithe o oe o the othe

�XX

hat Mode Fatterers Are to BeAvoided

I do ot wat to leave ot a imotat oit ad a eoom which ices deed themselves with diclty less they ae vey det o make good choices Ad these

ae the attees o whom cots ae ll o me take schlease i thei ow aais ad so deceive themselves theethat they deed themselves with diclty om thislage ad i tryig to deed oesel om it oe isks thedage o ecomig cotemtile o thee is o othe way to gad oesel om attey ess me destad



ha hey do no oend yo in elling yo he h when eveyone can ell yo he h hey lack eveenceo yo Teeoe a den ince ms hold o a hid

mode choosing wise men in his sae and only o heseshold he give eedom o seak he h o him and ohose hings only ha he asks ao and nohing else Bhe shold ask hem ao eveyhing and lisen o heioinions hen he shold decide y himsel in his ownmode and wih hese concils and wih each meme ohem he shold ehave in sch a mode ha eveyone knows

ha he moe eely he seaks he moe he will e acceedAside om hese he shold no wan o hea anyone heshold move diecly o he hing ha was decided and eosinae in his decisions Whoeve does ohewise eihealls headlong ecase o aees o changes oen ecaseo he vaiailiy o views om which a low esimaion ohim aises

I wan o ing a moden eamle in his egadahe Lca a man o he esen emeo Maimlianseaking o his maesy old how he did no ake conselom anyone and neve did anyhing in his own mode hisaose om holding o a olicy conay o ha given aoveo he emeo is a seceive man who does no commni-cae his lans o anyone no seek hei views as in

ing hem ino eec hey egin o e known and dis-closed hey egin o e conadiced y hose whom he hasaond him and he an ageeale3 eson is dissaded omhem4 om his i aises ha he hings he does on one dayhe desoys on anohe ha no one eve ndesands wha

. free w.

L Rnd bhop nd bdor of Eperor Mxn ( 5959) wh who NM bee quned durng h eby ohe eperor n 508

. ey; ee hper 5. See NM' r derpon of Mxn n h Rappoto dll

co lla Magna 508).

4



he wants or plans to do, and that one cannot found oneselfon his decisions

A prince, therefore, shoud always take counse, but

when he wants, and not when others want it; on the contrary, he should discourage everyone from counseling himabout anything unless he asks it of them But he should be a very broad questioner, and then, in regard to the things heasked about, a patient listener to the truth; indeed, he shouldbecome upset when he learns that anyone has any hesitationto speak it to him And since many esteem that any prince

who estabishes an opinion of himself as prudent is so con-sidered not because of his nature but because of the goodcounsel he has around him, without doubt they are de-ceived For this is a general rule that never fails that a prnce who is not wise by himself cannot be counseled well, unessindeed by chance he should submt himself to one alone togovern him in everything, who is a very prudent man In

this case he could well be, but it would not last long becausethat governor would in a short time take away his state Butby taking counsel om more than one, a prince who is not wise will never have united counsel, nor know by himselfhow to unite them ach one of his counselors will think ofhis own interest; he wi not know how to correct them orunderstand them And they cannot be found otherwise,

because men will always turn ou bad for you unless theyhave been made good by a necessity So one concludes thatgood counsel from wherever it comes, must arise om theprudence of the prince, and not the prudence of the princefrom good counsel



�XXV

Why the Prices of tay Have Lost

Their States

Whe the thgs wtte aboe hae bee obseed p-dey they make a ew pce appea acet ad mmedatey ede hm moe sece ad steady hs statetha f he had gow od t. Fo a ew pce s obseed

mch moe hs actos tha a heedtay oe ad whethey ae ecogzed as tos they take hod of me mchmoe ad obgate them mch moe tha acet boodFo me a mch moe take by peset thgs tha by pastoes ad whe they d good the peset they ejoy tad do ot seek esewhee deed they w take p eeydefese o behaf of a ew pce f he s ot ackg othe

thgs as egads hmse Ad so he w hae the dobego of hag made the begg of a ew pcpaty ofhag adoed t ad cosodated t wth good aws goodams good feds ad good exampes jst as he has adobe shame who hag bee bo pce has ost tthogh hs ack of pdece.

Ad f oe cosdes those ods Itay who hae ost

the states o tmes ke the kg of Napes2 the dke ofMa ad othes oe w d them st a commodefect as to ams the cases of whch hae bee dscssed ategth aboe the oe w see that some of them ethehad a hoste peope o f they had fedy peopes dd otkow how to sece themsees agast the geat. Fo wth-ot these defects states that hae eogh ee to pt a

1 Mos MSS o "good fends2 Fedek ofArgon expeed fo Npes n by Ferdnnd

he ho nd Los X nd dehoned Ldovco Sforz see hper ·



�xxv

How Much Fortune Can Do In

Human Aairs, and in What Modet May Be Opposed

t is ot kow to me that may have held ad hold theopiio that worldly thigs are so govered by forte adby God that me caot correct them with their prdeceideed that they have o remedy at ; ad o accot ofthis they might jdge that oe eed ot sweat mch overthigs bt let oeself be govered by chace This opiiohas bee believed more i or times becase of the great variability of thigs which have bee see ad are seeevery day beyod every hma coectre Whe have

thoght abot this sometimes I have bee some particlied to their opiio Noetheless so that or free willot be elimiated I jdge that it might be tre that forteis arbiter of half of or actios bt also that she leaves theother hal or close to it for s to gover Ad I like herto oe of these vioet rivers which whe they becomeeraged ood the plais ri the trees ad the bildigs lift

earth from this part drop i aother; each perso ees beforethem everyoe yields to their impets withot beig ableto hider them i ay regard Ad althogh they are likethis it is ot as if me whe times are qiet cold otprovide for them with dikes ad dams so that whe they riselater either they go by a caal or their impets is eitherso wato or so damagig t happes similarly with

forte which demostrates her power where virtehas ot bee pt i order to resist her ad thereforetrs her impets where she kows that dams ad dikes

t: ordd



have not been made to contan her And f you onsdertay, whch s the seat of these varatons and that whch hasgven them moton, you w see a country wthout dams

and wthout any dke f t had been dked by sutabe vrtueke Germany Span and France ether ths ood woudnot have brought the great varatons that t has or t woudnot have come here.

And wsh that ths may be enough to have sad aboutopposng fortune n genera 3 But restrctng mysef more topartcuars, say that one sees a gven prnce be happy

today and come to run tomorrow wthout havng seen hmchange hs nature or any quaty Ths beeve arses, rstfrom the causes that have been dscussed at ength n theprecedng that s that the prnce who eans entrey on hsfortune comes to run as t vares. beeve further, that he shappy who adapts hs mode of proceedng to the quates ofthe tmes; and smary, he s unhappy whose procedure s n

dsaccord wth the tmes. For one sees that n the thngs thatead men to the end that each has before hm that s goresand rches they proceed varousy one wth cauton theother wth mpetuosty one by volence the other wthart; one wth patence the other wth ts contraryand wth these derent modes each can attan t. One aso seestwo cautous persons one attanng hs plan the other

not; and smary two persons are equay happy wth twoderent methods one beng cautous the other mpetuous. Ths arses from nothng other than from the quaty ofthe tmes that they conform to or not n ther procedure.From ths foows what sad that two persons workngderenty come out wth the same eect; and of twopersons workng dentcay, one s ed to hs end, the

2. Both y 's ths seece are he foa or pa o. . vesa4 t espec; pt s trasated sa as "cato ad "hesta

o occasoa as "rgard



other ot. O this also depeds the variailty of the goodfor if oe govers himself with autio ad patiee, ad thetimes ad aairs tur i suh a way that his govermet

is good, he omes out happy; ut if the times ad aairshage, he is ruied eause he does ot hage his mode ofproeedig. Nor may a ma e foud so prudet as to kowhow to aommodate himself to this, whether eause heaot deviate om what ature ilies him to or asoeause whe oe has always ourished y walkig o oepath he aot e persuaded to depart om it. Ad so the

autious ma, whe it is time to ome to impetuosity, doesot kow how to do it, hee omes to rui: for if he wouldhage his ature with the times ad with aairs, his fortue woud ot hage

Pope Julius proeeded impetuously i al his aairs,ad he foud the times ad aairs so muh i oformity with his mode of proeedig that he aways ahieved a

happy ed osider the rst eterprise that he udertooki Bologa, while Messer Giovai Betivoglio was stillivig. The Veetias were ot otet with it; or was thekig of pai; with Frae he was holdig disussios othat eterprise; ad oetheless with his feroity ad im-petuosity, he persoay put that expedito ito motioThis move made pai ad the Veetias stad sti i sus-

pese, the latter out of fear ad the other eause of thedesire he had to reover the whole kigdom of Naples.From the other side he puled the kig of Frae after himeause whe that kig saw him move, ad sie he desiredto make Julius his fried i order to rig dow the Vee-tias, he judged he ould ot dey him his troops withoutijurig him opey. Julius thus aomplished with his im-petuous move what o oher poti, with all huma pru-dee would ever have aomplished eause if he had

5 T oml o pul ou soud b udstood 6 t sogs



waited to depart om ome with rm conclusions andeverything in order, as any other ponti would have donehe would never have succeeded. For the king of France

would have had a thousand excuses and the others wouldhave raised in him a thousand fears I wish to omit all hisother actions, since al have been alike and al succeeded well. And the brevity of his life did not allow him to feel thecontrary because if times had come when he had needed toproceed with caution, his ruin would have followed he would never have deviated from those modes to which

nature inclined him.7I conclude, thus that when fortune varies and menremain obstinate in their modes, men are happy while theyare in accord and as they come into discord unhappy I

judge this indeed that it is better to be impetuous thancautious, because fortune is a woman and it is necessary ifone wants to hold her down, to beat her and strike her

down. And one sees that she lets herself be won more by theimpetuous than by those who proceed coldly. And so always, like a woman, she is the iend of the young becausethey are less cautious, more ferocious, and command her with more audacity.

7. See Disu on ivy 9

�XXV

Exhra Sz aly ad

Fr Hr rm h BarbarasThus having considered everything discussed above andthinkng to myself whether in Italy at present the times havebeen tending to the honor of a new prince and whether



there s matter to gve oortunty to someone rudent and vrtuous to ntroduce a form that would brng honor to hmand good to the communty of men there, t aears to me

that so many thngs are tendng to the benet of a newrnce that I do not know what tme has ever been more atfor t. And as I sad, t was necessary for anyone wantngto see the vrtue of Moses that the eole of Israel be enslaved n gyt, and to learn the greatness of srt of y-rus, that the Persans be oressed by the Medes, and tolearn the excellence of Theseus, that the Athenans be ds

ersed, so at resent to know the vrtue of an Italan srt2 t was necessary that Italy be reduced to the condton n whch she s at resent, whch s more enslaved than theHebrews, more servle than the Persans, more dsersedthan the Athenans, wthout a head, wthout order, beaten,desoed, torn, llaged, and havng endured run of everysort

And although u to now a glmmer has shone n some-one who could udge that he had been ordered by God forher redemton, yet later t was seen that n the hghestcourse of hs actons, he was reulsed by fortune So, left asf lfeless, she awats whoever t can be that wll heal her wounds, and ut an end to the sackng of Lombardy, to thetaxes on the kngdom and on Tuscany, and cure her of her

sores that have festered now for a ong tme One may seehow she rays God to send her someone to redeem her fromthese barbarous crueltes and nsults One may also see herready and dsosed to foow a ag, rovded that there besomeone to ck t u Nor may one see at resent anyone n whom she can hoe more than n your llustrous house, whch wth ts fortune and vrtue, suorted by God and by

the hurch of whch t s now rnce, can ut tself at the

See Chpe 6 pio, not animo Cin Giovnni e' Meici Loenzos unce becme Pope

Leo X in

2



head of this redemption. This is not very dicult if you4summon up the actions and ives of those named above Andalthough these men are rare and marvelous, nonethelessthey were men, and each of them had less opportunity thanthe present; for their undertaking was not more just thanthis one, nor easier, nor was God more friendly to themthan to you Here there is great justice: "for war s just towhom it is necessar, and arms are pious when there is nohope but in arms 5 Here there is ver great readiness, andwhere there is great readiness, there cannot be great di-cuty, provided that your house keeps its aim on the ordersof those whom I have put forth Besides this, here may beseen extraordinary things without exampe, brought about6by God the sea has opened; a cloud has escorted you alongthe way; the stone has poured forth water; here manna hasrained;7 everything has concurred in your greatness Theremainder you must do yoursel God does not want to do

ever thing, so as not to take free will om us and that part ofthe glor that falls to usAnd it is not a marvel if none of the talians named

before has been able to do what it is hoped will be done by your illustrious house, and if in so many revolutions in Italyand in so many maneuvers of war, it always appears thatmilitar virtue has died out in her This arises from the fact

that er ancient orders were not 00 and that there has notbeen an

x

ne w 0 as�

n

ow to nd new ones; and0:

mg .

mu

c

n a gnewly s h

4 he orml or prl os Qoe Li om Liv IX 1; ee o Diur n Liy III

, Fornin Hiori V 8 where he me qoio i e oemphie ece rher h jice6. i coce7 hee re reerece o mirce h occrre Moe e he

Ireie o he prome l beore he reveio Mo Sihe re o give i he me orer he ibe Exo 4:2 3:2176,164·



t·

atnes te ,they make him revered ad admirable. Ad i Italy matter is

t lakig r itrduig every rm here there is great virtue i the limbs, i it were t lakig i the heads. Lkhw i duels ad i euters with ew the Italias aresuperir i re, dexterity, ad igeuity. But whe tmes t armies, they d t mpare. Ad everythigllws rm the weakess at the head, beause thse whkw are t beyed, ad eah thiks he kws, sie up t

w e has bee able t raise himsel bth by virtuead by rtue, t a pit where the thers will yield t him.Frm this it llws that i s muh time, i s may warsmade i the last twety years, whe there has bee a armyetirely Italia it has always prve t be bad. The rsttestimy t this is Tar, the Alessadria, apua, Gea,Vail, Blga, Mestre.8

Thus, i yur illustrius huse wats t lw thseexeet me wh redeemed their uties,9 .

eessabere ther thigs, as the tue undaio

0 v

,

et

· 0 Ir\L ·ts W )Jls' r e a

t ave mre at u , r truer, r etter sldiers. Adalthugh eah them may be gd, tgether bemebetter whe they see themselves mmaded by their

prie, ad hred ad idulged by him t is eessary,therere, t prepare suh arms r esel s as t be able with Italia virtue t deed esel rm reigers. Adathugh Swiss ad Spaish iatry are esteemed t beterriig, etheless there is a deet i bth, by meas whih a third rder mght t ly ppse them but als bede vermig them. Fr the Spaish at

withstad hrse, ad the Swiss have t be araid iatryi they meet i mbat ay that are bstiate like themselves Hee it has bee see, ad wil be see by experi

8 S bls w Il ds om 495 o 539 li povics

4



ence, that the Spansh cannot wthstand Fench caval andthe Swss ae uned by Spansh nfanty. And although acomplete expement of ths last has not been seen, yet anndcaton of t was seen n the battle of avenna,10 whenthe Spansh nfanty confonted the Geman battalons, who use the same ode as the Swss Thee the Spansh, wth the agle bodes and aded by the buces, camebetween and unde the Gemans pkes and attacked themsafely wthout the havng any emedy fo t; and f t hadnot been fo the cavaly that chaged them they would have

won out all the Gemans. Havng thus leaned the defectsof both of these nfanty, one can ode a new one that would esst hose and not be afad of nfanty; ths wll bedone by a egeneaton of ams and a change n odes Andthese ae among those thngs whch, when newly odeed,gve eputaton and geatness to a new pnce

Ths, one should not let ths oppotunty pass, fo I taly,

afte so much tme, to see he edeeme. I cannot expess wth what loe he would be eceved n all those povncesthat have sueed fom these oods fom outsde; wth whatthst fo evenge, wth what obstnate fath, wth what p-ety, wth what teas What doos would be closed to hm?What peoples would deny hm obedence? What envy would oppose hm? What Italan woud deny hm homage?

Ths babaan domnaton stnks to eveyone Then may you llustous house take up ths task wth the spt andhope n whch just entepses ae taken up, so that undets emblem ths fatheland may be ennobled and unde tsauspces the sayng of Petach's may come tue:

Vtue wl take up ams aganst fu,and make the battle shot,because the ancent valo n talan heatss not yet dead.11

Ap ; see Chpe 3 Peh Italia mia 93-96

S



Appendix

I the ig ette hich h bee clled the t ceebted

i l ti itetue Mchivei decibe e d i hi lied ek cul tht he h jut ceted The Prince. he ette itte i ee t hi ied Fcec Vetti Fetie bd i Re h hd eviul et ette decib

ig d i his lie Mchivei e i t d Vetti

eht elitt ecutig but it give u gie

the utide the iticl hihe t k We e

g the thig tht The Prn e cveti ith the

ciet d tht i it Mchivei deved dee he cud ithi ubect

NCC MCE FRCEC VER,FRECE, DECEER la, 11.

Magnicen ambassadr" Never were dvne favrs lae I say hs because I aear have ls, n, mislaid yur favr, since yu have gne alng me whu wring me, ad was dubful whencehe cause culd arise. And f a hse ha came my mndI k lile accun ece fr ne, when I feared yu hadsed wriing me because smene had wrien yu

ha I was n a gd warden f yur eers and I knewha, aar frm Fl and Pagl, n ne ese had seenhem n accun f me I regained yur favr by yur asleer f he rd f as mnh, where I was very leased see hw rderedy and quely yu eercse his ublc f-ce and I urge yu cninue s, fr whever les g f hiswn cnvenience fr he cnvenience f hers, nly lseshis wn and ges n hanks frm hem And because Frune wans d everyhing, she wans us allw her d, remain quie and n gve ruble, and awai he

. etch Trulph ojvly

7



and some othe citizens when that noth wind was bowingodeed a oad each fom me. pomised to a and sent oneto Tommaso which in Foence tuned into a hafoadbecause to stack it up thee wee himsef his wife hissevant and his chiden so that they ooked ike Gabbua

with his boys when he budgeons an ox on Thusday o when saw whose pot it was tod the othes had nomoe wood; and a hae made a big point of it especiayBatista who counts this among the othe disastes of Pato.

When eae the wood go to a sping and om

thee to an aia of mine hae a book unde my amDante o Petach o one of the mino poets ike TibuusOid and such. ead of thei amoous passions and theioes; emembe my own and eoy mysef fo a whie inthis thinkng. Then moe on aong the oad to the inn; speak with those passing by; ask them news of thei paces; ean aious things; and note the aious tastes and

dieent fancies of men. n the meantime comes the hou todine when eat with my company what food this poo iaand tiny patimony aow Haing eaten etun to the inn;thee is the host odinaiy a butche a mie two bakesWith them become a asca fo the whoe day paying atcicca and tic-tac, fom which aise a thousand quaes andcouness abuses with insuting wods and most times we

ae ghting oe a penny and yet we can be head shoutingfo an asciano. Thus inoed with these emin scape the mod o my bain and satis the maignity ofthis fate of mine as am content to be tamped on this pathso as to see if she wi be ashamed of it.

When eening has come etun to my house and gointo my study t the doo take o my cothes of the day

coeed with mud and mie and put on my ega andcouty gaments; and deceny ecothed ente the ancient couts of ancient men whee eceied by themoingy feed on the food that aone is mine and that wasbon fo Thee am not ashamed to speak with them and to

9



ask hem he reason or heir acions and hey in heirhumaniy rely o me And or he sace o our hours eeno oredom orge every ain do no ear overty deah

does no righen me deiver mysel enirey o hem.And ecase Dane says ha o have undersood wih-ou reaining does no make knowledge3 have noed wha caial have made rom heir conversaion and havecomose a lile work De Pincipaibus [On Princialiies] whee delve as deely as can ino reecions on hissuec deaing wha a rinciaiy is o wha kinds hey

are how hey are aquired how hey are mainained whyhey are os. And i you have ever een ease y y o my whimsies his one should no dislease you and o a rinceand esecially o a new rince i shoud e welcome. So am addressing i o his Magnicence Giuiano.4 Filioasavecchia has seen i he can give you an accoun in aroh o he hing in ise and o he discussions had wih

him alhough am al he ime aening and olishing i.You wish magnicen amassador ha leave his

ie and come o enoy you ie wih you wil o i in anycase u wha ems me now is cerain dealings o mine which wil have done in si weeks Wha makes me edouu is ha he Soderini are here whom woud eorce i came o visi and seak wih. should ear ha a

my reurn would no eec o ge o a my house u would e o a he Bargello5 or alhough his sae has very grea oundaions and grea securiy ye i is new andecause o his susicious nor does i lack wiseacres who o

3. Parado, 41-42.4. Guo M h u o ous so o oo h

M H Fo Spb o) 5 3 ws Ro h oMs H 1516, M o TPri o oo M so o Loo h M whob u oUbo 56

5 h pso bus M wou b susp o po whh So o h u o h pvous

10



aear like Pagolo Berini, would e ohers run u a i andleave me o hink o aying. I eg you o releve me ohis ear, and hen I will come in he ime saed o mee

you anyway.I have discussed wih iio his lle work o mine, wheher o give i o him6 or no and i i s good o give i, wheher i would e good or me o ake i or send i o you.No giving i would make me ear ha a he leas i wouldno e read y Giuliano and ha his Ardingheli woud akeor hmsel he honor o his laes eo o mine. The ne-

cessiy ha chases me makes me give , ecause I am ecoming worn ou, and I canno remain as I am or a longime wihou ecoming dessed ecause o overy, esideshe desire I have ha hes Medici lords egin o make useo me even i hey should egin y makng me roll a sone.For i I should no hen win hem over o me I shouldcomlain o mysel and hrough his hng i i were read,

one would see ha I have neiher sle hrough nor layedaway he een years I have een a he sudy o he ar ohe sae. And anyone should e glad o have he service oone who is ull o eerience a he eense o anoherAnd one should no dou my aih, ecause having always

Machiavelli Niccolo the Prince 1985

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Transcript of Machiavelli Niccolo the Prince 1985