,the ,prince by ,nicolo ,machiavelli ,translated by ,w4 ,k4 ,marriott ,contents ,,introduction ,,youth t4 #a-be--adfi-id ,,office t4 #be-dc--adid-aeab ,,literature ,,and ,,death t4 #dc-eh--aeab-bg ,,the ,,man ,,and ,,his ,,works ,,dedication ,,the ,,prince ,,chapter ,i4 ,,how ,,many ,,kinds ,,of ,,principalities ,,there ,,are1 ,,and ,,by ,,what ,,means ,,they ,,are ,,acquired ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,concerning ,,hereditary ,,principalities ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,concerning ,,mixed ,,principalities ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,why ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,darius1 ,,conquered ,,by ,,alexander1 ,,did ,,not ,,rebel ,,against ,,the ,,successors ,,of ,,alexander ,,at ,,his ,,death ,,chapter ,v4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,to ,,govern ,,cities ,,or ,,principalities ,,which ,,lived ,,under ,,their ,,own ,,laws ,,before ,,they ,,were ,,annexed ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,concerning ,,new ,,principalities ,,which ,,are ,,acquired ,,by ,,one',s ,,own ,,arms ,,and ,,ability ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,concerning ,,new ,,principalities ,,which ,,are ,,acquired ,,either ,,by ,,the ,,arms ,,of ,,others ,,or ,,by ,,good ,,fortune ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,concerning ,,those ,,who ,,have ,,obtained ,a ,,principality ,,by ,,wickedness ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,concerning ,a ,,civil ,,principality ,,chapter ,x4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,strength ,,of ,,all ,,principalities ,,ought ,,to ,,be ,,measured ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,concerning ,,ecclesiastical ,,principalities ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,how ,,many ,,kinds ,,of ,,soldiery ,,there ,,are ,,and ,,concerning ,,mercenaries ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,concerning ,,auxiliaries1 ,,mixed ,,soldiery1 ,,and ,,one',s ,,own ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,that ,,which ,,concerns ,a ,,prince ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,war ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,concerning ,,things ,,for ,,which ,,men1 ,,and ,,especially ,,princes1 ,,are ,,praised ,,or ,,blamed ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,concerning ,,liberality ,,and ,,meanness ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,concerning ,,cruelty ,,and ,,clemency1 ,,and ,,whether ,,it ,,is ,,better ,,to ,,be ,,loved ,,than ,,feared ,,chapter ,,xviii4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,in ,,which ,,princes ,,should ,,keep ,,faith ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,that ,,one ,,should ,,avoid ,,being ,,despised ,,and ,,hated ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,are ,,fortresses1 ,,and ,,many ,,other ,,things ,,to ,,which ,,princes ,,often ,,resort1 ,,advantageous ,,or ,,hurtful8 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,how ,a ,,prince ,,should ,,conduct ,,himself ,,so ,,as ,,to ,,gain ,,renown ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,secretaries ,,of ,,princes ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,how ,,flatterers ,,should ,,be ,,avoided ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,why ,,the ,,princes ,,of ,,italy ,,have ,,lost ,,their ,,states ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,what ,,fortune ,,can ,,effect ,,in ,,human ,,affairs ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,withstand ,,her ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,an ,,exhortation ,,to ,,liberate ,,italy ,,from ,,the ,,barbarians ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,methods ,,adopted ,,by ,,the ,,duke ,,valentino ,,when ,,murdering ,,vitellozzo ,,vitelli1 ,,oliverotto ,,da ,,fermo1 ,,the ,,signor ,,pagolo1 ,,and ,,the ,,duke ,,di ,,gravina ,,orsini ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,castruccio ,,castracani ,,of ,,lucca ,nicolo ,machiavelli1 born at ,florence on #crd ,may #adfi4 ,from #adid to #aeab held an official post at ,florence which included diplomatic missions to various ,european courts4 ,imprisoned in ,florence1 #aeab2 later exiled and returned to ,san ,casciano4 ,died at ,florence on #bbnd ,june #aebg4 ,,introduction ,nicolo ,machiavelli was born at ,florence on #crd ,may #adfi4 ,he was the second son of ,bernardo di ,nicolo ,machiavelli1 a lawyer of some repute1 and of ,bartolommea di ,stefano ,nelli1 his wife4 ,both parents were members of the old ,florentine nobility4 ,his life falls naturally into three periods1 each of which singularly enough constitutes a distinct and important era in the history of ,florence4 ,his youth was concurrent with the greatness of ,florence as an ,italian power under the guidance of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 ,il ,magnifico4 ,the downfall of the ,medici in ,florence occurred in #adid1 in which year ,machiavelli entered the public service4 ,during his official career ,florence was free under the government of a ,republic1 which lasted until #aeab1 when the ,medici returned to power1 and ,machiavelli lost his office4 ,the ,medici again ruled ,florence from #aeab until #aebg1 when they were once more driven out4 ,this was the period of ,machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence2 but he died1 within a few weeks of the expulsion of the ,medici1 on #bbnd ,june #aebg1 in his fifty-eighth year1 without having regained office4 ,,youth -- t4 #a-be--adfi-id ,although there is little recorded of the youth of ,machiavelli1 the ,florence of those days is so well known that the early environment of this representative citizen may be easily imagined4 ,florence has been described as a city with two opposite currents of life1 one directed by the fervent and austere ,savonarola1 the other by the splendour-loving ,lorenzo4 ,savonarola's influence upon the young ,machiavelli must have been slight1 for although at one time he wielded immense power over the fortunes of ,florence1 he only furnished ,machiavelli with a subject of a gibe in ,the ,prince1 where he is cited as an example of an unarmed prophet who came to a bad end4 ,whereas the magnificence of the ,medicean rule during the life of ,lorenzo appeared to have impressed ,machiavelli strongly1 for he frequently recurs to it in his writings1 and it is to ,lorenzo's grandson that he dedicates ,the ,prince4 ,machiavelli1 in his 8,history of ,florence10 gives us a picture of the young men among whom his youth was passed4 ,he writes3 8,they were freer than their forefathers in dress and living1 and spent more in other kinds of excesses1 consuming their time and money in idleness1 gaming1 and women2 their chief aim was to appear well dressed and to speak with wit and acuteness1 whilst he who could wound others the most cleverly was thought the wisest40 ,in a letter to his son ,guido1 ,machiavelli shows why youth should avail itself of its opportunities for study1 and leads us to infer that his own youth had been so occupied4 ,he writes3 8,i have received your letter1 which has given me the greatest pleasure1 especially because you tell me you are quite restored in health1 than which ,i could have no better news2 for if ,god grant life to you1 and to me1 ,i hope to make a good man of you if you are willing to do your share40 ,then1 writing of a new patron1 he continues3 8,this will turn out well for you1 but it is necessary for you to study2 since1 then1 you have no longer the excuse of illness1 take pains to study letters and music1 for you see what honour is done to me for the little skill ,i have4 ,therefore1 my son1 if you wish to please me1 and to bring success and honour to yourself1 do right and study1 because others will help you if you help yourself40 ,,office -- t4 #be-dc--adid-aeab ,the second period of ,machiavelli's life was spent in the service of the free ,republic of ,florence1 which flourished1 as stated above1 from the expulsion of the ,medici in #adid until their return in #aeab4 ,after serving four years in one of the public offices he was appointed ,chancellor and ,secretary to the ,second ,chancery1 the ,ten of ,liberty and ,peace4 ,here we are on firm ground when dealing with the events of ,machiavelli's life1 for during this time he took a leading part in the affairs of the ,republic1 and we have its decrees1 records1 and dispatches to guide us1 as well as his own writings4 ,a mere recapitulation of a few of his transactions with the statesmen and soldiers of his time gives a fair indication of his activities1 and supplies the sources from which he drew the experiences and characters which illustrate ,the ,prince4 ,his first mission was in #adii to ,catherina ,sforza1 8my lady of ,forli0 of ,the ,prince1 from whose conduct and fate he drew the moral that it is far better to earn the confidence of the people than to rely on fortresses4 ,this is a very noticeable principle in ,machiavelli1 and is urged by him in many ways as a matter of vital importance to princes4 ,in #aejj he was sent to ,france to obtain terms from ,louis ,,xii for continuing the war against ,pisa3 this king it was who1 in his conduct of affairs in ,italy1 committed the five capital errors in statecraft summarized in ,the ,prince1 and was consequently driven out4 ,he1 also1 it was who made the dissolution of his marriage a condition of support to ,pope ,alexander ,,vi2 which leads ,machiavelli to refer those who urge that such promises should be kept to what he has written concerning the faith of princes4 ,machiavelli's public life was largely occupied with events arising out of the ambitions of ,pope ,alexander ,,vi and his son1 ,cesare ,borgia1 the ,duke ,valentino1 and these characters fill a large space of ,the ,prince4 ,machiavelli never hesitates to cite the actions of the duke for the benefit of usurpers who wish to keep the states they have seized2 he can1 indeed1 find no precepts to offer so good as the pattern of ,cesare ,borgia's conduct1 insomuch that ,cesare is acclaimed by some critics as the 8hero0 of ,the ,prince4 ,yet in ,the ,prince the duke is in point of fact cited as a type of the man who rises on the fortune of others1 and falls with them2 who takes every course that might be expected from a prudent man but the course which will save him2 who is prepared for all eventualities but the one which happens2 and who1 when all his abilities fail to carry him through1 exclaims that it was not his fault1 but an extraordinary and unforeseen fatality4 ,on the death of ,pius ,,iii1 in #aejc1 ,machiavelli was sent to ,rome to watch the election of his successor1 and there he saw ,cesare ,borgia cheated into allowing the choice of the ,college to fall on ,giuliano delle ,rovere 7,julius ,,ii71 who was one of the cardinals that had most reason to fear the duke4 ,machiavelli1 when commenting on this election1 says that he who thinks new favours will cause great personages to forget old injuries deceives himself4 ,julius did not rest until he had ruined ,cesare4 ,it was to ,julius ,,ii that ,machiavelli was sent in #aejf1 when that pontiff was commencing his enterprise against ,bologna2 which he brought to a successful issue1 as he did many of his other adventures1 owing chiefly to his impetuous character4 ,it is in reference to ,pope ,julius that ,machiavelli moralizes on the resemblance between ,fortune and women1 and concludes that it is the bold rather than the cautious man that will win and hold them both4 ,it is impossible to follow here the varying fortunes of the ,italian states1 which in #aejg were controlled by ,france1 ,spain1 and ,germany1 with results that have lasted to our day2 we are concerned with those events1 and with the three great actors in them1 so far only as they impinge on the personality of ,machiavelli4 ,he had several meetings with ,louis ,,xii of ,france1 and his estimate of that monarch's character has already been alluded to4 ,machiavelli has painted ,ferdinand of ,aragon as the man who accomplished great things under the cloak of religion1 but who in reality had no mercy1 faith1 humanity1 or integrity2 and who1 had he allowed himself to be influenced by such motives1 would have been ruined4 ,the ,emperor ,maximilian was one of the most interesting men of the age1 and his character has been drawn by many hands2 but ,machiavelli1 who was an envoy at his court in #aejg-h1 reveals the secret of his many failures when he describes him as a secretive man1 without force of character--ignoring the human agencies necessary to carry his schemes into effect1 and never insisting on the fulfilment of his wishes4 ,the remaining years of ,machiavelli's official career were filled with events arising out of the ,league of ,cambrai1 made in #aejh between the three great ,european powers already mentioned and the pope1 with the object of crushing the ,venetian ,republic4 ,this result was attained in the battle of ,vaila1 when ,venice lost in one day all that she had won in eight hundred years4 ,florence had a difficult part to play during these events1 complicated as they were by the feud which broke out between the pope and the ,french1 because friendship with ,france had dictated the entire policy of the ,republic4 ,when1 in #aeaa1 ,julius ,,ii finally formed the ,holy ,league against ,france1 and with the assistance of the ,swiss drove the ,french out of ,italy1 ,florence lay at the mercy of the ,pope1 and had to submit to his terms1 one of which was that the ,medici should be restored4 ,the return of the ,medici to ,florence on #ast ,september #aeab1 and the consequent fall of the ,republic1 was the signal for the dismissal of ,machiavelli and his friends1 and thus put an end to his public career1 for1 as we have seen1 he died without regaining office4 ,,literature ,,and ,,death -- t4 #dc-eh--aeab-bg ,on the return of the ,medici1 ,machiavelli1 who for a few weeks had vainly hoped to retain his office under the new masters of ,florence1 was dismissed by decree dated #gth ,november #aeab4 ,shortly after this he was accused of complicity in an abortive conspiracy against the ,medici1 imprisoned1 and put to the question by torture4 ,the new ,medicean pope1 ,leo ,x1 procured his release1 and he retired to his small property at ,san ,casciano1 near ,florence1 where he devoted himself to literature4 ,in a letter to ,francesco ,vettori1 dated #acth ,december #aeac1 he has left a very interesting description of his life at this period1 which elucidates his methods and his motives in writing ,the ,prince4 ,after describing his daily occupations with his family and neighbours1 he writes3 8,the evening being come1 ,i return home and go to my study2 at the entrance ,i pull off my peasant-clothes1 covered with dust and dirt1 and put on my noble court dress1 and thus becomingly re-clothed ,i pass into the ancient courts of the men of old1 where1 being lovingly received by them1 ,i am fed with that food which is mine alone2 where ,i do not hesitate to speak with them1 and to ask for the reason of their actions1 and they in their benignity answer me2 and for four hours ,i feel no weariness1 ,i forget every trouble1 poverty does not dismay1 death does not terrify me2 ,i am possessed entirely by those great men4 ,and because ,dante says3 ,knowledge doth come of learning well retained1 ,unfruitful else1 ,i have noted down what ,i have gained from their conversation1 and have composed a small work on #8,principalities1' where ,i pour myself out as fully as ,i can in meditation on the subject1 discussing what a principality is1 what kinds there are1 how they can be acquired1 how they can be kept1 why they are lost3 and if any of my fancies ever pleased you1 this ought not to displease you3 and to a prince1 especially to a new one1 it should be welcome3 therefore ,i dedicate it to his ,magnificence ,giuliano4 ,filippo ,casavecchio has seen it2 he will be able to tell you what is in it1 and of the discourses ,i have had with him2 nevertheless1 ,i am still enriching and polishing it40 ,the 8little book0 suffered many vicissitudes before attaining the form in which it has reached us4 ,various mental influences were at work during its composition2 its title and patron were changed2 and for some unknown reason it was finally dedicated to ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,although ,machiavelli discussed with ,casavecchio whether it should be sent or presented in person to the patron1 there is no evidence that ,lorenzo ever received or even read it3 he certainly never gave ,machiavelli any employment4 ,although it was plagiarized during ,machiavelli's lifetime1 ,the ,prince was never published by him1 and its text is still disputable4 ,machiavelli concludes his letter to ,vettori thus3 8,and as to this little thing his book1 when it has been read it will be seen that during the fifteen years ,i have given to the study of statecraft ,i have neither slept nor idled2 and men ought ever to desire to be served by one who has reaped experience at the expense of others4 ,and of my loyalty none could doubt1 because having always kept faith ,i could not now learn how to break it2 for he who has been faithful and honest1 as ,i have1 cannot change his nature2 and my poverty is a witness to my honesty40 ,before ,machiavelli had got ,the ,prince off his hands he commenced his 8,discourse on the ,first ,decade of ,titus ,livius10 which should be read concurrently with ,the ,prince4 ,these and several minor works occupied him until the year #aeah1 when he accepted a small commission to look after the affairs of some ,florentine merchants at ,genoa4 ,in #aeai the ,medicean rulers of ,florence granted a few political concessions to her citizens1 and ,machiavelli with others was consulted upon a new constitution under which the ,great ,council was to be restored2 but on one pretext or another it was not promulgated4 ,in #aebj the ,florentine merchants again had recourse to ,machiavelli to settle their difficulties with ,lucca1 but this year was chiefly remarkable for his re-entry into ,florentine literary society1 where he was much sought after1 and also for the production of his 8,art of ,war40 ,it was in the same year that he received a commission at the instance of ,cardinal de' ,medici to write the 8,history of ,florence10 a task which occupied him until #aebe4 ,his return to popular favour may have determined the ,medici to give him this employment1 for an old writer observes that 8an able statesman out of work1 like a huge whale1 will endeavour to overturn the ship unless he has an empty cask to play with40 ,when the 8,history of ,florence0 was finished1 ,machiavelli took it to ,rome for presentation to his patron1 ,giuliano de' ,medici1 who had in the meanwhile become pope under the title of ,clement ,,vii4 ,it is somewhat remarkable that1 as1 in #aeac1 ,machiavelli had written ,the ,prince for the instruction of the ,medici after they had just regained power in ,florence1 so1 in #aebe1 he dedicated the 8,history of ,florence0 to the head of the family when its ruin was now at hand4 ,in that year the battle of ,pavia destroyed the ,french rule in ,italy1 and left ,francis ,i a prisoner in the hands of his great rival1 ,charles ,v4 ,this was followed by the sack of ,rome1 upon the news of which the popular party at ,florence threw off the yoke of the ,medici1 who were once more banished4 ,machiavelli was absent from ,florence at this time1 but hastened his return1 hoping to secure his former office of secretary to the 8,ten of ,liberty and ,peace40 ,unhappily he was taken ill soon after he reached ,florence1 where he died on #bbnd ,june #aebg4 ,,the ,,man ,,and ,,his ,,works ,no one can say where the bones of ,machiavelli rest1 but modern ,florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in ,santa ,croce1 by the side of her most famous sons2 recognizing that1 whatever other nations may have found in his works1 ,italy found in them the idea of her unity and the germs of her renaissance among the nations of ,europe4 ,whilst it is idle to protest against the world-wide and evil signification of his name1 it may be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine which this sinister reputation implies was unknown to his own day1 and that the researches of recent times have enabled us to interpret him more reasonably4 ,it is due to these inquiries that the shape of an 8unholy necromancer10 which so long haunted men's vision1 has begun to fade4 ,machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation1 acuteness1 and industry2 noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him1 and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced retirement from affairs4 ,he does not present himself1 nor is he depicted by his contemporaries1 as a type of that rare combination1 the successful statesman and author1 for he appears to have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and political employments4 ,he was misled by ,catherina ,sforza1 ignored by ,louis ,,xii1 overawed by ,cesare ,borgia2 several of his embassies were quite barren of results2 his attempts to fortify ,florence failed1 and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody by their cowardice4 ,in the conduct of his own affairs he was timid and time-serving2 he dared not appear by the side of ,soderini1 to whom he owed so much1 for fear of compromising himself2 his connection with the ,medici was open to suspicion1 and ,giuliano appears to have recognized his real forte when he set him to write the 8,history of ,florence10 rather than employ him in the state4 ,and it is on the literary side of his character1 and there alone1 that we find no weakness and no failure4 ,although the light of almost four centuries has been focused on ,the ,prince1 its problems are still debatable and interesting1 because they are the eternal problems between the ruled and their rulers4 ,such as they are1 its ethics are those of ,machiavelli's contemporaries2 yet they cannot be said to be out of date so long as the governments of ,europe rely on material rather than on moral forces4 ,its historical incidents and personages become interesting by reason of the uses which ,machiavelli makes of them to illustrate his theories of government and conduct4 ,leaving out of consideration those maxims of state which still furnish some ,european and eastern statesmen with principles of action1 ,the ,prince is bestrewn with truths that can be proved at every turn4 ,men are still the dupes of their simplicity and greed1 as they were in the days of ,alexander ,,vi4 ,the cloak of religion still conceals the vices which ,machiavelli laid bare in the character of ,ferdinand of ,aragon4 ,men will not look at things as they really are1 but as they wish them to be--and are ruined4 ,in politics there are no perfectly safe courses2 prudence consists in choosing the least dangerous ones4 ,then--to pass to a higher plane--,machiavelli reiterates that1 although crimes may win an empire1 they do not win glory4 ,necessary wars are just wars1 and the arms of a nation are hallowed when it has no other resource but to fight4 ,it is the cry of a far later day than ,machiavelli's that government should be elevated into a living moral force1 capable of inspiring the people with a just recognition of the fundamental principles of society2 to this 8high argument0 ,the ,prince contributes but little4 ,machiavelli always refused to write either of men or of governments otherwise than as he found them1 and he writes with such skill and insight that his work is of abiding value4 ,but what invests ,the ,prince with more than a merely artistic or historical interest is the incontrovertible truth that it deals with the great principles which still guide nations and rulers in their relationship with each other and their neighbours4 ,in translating ,the ,prince my aim has been to achieve at all costs an exact literal rendering of the original1 rather than a fluent paraphrase adapted to the modern notions of style and expression4 ,machiavelli was no facile phrasemonger2 the conditions under which he wrote obliged him to weigh every word2 his themes were lofty1 his substance grave1 his manner nobly plain and serious4 ,quis eo fuit unquam in partiundis rebus1 in definiendis1 in explanandis pressior8 ,in ,the ,prince1 it may be truly said1 there is reason assignable1 not only for every word1 but for the position of every word4 ,to an ,englishman of ,shakespeare's time the translation of such a treatise was in some ways a comparatively easy task1 for in those times the genius of the ,english more nearly resembled that of the ,italian language2 to the ,englishman of to-day it is not so simple4 ,to take a single example3 the word intrattenere1 employed by ,machiavelli to indicate the policy adopted by the ,roman ,senate towards the weaker states of ,greece1 would by an ,elizabethan be correctly rendered 8entertain10 and every contemporary reader would understand what was meant by saying that 8,rome entertained the tolians and the ,achaeans without augmenting their power40 ,but to-day such a phrase would seem obsolete and ambiguous1 if not unmeaning3 we are compelled to say that 8,rome maintained friendly relations with the tolians10 etc41 using four words to do the work of one4 ,i have tried to preserve the pithy brevity of the ,italian so far as was consistent with an absolute fidelity to the sense4 ,if the result be an occasional asperity ,i can only hope that the reader1 in his eagerness to reach the author's meaning1 may overlook the roughness of the road that leads him to it4 ,the following is a list of the works of ,machiavelli3 ,principal works4 ,discorso sopra le cose di ,pisa1 #adii2 ,del modo di trattare i popoli della ,valdichiana ribellati1 #aejb2 ,del modo tenuto dal duca ,valentino nell' ammazzare ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 ,oliverotto da ,fermo1 etc41 #aejb2 ,discorso sopra la provisione del danaro1 #aejb2 ,decennale primo 7poem in terza rima71 #aejf2 ,ritratti delle cose dell' ,alemagna1 #aejh-ab2 ,decennale secondo1 #aeji2 ,ritratti delle cose di ,francia1 #aeaj2 ,discorsi sopra la prima deca di ,t4 ,livio1 #c vols41 #aeab-ag2 ,il ,principe1 #aeac2 ,andria1 comedy translated from ,terence1 #aeac 7872 ,mandragola1 prose comedy in five acts1 with prologue in verse1 #aeac2 ,della lingua 7dialogue71 #aead2 ,clizia1 comedy in prose1 #aeae 7872 ,belfagor arcidiavolo 7novel71 #aeae2 ,asino d'oro 7poem in terza rima71 #aeag2 ,dell' arte della guerra1 #aeai-bj2 ,discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di ,firenze1 #aebj2 ,sommario delle cose della citta di ,lucca1 #aebj2 ,vita di ,castruccio ,castracani da ,lucca1 #aebj2 ,istorie fiorentine1 #h books1 #aeba-e2 ,frammenti storici1 #aebe4 ,other poems include ,sonetti1 ,canzoni1 ,ottave1 and ,canti carnascialeschi4 ,editions4 ,aldo1 ,venice1 #aedf2 della ,tertina1 #aeej2 ,cambiagi1 ,florence1 #f vols41 #aghb-e2 dei ,classici1 ,milan1 #aj #ahac2 ,silvestri1 #i vols41 #ahbj-b2 ,passerini1 ,fanfani1 ,milanesi1 #f vols4 only published1 #ahgc-g4 ,minor works4 ,ed4 ,f4 ,l4 ,polidori1 #aheb2 ,lettere familiari1 ed4 ,e4 ,alvisi1 #ahhc1 #b editions1 one with excisions2 ,credited ,writings1 ed4 ,g4 ,canestrini1 #aheg2 ,letters to ,f4 ,vettori1 see ,a4 ,ridolfi1 ,pensieri intorno allo scopo di ,n4 ,machiavelli nel libro ,il ,principe1 etc42 ,d4 ,ferrara1 ,the ,private ,correspondence of ,nicolo ,machiavelli1 #aibi4 ,,dedication ,to the ,magnificent ,lorenzo ,di ,piero ,de' ,medici ,those who strive to obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to come before him with such things as they hold most precious1 or in which they see him take most delight2 whence one often sees horses1 arms1 cloth of gold1 precious stones1 and similar ornaments presented to princes1 worthy of their greatness4 ,desiring therefore to present myself to your ,magnificence with some testimony of my devotion towards you1 ,i have not found among my possessions anything which ,i hold more dear than1 or value so much as1 the knowledge of the actions of great men1 acquired by long experience in contemporary affairs1 and a continual study of antiquity2 which1 having reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence1 ,i now send1 digested into a little volume1 to your ,magnificence4 ,and although ,i may consider this work unworthy of your countenance1 nevertheless ,i trust much to your benignity that it may be acceptable1 seeing that it is not possible for me to make a better gift than to offer you the opportunity of understanding in the shortest time all that ,i have learnt in so many years1 and with so many troubles and dangers2 which work ,i have not embellished with swelling or magnificent words1 nor stuffed with rounded periods1 nor with any extrinsic allurements or adornments whatever1 with which so many are accustomed to embellish their works2 for ,i have wished either that no honour should be given it1 or else that the truth of the matter and the weightiness of the theme shall make it acceptable4 ,nor do ,i hold with those who regard it as a presumption if a man of low and humble condition dare to discuss and settle the concerns of princes2 because1 just as those who draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate the nature of the mountains and of lofty places1 and in order to contemplate the plains place themselves upon high mountains1 even so to understand the nature of the people it needs to be a prince1 and to understand that of princes it needs to be of the people4 ,take then1 your ,magnificence1 this little gift in the spirit in which ,i send it2 wherein1 if it be diligently read and considered by you1 you will learn my extreme desire that you should attain that greatness which fortune and your other attributes promise4 ,and if your ,magnificence from the summit of your greatness will sometimes turn your eyes to these lower regions1 you will see how unmeritedly ,i suffer a great and continued malignity of fortune4 ,,the ,,prince ,,chapter ,i4 ,,how ,,many ,,kinds ,,of ,,principalities ,,there ,,are1 ,,and ,,by ,,what ,,means ,,they ,,are ,,acquired ,all states1 all powers1 that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities4 ,principalities are either hereditary1 in which the family has been long established2 or they are new4 ,the new are either entirely new1 as was ,milan to ,francesco ,sforza1 or they are1 as it were1 members annexed to the hereditary state of the prince who has acquired them1 as was the kingdom of ,naples to that of the ,king of ,spain4 ,such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince1 or to live in freedom2 and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself1 or of others1 or else by fortune or by ability4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,concerning ,,hereditary ,,principalities ,i will leave out all discussion on republics1 inasmuch as in another place ,i have written of them at length1 and will address myself only to principalities4 ,in doing so ,i will keep to the order indicated above1 and discuss how such principalities are to be ruled and preserved4 ,i say at once there are fewer difficulties in holding hereditary states1 and those long accustomed to the family of their prince1 than new ones2 for it is sufficient only not to transgress the customs of his ancestors1 and to deal prudently with circumstances as they arise1 for a prince of average powers to maintain himself in his state1 unless he be deprived of it by some extraordinary and excessive force2 and if he should be so deprived of it1 whenever anything sinister happens to the usurper1 he will regain it4 ,we have in ,italy1 for example1 the ,duke of ,ferrara1 who could not have withstood the attacks of the ,venetians in '#hd1 nor those of ,pope ,julius in '#aj1 unless he had been long established in his dominions4 ,for the hereditary prince has less cause and less necessity to offend2 hence it happens that he will be more loved2 and unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated1 it is reasonable to expect that his subjects will be naturally well disposed towards him2 and in the antiquity and duration of his rule the memories and motives that make for change are lost1 for one change always leaves the toothing for another4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,concerning ,,mixed ,,principalities ,but the difficulties occur in a new principality4 ,and firstly1 if it be not entirely new1 but is1 as it were1 a member of a state which1 taken collectively1 may be called composite1 the changes arise chiefly from an inherent difficulty which there is in all new principalities2 for men change their rulers willingly1 hoping to better themselves1 and this hope induces them to take up arms against him who rules3 wherein they are deceived1 because they afterwards find by experience they have gone from bad to worse4 ,this follows also on another natural and common necessity1 which always causes a new prince to burden those who have submitted to him with his soldiery and with infinite other hardships which he must put upon his new acquisition4 ,in this way you have enemies in all those whom you have injured in seizing that principality1 and you are not able to keep those friends who put you there because of your not being able to satisfy them in the way they expected1 and you cannot take strong measures against them1 feeling bound to them4 ,for1 although one may be very strong in armed forces1 yet in entering a province one has always need of the goodwill of the natives4 ,for these reasons ,louis the ,twelfth1 ,king of ,france1 quickly occupied ,milan1 and as quickly lost it2 and to turn him out the first time it only needed ,lodovico's own forces2 because those who had opened the gates to him1 finding themselves deceived in their hopes of future benefit1 would not endure the ill-treatment of the new prince4 ,it is very true that1 after acquiring rebellious provinces a second time1 they are not so lightly lost afterwards1 because the prince1 with little reluctance1 takes the opportunity of the rebellion to punish the delinquents1 to clear out the suspects1 and to strengthen himself in the weakest places4 ,thus to cause ,france to lose ,milan the first time it was enough for the ,duke ,lodovico#a to raise insurrections on the borders2 but to cause him to lose it a second time it was necessary to bring the whole world against him1 and that his armies should be defeated and driven out of ,italy2 which followed from the causes above mentioned4 #a ,duke ,lodovico was ,lodovico ,moro1 a son of ,francesco ,sforza1 who married ,beatrice d',este4 ,he ruled over ,milan from #adid to #aejj1 and died in #aeaj4 ,nevertheless ,milan was taken from ,france both the first and the second time4 ,the general reasons for the first have been discussed2 it remains to name those for the second1 and to see what resources he had1 and what any one in his situation would have had for maintaining himself more securely in his acquisition than did the ,king of ,france4 ,now ,i say that those dominions which1 when acquired1 are added to an ancient state by him who acquires them1 are either of the same country and language1 or they are not4 ,when they are1 it is easier to hold them1 especially when they have not been accustomed to self-government2 and to hold them securely it is enough to have destroyed the family of the prince who was ruling them2 because the two peoples1 preserving in other things the old conditions1 and not being unlike in customs1 will live quietly together1 as one has seen in ,brittany1 ,burgundy1 ,gascony1 and ,normandy1 which have been bound to ,france for so long a time3 and1 although there may be some difference in language1 nevertheless the customs are alike1 and the people will easily be able to get on amongst themselves4 ,he who has annexed them1 if he wishes to hold them1 has only to bear in mind two considerations3 the one1 that the family of their former lord is extinguished2 the other1 that neither their laws nor their taxes are altered1 so that in a very short time they will become entirely one body with the old principality4 ,but when states are acquired in a country differing in language1 customs1 or laws1 there are difficulties1 and good fortune and great energy are needed to hold them1 and one of the greatest and most real helps would be that he who has acquired them should go and reside there4 ,this would make his position more secure and durable1 as it has made that of the ,turk in ,greece1 who1 notwithstanding all the other measures taken by him for holding that state1 if he had not settled there1 would not have been able to keep it4 ,because1 if one is on the spot1 disorders are seen as they spring up1 and one can quickly remedy them2 but if one is not at hand1 they are heard of only when they are great1 and then one can no longer remedy them4 ,besides this1 the country is not pillaged by your officials2 the subjects are satisfied by prompt recourse to the prince2 thus1 wishing to be good1 they have more cause to love him1 and wishing to be otherwise1 to fear him4 ,he who would attack that state from the outside must have the utmost caution2 as long as the prince resides there it can only be wrested from him with the greatest difficulty4 ,the other and better course is to send colonies to one or two places1 which may be as keys to that state1 for it is necessary either to do this or else to keep there a great number of cavalry and infantry4 ,a prince does not spend much on colonies1 for with little or no expense he can send them out and keep them there1 and he offends a minority only of the citizens from whom he takes lands and houses to give them to the new inhabitants2 and those whom he offends1 remaining poor and scattered1 are never able to injure him2 whilst the rest being uninjured are easily kept quiet1 and at the same time are anxious not to err for fear it should happen to them as it has to those who have been despoiled4 ,in conclusion1 ,i say that these colonies are not costly1 they are more faithful1 they injure less1 and the injured1 as has been said1 being poor and scattered1 cannot hurt4 ,upon this1 one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed1 because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries1 of more serious ones they cannot2 therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge4 ,but in maintaining armed men there in place of colonies one spends much more1 having to consume on the garrison all the income from the state1 so that the acquisition turns into a loss1 and many more are exasperated1 because the whole state is injured2 through the shifting of the garrison up and down all become acquainted with hardship1 and all become hostile1 and they are enemies who1 whilst beaten on their own ground1 are yet able to do hurt4 ,for every reason1 therefore1 such guards are as useless as a colony is useful4 ,again1 the prince who holds a country differing in the above respects ought to make himself the head and defender of his less powerful neighbours1 and to weaken the more powerful amongst them1 taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall1 by any accident1 get a footing there2 for it will always happen that such a one will be introduced by those who are discontented1 either through excess of ambition or through fear1 as one has seen already4 ,the ,romans were brought into ,greece by the tolians2 and in every other country where they obtained a footing they were brought in by the inhabitants4 ,and the usual course of affairs is that1 as soon as a powerful foreigner enters a country1 all the subject states are drawn to him1 moved by the hatred which they feel against the ruling power4 ,so that in respect to those subject states he has not to take any trouble to gain them over to himself1 for the whole of them quickly rally to the state which he has acquired there4 ,he has only to take care that they do not get hold of too much power and too much authority1 and then with his own forces1 and with their goodwill1 he can easily keep down the more powerful of them1 so as to remain entirely master in the country4 ,and he who does not properly manage this business will soon lose what he has acquired1 and whilst he does hold it he will have endless difficulties and troubles4 ,the ,romans1 in the countries which they annexed1 observed closely these measures2 they sent colonies and maintained friendly relations with#b the minor powers1 without increasing their strength2 they kept down the greater1 and did not allow any strong foreign powers to gain authority4 ,greece appears to me sufficient for an example4 ,the ,achaeans and tolians were kept friendly by them1 the kingdom of ,macedonia was humbled1 ,antiochus was driven out2 yet the merits of the ,achaeans and tolians never secured for them permission to increase their power1 nor did the persuasions of ,philip ever induce the ,romans to be his friends without first humbling him1 nor did the influence of ,antiochus make them agree that he should retain any lordship over the country4 ,because the ,romans did in these instances what all prudent princes ought to do1 who have to regard not only present troubles1 but also future ones1 for which they must prepare with every energy1 because1 when foreseen1 it is easy to remedy them2 but if you wait until they approach1 the medicine is no longer in time because the malady has become incurable2 for it happens in this1 as the physicians say it happens in hectic fever1 that in the beginning of the malady it is easy to cure but difficult to detect1 but in the course of time1 not having been either detected or treated in the beginning1 it becomes easy to detect but difficult to cure4 ,thus it happens in affairs of state1 for when the evils that arise have been foreseen 7which it is only given to a wise man to see71 they can be quickly redressed1 but when1 through not having been foreseen1 they have been permitted to grow in a way that every one can see them1 there is no longer a remedy4 ,therefore1 the ,romans1 foreseeing troubles1 dealt with them at once1 and1 even to avoid a war1 would not let them come to a head1 for they knew that war is not to be avoided1 but is only to be put off to the advantage of others2 moreover they wished to fight with ,philip and ,antiochus in ,greece so as not to have to do it in ,italy2 they could have avoided both1 but this they did not wish2 nor did that ever please them which is forever in the mouths of the wise ones of our time3--,let us enjoy the benefits of the time--but rather the benefits of their own valour and prudence1 for time drives everything before it1 and is able to bring with it good as well as evil1 and evil as well as good4 #b ,see remark in the introduction on the word 8intrattenere40 ,but let us turn to ,france and inquire whether she has done any of the things mentioned4 ,i will speak of ,louis#c 7and not of ,charles7#d as the one whose conduct is the better to be observed1 he having held possession of ,italy for the longest period2 and you will see that he has done the opposite to those things which ought to be done to retain a state composed of divers elements4 #c ,louis ,,xii1 ,king of ,france1 8,the ,father of the ,people10 born #adfb1 died #aeae4 #d ,charles ,,viii1 ,king of ,france1 born #adgj1 died #adih4 ,king ,louis was brought into ,italy by the ambition of the ,venetians1 who desired to obtain half the state of ,lombardy by his intervention4 ,i will not blame the course taken by the king1 because1 wishing to get a foothold in ,italy1 and having no friends there--seeing rather that every door was shut to him owing to the conduct of ,charles--he was forced to accept those friendships which he could get1 and he would have succeeded very quickly in his design if in other matters he had not made some mistakes4 ,the king1 however1 having acquired ,lombardy1 regained at once the authority which ,charles had lost3 ,genoa yielded2 the ,florentines became his friends2 the ,marquess of ,mantua1 the ,duke of ,ferrara1 the ,bentivogli1 my lady of ,forli1 the ,lords of ,faenza1 of ,pesaro1 of ,rimini1 of ,camerino1 of ,piombino1 the ,lucchese1 the ,pisans1 the ,sienese--everybody made advances to him to become his friend4 ,then could the ,venetians realize the rashness of the course taken by them1 which1 in order that they might secure two towns in ,lombardy1 had made the king master of two-thirds of ,italy4 ,let any one now consider with what little difficulty the king could have maintained his position in ,italy had he observed the rules above laid down1 and kept all his friends secure and protected2 for although they were numerous they were both weak and timid1 some afraid of the ,church1 some of the ,venetians1 and thus they would always have been forced to stand in with him1 and by their means he could easily have made himself secure against those who remained powerful4 ,but he was no sooner in ,milan than he did the contrary by assisting ,pope ,alexander to occupy the ,romagna4 ,it never occurred to him that by this action he was weakening himself1 depriving himself of friends and of those who had thrown themselves into his lap1 whilst he aggrandized the ,church by adding much temporal power to the spiritual1 thus giving it greater authority4 ,and having committed this prime error1 he was obliged to follow it up1 so much so that1 to put an end to the ambition of ,alexander1 and to prevent his becoming the master of ,tuscany1 he was himself forced to come into ,italy4 ,and as if it were not enough to have aggrandized the ,church1 and deprived himself of friends1 he1 wishing to have the kingdom of ,naples1 divided it with the ,king of ,spain1 and where he was the prime arbiter in ,italy he takes an associate1 so that the ambitious of that country and the malcontents of his own should have somewhere to shelter2 and whereas he could have left in the kingdom his own pensioner as king1 he drove him out1 to put one there who was able to drive him1 ,louis1 out in turn4 ,the wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common1 and men always do so when they can1 and for this they will be praised not blamed2 but when they cannot do so1 yet wish to do so by any means1 then there is folly and blame4 ,therefore1 if ,france could have attacked ,naples with her own forces she ought to have done so2 if she could not1 then she ought not to have divided it4 ,and if the partition which she made with the ,venetians in ,lombardy was justified by the excuse that by it she got a foothold in ,italy1 this other partition merited blame1 for it had not the excuse of that necessity4 ,therefore ,louis made these five errors3 he destroyed the minor powers1 he increased the strength of one of the greater powers in ,italy1 he brought in a foreign power1 he did not settle in the country1 he did not send colonies4 ,which errors1 had he lived1 were not enough to injure him had he not made a sixth by taking away their dominions from the ,venetians2 because1 had he not aggrandized the ,church1 nor brought ,spain into ,italy1 it would have been very reasonable and necessary to humble them2 but having first taken these steps1 he ought never to have consented to their ruin1 for they1 being powerful1 would always have kept off others from designs on ,lombardy1 to which the ,venetians would never have consented except to become masters themselves there2 also because the others would not wish to take ,lombardy from ,france in order to give it to the ,venetians1 and to run counter to both they would not have had the courage4 ,and if any one should say3 8,king ,louis yielded the ,romagna to ,alexander and the kingdom to ,spain to avoid war10 ,i answer for the reasons given above that a blunder ought never to be perpetrated to avoid war1 because it is not to be avoided1 but is only deferred to your disadvantage4 ,and if another should allege the pledge which the king had given to the ,pope that he would assist him in the enterprise1 in exchange for the dissolution of his marriage#e and for the cap to ,rouen1#f to that ,i reply what ,i shall write later on concerning the faith of princes1 and how it ought to be kept4 #e ,louis ,,xii divorced his wife1 ,jeanne1 daughter of ,louis ,,xi1 and married in #adii ,anne of ,brittany1 widow of ,charles ,,viii1 in order to retain the ,duchy of ,brittany for the crown4 #f ,the ,archbishop of ,rouen4 ,he was ,georges d',amboise1 created a cardinal by ,alexander ,,vi4 ,born #adfj1 died #aeaj4 ,thus ,king ,louis lost ,lombardy by not having followed any of the conditions observed by those who have taken possession of countries and wished to retain them4 ,nor is there any miracle in this1 but much that is reasonable and quite natural4 ,and on these matters ,i spoke at ,nantes with ,rouen1 when ,valentino1 as ,cesare ,borgia1 the son of ,pope ,alexander1 was usually called1 occupied the ,romagna1 and on ,cardinal ,rouen observing to me that the ,italians did not understand war1 ,i replied to him that the ,french did not understand statecraft1 meaning that otherwise they would not have allowed the ,church to reach such greatness4 ,and in fact it has been seen that the greatness of the ,church and of ,spain in ,italy has been caused by ,france1 and her ruin may be attributed to them4 ,from this a general rule is drawn which never or rarely fails3 that he who is the cause of another becoming powerful is ruined2 because that predominancy has been brought about either by astuteness or else by force1 and both are distrusted by him who has been raised to power4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,why ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,darius1 ,,conquered ,,by ,,alexander1 ,,did ,,not ,,rebel ,,against ,,the ,,successors ,,of ,,alexander ,,at ,,his ,,death ,considering the difficulties which men have had to hold to a newly acquired state1 some might wonder how1 seeing that ,alexander the ,great became the master of ,asia in a few years1 and died whilst it was scarcely settled 7whence it might appear reasonable that the whole empire would have rebelled71 nevertheless his successors maintained themselves1 and had to meet no other difficulty than that which arose among themselves from their own ambitions4 ,i answer that the principalities of which one has record are found to be governed in two different ways2 either by a prince1 with a body of servants1 who assist him to govern the kingdom as ministers by his favour and permission2 or by a prince and barons1 who hold that dignity by antiquity of blood and not by the grace of the prince4 ,such barons have states and their own subjects1 who recognize them as lords and hold them in natural affection4 ,those states that are governed by a prince and his servants hold their prince in more consideration1 because in all the country there is no one who is recognized as superior to him1 and if they yield obedience to another they do it as to a minister and official1 and they do not bear him any particular affection4 ,the examples of these two governments in our time are the ,turk and the ,king of ,france4 ,the entire monarchy of the ,turk is governed by one lord1 the others are his servants2 and1 dividing his kingdom into sanjaks1 he sends there different administrators1 and shifts and changes them as he chooses4 ,but the ,king of ,france is placed in the midst of an ancient body of lords1 acknowledged by their own subjects1 and beloved by them2 they have their own prerogatives1 nor can the king take these away except at his peril4 ,therefore1 he who considers both of these states will recognize great difficulties in seizing the state of the ,turk1 but1 once it is conquered1 great ease in holding it4 ,the causes of the difficulties in seizing the kingdom of the ,turk are that the usurper cannot be called in by the princes of the kingdom1 nor can he hope to be assisted in his designs by the revolt of those whom the lord has around him4 ,this arises from the reasons given above2 for his ministers1 being all slaves and bondmen1 can only be corrupted with great difficulty1 and one can expect little advantage from them when they have been corrupted1 as they cannot carry the people with them1 for the reasons assigned4 ,hence1 he who attacks the ,turk must bear in mind that he will find him united1 and he will have to rely more on his own strength than on the revolt of others2 but1 if once the ,turk has been conquered1 and routed in the field in such a way that he cannot replace his armies1 there is nothing to fear but the family of this prince1 and1 this being exterminated1 there remains no one to fear1 the others having no credit with the people2 and as the conqueror did not rely on them before his victory1 so he ought not to fear them after it4 ,the contrary happens in kingdoms governed like that of ,france1 because one can easily enter there by gaining over some baron of the kingdom1 for one always finds malcontents and such as desire a change4 ,such men1 for the reasons given1 can open the way into the state and render the victory easy2 but if you wish to hold it afterwards1 you meet with infinite difficulties1 both from those who have assisted you and from those you have crushed4 ,nor is it enough for you to have exterminated the family of the prince1 because the lords that remain make themselves the heads of fresh movements against you1 and as you are unable either to satisfy or exterminate them1 that state is lost whenever time brings the opportunity4 ,now if you will consider what was the nature of the government of ,darius1 you will find it similar to the kingdom of the ,turk1 and therefore it was only necessary for ,alexander1 first to overthrow him in the field1 and then to take the country from him4 ,after which victory1 ,darius being killed1 the state remained secure to ,alexander1 for the above reasons4 ,and if his successors had been united they would have enjoyed it securely and at their ease1 for there were no tumults raised in the kingdom except those they provoked themselves4 ,but it is impossible to hold with such tranquillity states constituted like that of ,france4 ,hence arose those frequent rebellions against the ,romans in ,spain1 ,france1 and ,greece1 owing to the many principalities there were in these states1 of which1 as long as the memory of them endured1 the ,romans always held an insecure possession2 but with the power and long continuance of the empire the memory of them passed away1 and the ,romans then became secure possessors4 ,and when fighting afterwards amongst themselves1 each one was able to attach to himself his own parts of the country1 according to the authority he had assumed there2 and the family of the former lord being exterminated1 none other than the ,romans were acknowledged4 ,when these things are remembered no one will marvel at the ease with which ,alexander held the ,empire of ,asia1 or at the difficulties which others have had to keep an acquisition1 such as ,pyrrhus and many more2 this is not occasioned by the little or abundance of ability in the conqueror1 but by the want of uniformity in the subject state4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,to ,,govern ,,cities ,,or ,,principalities ,,which ,,lived ,,under ,,their ,,own ,,laws ,,before ,,they ,,were ,,annexed ,whenever those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom1 there are three courses for those who wish to hold them3 the first is to ruin them1 the next is to reside there in person1 the third is to permit them to live under their own laws1 drawing a tribute1 and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you4 ,because such a government1 being created by the prince1 knows that it cannot stand without his friendship and interest1 and does its utmost to support him2 and therefore he who would keep a city accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the means of its own citizens than in any other way4 ,there are1 for example1 the ,spartans and the ,romans4 ,the ,spartans held ,athens and ,thebes1 establishing there an oligarchy3 nevertheless they lost them4 ,the ,romans1 in order to hold ,capua1 ,carthage1 and ,numantia1 dismantled them1 and did not lose them4 ,they wished to hold ,greece as the ,spartans held it1 making it free and permitting its laws1 and did not succeed4 ,so to hold it they were compelled to dismantle many cities in the country1 for in truth there is no safe way to retain them otherwise than by ruining them4 ,and he who becomes master of a city accustomed to freedom and does not destroy it1 may expect to be destroyed by it1 for in rebellion it has always the watchword of liberty and its ancient privileges as a rallying point1 which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget4 ,and whatever you may do or provide against1 they never forget that name or their privileges unless they are disunited or dispersed1 but at every chance they immediately rally to them1 as ,pisa after the hundred years she had been held in bondage by the ,florentines4 ,but when cities or countries are accustomed to live under a prince1 and his family is exterminated1 they1 being on the one hand accustomed to obey and on the other hand not having the old prince1 cannot agree in making one from amongst themselves1 and they do not know how to govern themselves4 ,for this reason they are very slow to take up arms1 and a prince can gain them to himself and secure them much more easily4 ,but in republics there is more vitality1 greater hatred1 and more desire for vengeance1 which will never permit them to allow the memory of their former liberty to rest2 so that the safest way is to destroy them or to reside there4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,concerning ,,new ,,principalities ,,which ,,are ,,acquired ,,by ,,one',s ,,own ,,arms ,,and ,,ability ,let no one be surprised if1 in speaking of entirely new principalities as ,i shall do1 ,i adduce the highest examples both of prince and of state2 because men1 walking almost always in paths beaten by others1 and following by imitation their deeds1 are yet unable to keep entirely to the ways of others or attain to the power of those they imitate4 ,a wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by great men1 and to imitate those who have been supreme1 so that if his ability does not equal theirs1 at least it will savour of it4 ,let him act like the clever archers who1 designing to hit the mark which yet appears too far distant1 and knowing the limits to which the strength of their bow attains1 take aim much higher than the mark1 not to reach by their strength or arrow to so great a height1 but to be able with the aid of so high an aim to hit the mark they wish to reach4 ,i say1 therefore1 that in entirely new principalities1 where there is a new prince1 more or less difficulty is found in keeping them1 accordingly as there is more or less ability in him who has acquired the state4 ,now1 as the fact of becoming a prince from a private station presupposes either ability or fortune1 it is clear that one or other of these things will mitigate in some degree many difficulties4 ,nevertheless1 he who has relied least on fortune is established the strongest4 ,further1 it facilitates matters when the prince1 having no other state1 is compelled to reside there in person4 ,but to come to those who1 by their own ability and not through fortune1 have risen to be princes1 ,i say that ,moses1 ,cyrus1 ,romulus1 ,theseus1 and such like are the most excellent examples4 ,and although one may not discuss ,moses1 he having been a mere executor of the will of ,god1 yet he ought to be admired1 if only for that favour which made him worthy to speak with ,god4 ,but in considering ,cyrus and others who have acquired or founded kingdoms1 all will be found admirable2 and if their particular deeds and conduct shall be considered1 they will not be found inferior to those of ,moses1 although he had so great a preceptor4 ,and in examining their actions and lives one cannot see that they owed anything to fortune beyond opportunity1 which brought them the material to mould into the form which seemed best to them4 ,without that opportunity their powers of mind would have been extinguished1 and without those powers the opportunity would have come in vain4 ,it was necessary1 therefore1 to ,moses that he should find the people of ,israel in ,egypt enslaved and oppressed by the ,egyptians1 in order that they should be disposed to follow him so as to be delivered out of bondage4 ,it was necessary that ,romulus should not remain in ,alba1 and that he should be abandoned at his birth1 in order that he should become ,king of ,rome and founder of the fatherland4 ,it was necessary that ,cyrus should find the ,persians discontented with the government of the ,medes1 and the ,medes soft and effeminate through their long peace4 ,theseus could not have shown his ability had he not found the ,athenians dispersed4 ,these opportunities1 therefore1 made those men fortunate1 and their high ability enabled them to recognize the opportunity whereby their country was ennobled and made famous4 ,those who by valorous ways become princes1 like these men1 acquire a principality with difficulty1 but they keep it with ease4 ,the difficulties they have in acquiring it rise in part from the new rules and methods which they are forced to introduce to establish their government and its security4 ,and it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand1 more perilous to conduct1 or more uncertain in its success1 than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things1 because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions1 and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new4 ,this coolness arises partly from fear of the opponents1 who have the laws on their side1 and partly from the incredulity of men1 who do not readily believe in new things until they have had a long experience of them4 ,thus it happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack they do it like partisans1 whilst the others defend lukewarmly1 in such wise that the prince is endangered along with them4 ,it is necessary1 therefore1 if we desire to discuss this matter thoroughly1 to inquire whether these innovators can rely on themselves or have to depend on others3 that is to say1 whether1 to consummate their enterprise1 have they to use prayers or can they use force8 ,in the first instance they always succeed badly1 and never compass anything2 but when they can rely on themselves and use force1 then they are rarely endangered4 ,hence it is that all armed prophets have conquered1 and the unarmed ones have been destroyed4 ,besides the reasons mentioned1 the nature of the people is variable1 and whilst it is easy to persuade them1 it is difficult to fix them in that persuasion4 ,and thus it is necessary to take such measures that1 when they believe no longer1 it may be possible to make them believe by force4 ,if ,moses1 ,cyrus1 ,theseus1 and ,romulus had been unarmed they could not have enforced their constitutions for long--as happened in our time to ,fra ,girolamo ,savonarola1 who was ruined with his new order of things immediately the multitude believed in him no longer1 and he had no means of keeping steadfast those who believed or of making the unbelievers to believe4 ,therefore such as these have great difficulties in consummating their enterprise1 for all their dangers are in the ascent1 yet with ability they will overcome them2 but when these are overcome1 and those who envied them their success are exterminated1 they will begin to be respected1 and they will continue afterwards powerful1 secure1 honoured1 and happy4 ,to these great examples ,i wish to add a lesser one2 still it bears some resemblance to them1 and ,i wish it to suffice me for all of a like kind3 it is ,hiero the ,syracusan4#a ,this man rose from a private station to be ,prince of ,syracuse1 nor did he1 either1 owe anything to fortune but opportunity2 for the ,syracusans1 being oppressed1 chose him for their captain1 afterwards he was rewarded by being made their prince4 ,he was of so great ability1 even as a private citizen1 that one who writes of him says he wanted nothing but a kingdom to be a king4 ,this man abolished the old soldiery1 organized the new1 gave up old alliances1 made new ones2 and as he had his own soldiers and allies1 on such foundations he was able to build any edifice3 thus1 whilst he had endured much trouble in acquiring1 he had but little in keeping4 #a ,hiero ,,ii1 born about #cjg ,b4,c41 died #baf ,b4,c4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,concerning ,,new ,,principalities ,,which ,,are ,,acquired ,,either ,,by ,,the ,,arms ,,of ,,others ,,or ,,by ,,good ,,fortune ,those who solely by good fortune become princes from being private citizens have little trouble in rising1 but much in keeping atop2 they have not any difficulties on the way up1 because they fly1 but they have many when they reach the summit4 ,such are those to whom some state is given either for money or by the favour of him who bestows it2 as happened to many in ,greece1 in the cities of ,ionia and of the ,hellespont1 where princes were made by ,darius1 in order that they might hold the cities both for his security and his glory2 as also were those emperors who1 by the corruption of the soldiers1 from being citizens came to empire4 ,such stand simply elevated upon the goodwill and the fortune of him who has elevated them--two most inconstant and unstable things4 ,neither have they the knowledge requisite for the position2 because1 unless they are men of great worth and ability1 it is not reasonable to expect that they should know how to command1 having always lived in a private condition2 besides1 they cannot hold it because they have not forces which they can keep friendly and faithful4 ,states that rise unexpectedly1 then1 like all other things in nature which are born and grow rapidly1 cannot leave their foundations and correspondencies#a fixed in such a way that the first storm will not overthrow them2 unless1 as is said1 those who unexpectedly become princes are men of so much ability that they know they have to be prepared at once to hold that which fortune has thrown into their laps1 and that those foundations1 which others have laid before they became princes1 they must lay afterwards4 #a 8,le radici e corrispondenze10 their roots 7i4e4 foundations7 and correspondencies or relations with other states--a common meaning of 8correspondence0 and 8correspondency0 in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries4 ,concerning these two methods of rising to be a prince by ability or fortune1 ,i wish to adduce two examples within our own recollection1 and these are ,francesco ,sforza#b and ,cesare ,borgia4 ,francesco1 by proper means and with great ability1 from being a private person rose to be ,duke of ,milan1 and that which he had acquired with a thousand anxieties he kept with little trouble4 ,on the other hand1 ,cesare ,borgia1 called by the people ,duke ,valentino1 acquired his state during the ascendancy of his father1 and on its decline he lost it1 notwithstanding that he had taken every measure and done all that ought to be done by a wise and able man to fix firmly his roots in the states which the arms and fortunes of others had bestowed on him4 #b ,francesco ,sforza1 born #adja1 died #adff4 ,he married ,bianca ,maria ,visconti1 a natural daughter of ,filippo ,visconti1 the ,duke of ,milan1 on whose death he procured his own elevation to the duchy4 ,machiavelli was the accredited agent of the ,florentine ,republic to ,cesare ,borgia 7#adgh-aejg7 during the transactions which led up to the assassinations of the ,orsini and ,vitelli at ,sinigalia1 and along with his letters to his chiefs in ,florence he has left an account1 written ten years before ,the ,prince1 of the proceedings of the duke in his 8,descritione del modo tenuto dal duca ,valentino nello ammazzare ,vitellozzo ,vitelli10 etc41 a translation of which is appended to the present work4 ,because1 as is stated above1 he who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards1 but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building4 ,if1 therefore1 all the steps taken by the duke be considered1 it will be seen that he laid solid foundations for his future power1 and ,i do not consider it superfluous to discuss them1 because ,i do not know what better precepts to give a new prince than the example of his actions2 and if his dispositions were of no avail1 that was not his fault1 but the extraordinary and extreme malignity of fortune4 ,alexander the ,sixth1 in wishing to aggrandize the duke1 his son1 had many immediate and prospective difficulties4 ,firstly1 he did not see his way to make him master of any state that was not a state of the ,church2 and if he was willing to rob the ,church he knew that the ,duke of ,milan and the ,venetians would not consent1 because ,faenza and ,rimini were already under the protection of the ,venetians4 ,besides this1 he saw the arms of ,italy1 especially those by which he might have been assisted1 in hands that would fear the aggrandizement of the ,pope1 namely1 the ,orsini and the ,colonnesi and their following4 ,it behoved him1 therefore1 to upset this state of affairs and embroil the powers1 so as to make himself securely master of part of their states4 ,this was easy for him to do1 because he found the ,venetians1 moved by other reasons1 inclined to bring back the ,french into ,italy2 he would not only not oppose this1 but he would render it more easy by dissolving the former marriage of ,king ,louis4 ,therefore the king came into ,italy with the assistance of the ,venetians and the consent of ,alexander4 ,he was no sooner in ,milan than the ,pope had soldiers from him for the attempt on the ,romagna1 which yielded to him on the reputation of the king4 ,the duke1 therefore1 having acquired the ,romagna and beaten the ,colonnesi1 while wishing to hold that and to advance further1 was hindered by two things3 the one1 his forces did not appear loyal to him1 the other1 the goodwill of ,france3 that is to say1 he feared that the forces of the ,orsini1 which he was using1 would not stand to him1 that not only might they hinder him from winning more1 but might themselves seize what he had won1 and that the king might also do the same4 ,of the ,orsini he had a warning when1 after taking ,faenza and attacking ,bologna1 he saw them go very unwillingly to that attack4 ,and as to the king1 he learned his mind when he himself1 after taking the ,duchy of ,urbino1 attacked ,tuscany1 and the king made him desist from that undertaking2 hence the duke decided to depend no more upon the arms and the luck of others4 ,for the first thing he weakened the ,orsini and ,colonnesi parties in ,rome1 by gaining to himself all their adherents who were gentlemen1 making them his gentlemen1 giving them good pay1 and1 according to their rank1 honouring them with office and command in such a way that in a few months all attachment to the factions was destroyed and turned entirely to the duke4 ,after this he awaited an opportunity to crush the ,orsini1 having scattered the adherents of the ,colonna house4 ,this came to him soon and he used it well2 for the ,orsini1 perceiving at length that the aggrandizement of the duke and the ,church was ruin to them1 called a meeting of the ,magione in ,perugia4 ,from this sprung the rebellion at ,urbino and the tumults in the ,romagna1 with endless dangers to the duke1 all of which he overcame with the help of the ,french4 ,having restored his authority1 not to leave it at risk by trusting either to the ,french or other outside forces1 he had recourse to his wiles1 and he knew so well how to conceal his mind that1 by the mediation of ,signor ,pagolo--whom the duke did not fail to secure with all kinds of attention1 giving him money1 apparel1 and horses--the ,orsini were reconciled1 so that their simplicity brought them into his power at ,sinigalia4#c ,having exterminated the leaders1 and turned their partisans into his friends1 the duke laid sufficiently good foundations to his power1 having all the ,romagna and the ,duchy of ,urbino2 and the people now beginning to appreciate their prosperity1 he gained them all over to himself4 ,and as this point is worthy of notice1 and to be imitated by others1 ,i am not willing to leave it out4 #c ,sinigalia1 #cast ,december #aejb4 ,when the duke occupied the ,romagna he found it under the rule of weak masters1 who rather plundered their subjects than ruled them1 and gave them more cause for disunion than for union1 so that the country was full of robbery1 quarrels1 and every kind of violence2 and so1 wishing to bring back peace and obedience to authority1 he considered it necessary to give it a good governor4 ,thereupon he promoted ,messer ,ramiro d',orco1#d a swift and cruel man1 to whom he gave the fullest power4 ,this man in a short time restored peace and unity with the greatest success4 ,afterwards the duke considered that it was not advisable to confer such excessive authority1 for he had no doubt but that he would become odious1 so he set up a court of judgment in the country1 under a most excellent president1 wherein all cities had their advocates4 ,and because he knew that the past severity had caused some hatred against himself1 so1 to clear himself in the minds of the people1 and gain them entirely to himself1 he desired to show that1 if any cruelty had been practised1 it had not originated with him1 but in the natural sternness of the minister4 ,under this pretence he took ,ramiro1 and one morning caused him to be executed and left on the piazza at ,cesena with the block and a bloody knife at his side4 ,the barbarity of this spectacle caused the people to be at once satisfied and dismayed4 #d ,ramiro d',orco4 ,ramiro de ,lorqua4 ,but let us return whence we started4 ,i say that the duke1 finding himself now sufficiently powerful and partly secured from immediate dangers by having armed himself in his own way1 and having in a great measure crushed those forces in his vicinity that could injure him if he wished to proceed with his conquest1 had next to consider ,france1 for he knew that the king1 who too late was aware of his mistake1 would not support him4 ,and from this time he began to seek new alliances and to temporize with ,france in the expedition which she was making towards the kingdom of ,naples against the ,spaniards who were besieging ,gaeta4 ,it was his intention to secure himself against them1 and this he would have quickly accomplished had ,alexander lived4 ,such was his line of action as to present affairs4 ,but as to the future he had to fear1 in the first place1 that a new successor to the ,church might not be friendly to him and might seek to take from him that which ,alexander had given him1 so he decided to act in four ways4 ,firstly1 by exterminating the families of those lords whom he had despoiled1 so as to take away that pretext from the ,pope4 ,secondly1 by winning to himself all the gentlemen of ,rome1 so as to be able to curb the ,pope with their aid1 as has been observed4 ,thirdly1 by converting the college more to himself4 ,fourthly1 by acquiring so much power before the ,pope should die that he could by his own measures resist the first shock4 ,of these four things1 at the death of ,alexander1 he had accomplished three4 ,for he had killed as many of the dispossessed lords as he could lay hands on1 and few had escaped2 he had won over the ,roman gentlemen1 and he had the most numerous party in the college4 ,and as to any fresh acquisition1 he intended to become master of ,tuscany1 for he already possessed ,perugia and ,piombino1 and ,pisa was under his protection4 ,and as he had no longer to study ,france 7for the ,french were already driven out of the kingdom of ,naples by the ,spaniards1 and in this way both were compelled to buy his goodwill71 he pounced down upon ,pisa4 ,after this1 ,lucca and ,siena yielded at once1 partly through hatred and partly through fear of the ,florentines2 and the ,florentines would have had no remedy had he continued to prosper1 as he was prospering the year that ,alexander died1 for he had acquired so much power and reputation that he would have stood by himself1 and no longer have depended on the luck and the forces of others1 but solely on his own power and ability4 ,but ,alexander died five years after he had first drawn the sword4 ,he left the duke with the state of ,romagna alone consolidated1 with the rest in the air1 between two most powerful hostile armies1 and sick unto death4 ,yet there were in the duke such boldness and ability1 and he knew so well how men are to be won or lost1 and so firm were the foundations which in so short a time he had laid1 that if he had not had those armies on his back1 or if he had been in good health1 he would have overcome all difficulties4 ,and it is seen that his foundations were good1 for the ,romagna awaited him for more than a month4 ,in ,rome1 although but half alive1 he remained secure2 and whilst the ,baglioni1 the ,vitelli1 and the ,orsini might come to ,rome1 they could not effect anything against him4 ,if he could not have made ,pope him whom he wished1 at least the one whom he did not wish would not have been elected4 ,but if he had been in sound health at the death of ,alexander1#e everything would have been different to him4 ,on the day that ,julius the ,second#f was elected1 he told me that he had thought of everything that might occur at the death of his father1 and had provided a remedy for all1 except that he had never anticipated that1 when the death did happen1 he himself would be on the point to die4 #e ,alexander ,,vi died of fever1 #ahth ,august #aejc4 #f ,julius ,,ii was ,giuliano della ,rovere1 ,cardinal of ,san ,pietro ad ,vincula1 born #addc1 died #aeac4 ,when all the actions of the duke are recalled1 ,i do not know how to blame him1 but rather it appears to be1 as ,i have said1 that ,i ought to offer him for imitation to all those who1 by the fortune or the arms of others1 are raised to government4 ,because he1 having a lofty spirit and far-reaching aims1 could not have regulated his conduct otherwise1 and only the shortness of the life of ,alexander and his own sickness frustrated his designs4 ,therefore1 he who considers it necessary to secure himself in his new principality1 to win friends1 to overcome either by force or fraud1 to make himself beloved and feared by the people1 to be followed and revered by the soldiers1 to exterminate those who have power or reason to hurt him1 to change the old order of things for new1 to be severe and gracious1 magnanimous and liberal1 to destroy a disloyal soldiery and to create new1 to maintain friendship with kings and princes in such a way that they must help him with zeal and offend with caution1 cannot find a more lively example than the actions of this man4 ,only can he be blamed for the election of ,julius the ,second1 in whom he made a bad choice1 because1 as is said1 not being able to elect a ,pope to his own mind1 he could have hindered any other from being elected ,pope2 and he ought never to have consented to the election of any cardinal whom he had injured or who had cause to fear him if they became pontiffs4 ,for men injure either from fear or hatred4 ,those whom he had injured1 amongst others1 were ,san ,pietro ad ,vincula1 ,colonna1 ,san ,giorgio1 and ,ascanio4#g ,the rest1 in becoming ,pope1 had to fear him1 ,rouen and the ,spaniards excepted2 the latter from their relationship and obligations1 the former from his influence1 the kingdom of ,france having relations with him4 ,therefore1 above everything1 the duke ought to have created a ,spaniard ,pope1 and1 failing him1 he ought to have consented to ,rouen and not ,san ,pietro ad ,vincula4 ,he who believes that new benefits will cause great personages to forget old injuries is deceived4 ,therefore1 the duke erred in his choice1 and it was the cause of his ultimate ruin4 #g ,san ,giorgio is ,raffaello ,riario4 ,ascanio is ,ascanio ,sforza4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,concerning ,,those ,,who ,,have ,,obtained ,a ,,principality ,,by ,,wickedness ,although a prince may rise from a private station in two ways1 neither of which can be entirely attributed to fortune or genius1 yet it is manifest to me that ,i must not be silent on them1 although one could be more copiously treated when ,i discuss republics4 ,these methods are when1 either by some wicked or nefarious ways1 one ascends to the principality1 or when by the favour of his fellow-citizens a private person becomes the prince of his country4 ,and speaking of the first method1 it will be illustrated by two examples--one ancient1 the other modern--and without entering further into the subject1 ,i consider these two examples will suffice those who may be compelled to follow them4 ,agathocles1 the ,sicilian1#a became ,king of ,syracuse not only from a private but from a low and abject position4 ,this man1 the son of a potter1 through all the changes in his fortunes always led an infamous life4 ,nevertheless1 he accompanied his infamies with so much ability of mind and body that1 having devoted himself to the military profession1 he rose through its ranks to be ,praetor of ,syracuse4 ,being established in that position1 and having deliberately resolved to make himself prince and to seize by violence1 without obligation to others1 that which had been conceded to him by assent1 he came to an understanding for this purpose with ,amilcar1 the ,carthaginian1 who1 with his army1 was fighting in ,sicily4 ,one morning he assembled the people and the senate of ,syracuse1 as if he had to discuss with them things relating to the ,republic1 and at a given signal the soldiers killed all the senators and the richest of the people2 these dead1 he seized and held the princedom of that city without any civil commotion4 ,and although he was twice routed by the ,carthaginians1 and ultimately besieged1 yet not only was he able to defend his city1 but leaving part of his men for its defence1 with the others he attacked ,africa1 and in a short time raised the siege of ,syracuse4 ,the ,carthaginians1 reduced to extreme necessity1 were compelled to come to terms with ,agathocles1 and1 leaving ,sicily to him1 had to be content with the possession of ,africa4 #a ,agathocles the ,sicilian1 born #cfa ,b4,c41 died #bhi ,b4,c4 ,therefore1 he who considers the actions and the genius of this man will see nothing1 or little1 which can be attributed to fortune1 inasmuch as he attained pre-eminence1 as is shown above1 not by the favour of any one1 but step by step in the military profession1 which steps were gained with a thousand troubles and perils1 and were afterwards boldly held by him with many hazardous dangers4 ,yet it cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens1 to deceive friends1 to be without faith1 without mercy1 without religion2 such methods may gain empire1 but not glory4 ,still1 if the courage of ,agathocles in entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered1 together with his greatness of mind in enduring and overcoming hardships1 it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less than the most notable captain4 ,nevertheless1 his barbarous cruelty and inhumanity with infinite wickedness do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men4 ,what he achieved cannot be attributed either to fortune or genius4 ,in our times1 during the rule of ,alexander the ,sixth1 ,oliverotto da ,fermo1 having been left an orphan many years before1 was brought up by his maternal uncle1 ,giovanni ,fogliani1 and in the early days of his youth sent to fight under ,pagolo ,vitelli1 that1 being trained under his discipline1 he might attain some high position in the military profession4 ,after ,pagolo died1 he fought under his brother ,vitellozzo1 and in a very short time1 being endowed with wit and a vigorous body and mind1 he became the first man in his profession4 ,but it appearing a paltry thing to serve under others1 he resolved1 with the aid of some citizens of ,fermo1 to whom the slavery of their country was dearer than its liberty1 and with the help of the ,vitelleschi1 to seize ,fermo4 ,so he wrote to ,giovanni ,fogliani that1 having been away from home for many years1 he wished to visit him and his city1 and in some measure to look upon his patrimony2 and although he had not laboured to acquire anything except honour1 yet1 in order that the citizens should see he had not spent his time in vain1 he desired to come honourably1 so would be accompanied by one hundred horsemen1 his friends and retainers2 and he entreated ,giovanni to arrange that he should be received honourably by the ,fermians1 all of which would be not only to his honour1 but also to that of ,giovanni himself1 who had brought him up4 ,giovanni1 therefore1 did not fail in any attentions due to his nephew1 and he caused him to be honourably received by the ,fermians1 and he lodged him in his own house1 where1 having passed some days1 and having arranged what was necessary for his wicked designs1 ,oliverotto gave a solemn banquet to which he invited ,giovanni ,fogliani and the chiefs of ,fermo4 ,when the viands and all the other entertainments that are usual in such banquets were finished1 ,oliverotto artfully began certain grave discourses1 speaking of the greatness of ,pope ,alexander and his son ,cesare1 and of their enterprises1 to which discourse ,giovanni and others answered2 but he rose at once1 saying that such matters ought to be discussed in a more private place1 and he betook himself to a chamber1 whither ,giovanni and the rest of the citizens went in after him4 ,no sooner were they seated than soldiers issued from secret places and slaughtered ,giovanni and the rest4 ,after these murders ,oliverotto1 mounted on horseback1 rode up and down the town and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace1 so that in fear the people were forced to obey him1 and to form a government1 of which he made himself the prince4 ,he killed all the malcontents who were able to injure him1 and strengthened himself with new civil and military ordinances1 in such a way that1 in the year during which he held the principality1 not only was he secure in the city of ,fermo1 but he had become formidable to all his neighbours4 ,and his destruction would have been as difficult as that of ,agathocles if he had not allowed himself to be overreached by ,cesare ,borgia1 who took him with the ,orsini and ,vitelli at ,sinigalia1 as was stated above4 ,thus one year after he had committed this parricide1 he was strangled1 together with ,vitellozzo1 whom he had made his leader in valour and wickedness4 ,some may wonder how it can happen that ,agathocles1 and his like1 after infinite treacheries and cruelties1 should live for long secure in his country1 and defend himself from external enemies1 and never be conspired against by his own citizens2 seeing that many others1 by means of cruelty1 have never been able even in peaceful times to hold the state1 still less in the doubtful times of war4 ,i believe that this follows from severities#b being badly or properly used4 ,those may be called properly used1 if of evil it is possible to speak well1 that are applied at one blow and are necessary to one's security1 and that are not persisted in afterwards unless they can be turned to the advantage of the subjects4 ,the badly employed are those which1 notwithstanding they may be few in the commencement1 multiply with time rather than decrease4 ,those who practise the first system are able1 by aid of ,god or man1 to mitigate in some degree their rule1 as ,agathocles did4 ,it is impossible for those who follow the other to maintain themselves4 #b ,mr ,burd suggests that this word probably comes near the modern equivalent of ,machiavelli's thought when he speaks of 8crudelta0 than the more obvious 8cruelties40 ,hence it is to be remarked that1 in seizing a state1 the usurper ought to examine closely into all those injuries which it is necessary for him to inflict1 and to do them all at one stroke so as not to have to repeat them daily2 and thus by not unsettling men he will be able to reassure them1 and win them to himself by benefits4 ,he who does otherwise1 either from timidity or evil advice1 is always compelled to keep the knife in his hand2 neither can he rely on his subjects1 nor can they attach themselves to him1 owing to their continued and repeated wrongs4 ,for injuries ought to be done all at one time1 so that1 being tasted less1 they offend less2 benefits ought to be given little by little1 so that the flavour of them may last longer4 ,and above all things1 a prince ought to live amongst his people in such a way that no unexpected circumstances1 whether of good or evil1 shall make him change2 because if the necessity for this comes in troubled times1 you are too late for harsh measures2 and mild ones will not help you1 for they will be considered as forced from you1 and no one will be under any obligation to you for them4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,concerning ,a ,,civil ,,principality ,but coming to the other point--where a leading citizen becomes the prince of his country1 not by wickedness or any intolerable violence1 but by the favour of his fellow citizens--this may be called a civil principality3 nor is genius or fortune altogether necessary to attain to it1 but rather a happy shrewdness4 ,i say then that such a principality is obtained either by the favour of the people or by the favour of the nobles4 ,because in all cities these two distinct parties are found1 and from this it arises that the people do not wish to be ruled nor oppressed by the nobles1 and the nobles wish to rule and oppress the people2 and from these two opposite desires there arises in cities one of three results1 either a principality1 self-government1 or anarchy4 ,a principality is created either by the people or by the nobles1 accordingly as one or other of them has the opportunity2 for the nobles1 seeing they cannot withstand the people1 begin to cry up the reputation of one of themselves1 and they make him a prince1 so that under his shadow they can give vent to their ambitions4 ,the people1 finding they cannot resist the nobles1 also cry up the reputation of one of themselves1 and make him a prince so as to be defended by his authority4 ,he who obtains sovereignty by the assistance of the nobles maintains himself with more difficulty than he who comes to it by the aid of the people1 because the former finds himself with many around him who consider themselves his equals1 and because of this he can neither rule nor manage them to his liking4 ,but he who reaches sovereignty by popular favour finds himself alone1 and has none around him1 or few1 who are not prepared to obey him4 ,besides this1 one cannot by fair dealing1 and without injury to others1 satisfy the nobles1 but you can satisfy the people1 for their object is more righteous than that of the nobles1 the latter wishing to oppress1 while the former only desire not to be oppressed4 ,it is to be added also that a prince can never secure himself against a hostile people1 because of there being too many1 whilst from the nobles he can secure himself1 as they are few in number4 ,the worst that a prince may expect from a hostile people is to be abandoned by them2 but from hostile nobles he has not only to fear abandonment1 but also that they will rise against him2 for they1 being in these affairs more far-seeing and astute1 always come forward in time to save themselves1 and to obtain favours from him whom they expect to prevail4 ,further1 the prince is compelled to live always with the same people1 but he can do well without the same nobles1 being able to make and unmake them daily1 and to give or take away authority when it pleases him4 ,therefore1 to make this point clearer1 ,i say that the nobles ought to be looked at mainly in two ways3 that is to say1 they either shape their course in such a way as binds them entirely to your fortune1 or they do not4 ,those who so bind themselves1 and are not rapacious1 ought to be honoured and loved2 those who do not bind themselves may be dealt with in two ways2 they may fail to do this through pusillanimity and a natural want of courage1 in which case you ought to make use of them1 especially of those who are of good counsel2 and thus1 whilst in prosperity you honour them1 in adversity you do not have to fear them4 ,but when for their own ambitious ends they shun binding themselves1 it is a token that they are giving more thought to themselves than to you1 and a prince ought to guard against such1 and to fear them as if they were open enemies1 because in adversity they always help to ruin him4 ,therefore1 one who becomes a prince through the favour of the people ought to keep them friendly1 and this he can easily do seeing they only ask not to be oppressed by him4 ,but one who1 in opposition to the people1 becomes a prince by the favour of the nobles1 ought1 above everything1 to seek to win the people over to himself1 and this he may easily do if he takes them under his protection4 ,because men1 when they receive good from him of whom they were expecting evil1 are bound more closely to their benefactor2 thus the people quickly become more devoted to him than if he had been raised to the principality by their favours2 and the prince can win their affections in many ways1 but as these vary according to the circumstances one cannot give fixed rules1 so ,i omit them2 but1 ,i repeat1 it is necessary for a prince to have the people friendly1 otherwise he has no security in adversity4 ,nabis1#a ,prince of the ,spartans1 sustained the attack of all ,greece1 and of a victorious ,roman army1 and against them he defended his country and his government2 and for the overcoming of this peril it was only necessary for him to make himself secure against a few1 but this would not have been sufficient had the people been hostile4 ,and do not let any one impugn this statement with the trite proverb that 8,he who builds on the people1 builds on the mud10 for this is true when a private citizen makes a foundation there1 and persuades himself that the people will free him when he is oppressed by his enemies or by the magistrates2 wherein he would find himself very often deceived1 as happened to the ,gracchi in ,rome and to ,messer ,giorgio ,scali#b in ,florence4 ,but granted a prince who has established himself as above1 who can command1 and is a man of courage1 undismayed in adversity1 who does not fail in other qualifications1 and who1 by his resolution and energy1 keeps the whole people encouraged--such a one will never find himself deceived in them1 and it will be shown that he has laid his foundations well4 #a ,nabis1 tyrant of ,sparta1 conquered by the ,romans under ,flamininus in #aie ,b4,c42 killed #aib ,b4,c4 #b ,messer ,giorgio ,scali4 ,this event is to be found in ,machiavelli's 8,florentine ,history10 ,book ,,iii4 ,these principalities are liable to danger when they are passing from the civil to the absolute order of government1 for such princes either rule personally or through magistrates4 ,in the latter case their government is weaker and more insecure1 because it rests entirely on the goodwill of those citizens who are raised to the magistracy1 and who1 especially in troubled times1 can destroy the government with great ease1 either by intrigue or open defiance2 and the prince has not the chance amid tumults to exercise absolute authority1 because the citizens and subjects1 accustomed to receive orders from magistrates1 are not of a mind to obey him amid these confusions1 and there will always be in doubtful times a scarcity of men whom he can trust4 ,for such a prince cannot rely upon what he observes in quiet times1 when citizens have need of the state1 because then every one agrees with him2 they all promise1 and when death is far distant they all wish to die for him2 but in troubled times1 when the state has need of its citizens1 then he finds but few4 ,and so much the more is this experiment dangerous1 inasmuch as it can only be tried once4 ,therefore a wise prince ought to adopt such a course that his citizens will always in every sort and kind of circumstance have need of the state and of him1 and then he will always find them faithful4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,in ,,which ,,the ,,strength ,,of ,,all ,,principalities ,,ought ,,to ,,be ,,measured ,it is necessary to consider another point in examining the character of these principalities3 that is1 whether a prince has such power that1 in case of need1 he can support himself with his own resources1 or whether he has always need of the assistance of others4 ,and to make this quite clear ,i say that ,i consider those who are able to support themselves by their own resources who can1 either by abundance of men or money1 raise a sufficient army to join battle against any one who comes to attack them2 and ,i consider those always to have need of others who cannot show themselves against the enemy in the field1 but are forced to defend themselves by sheltering behind walls4 ,the first case has been discussed1 but we will speak of it again should it recur4 ,in the second case one can say nothing except to encourage such princes to provision and fortify their towns1 and not on any account to defend the country4 ,and whoever shall fortify his town well1 and shall have managed the other concerns of his subjects in the way stated above1 and to be often repeated1 will never be attacked without great caution1 for men are always adverse to enterprises where difficulties can be seen1 and it will be seen not to be an easy thing to attack one who has his town well fortified1 and is not hated by his people4 ,the cities of ,germany are absolutely free1 they own but little country around them1 and they yield obedience to the emperor when it suits them1 nor do they fear this or any other power they may have near them1 because they are fortified in such a way that every one thinks the taking of them by assault would be tedious and difficult1 seeing they have proper ditches and walls1 they have sufficient artillery1 and they always keep in public depots enough for one year's eating1 drinking1 and firing4 ,and beyond this1 to keep the people quiet and without loss to the state1 they always have the means of giving work to the community in those labours that are the life and strength of the city1 and on the pursuit of which the people are supported2 they also hold military exercises in repute1 and moreover have many ordinances to uphold them4 ,therefore1 a prince who has a strong city1 and had not made himself odious1 will not be attacked1 or if any one should attack he will only be driven off with disgrace2 again1 because that the affairs of this world are so changeable1 it is almost impossible to keep an army a whole year in the field without being interfered with4 ,and whoever should reply3 ,if the people have property outside the city1 and see it burnt1 they will not remain patient1 and the long siege and self-interest will make them forget their prince2 to this ,i answer that a powerful and courageous prince will overcome all such difficulties by giving at one time hope to his subjects that the evil will not be for long1 at another time fear of the cruelty of the enemy1 then preserving himself adroitly from those subjects who seem to him to be too bold4 ,further1 the enemy would naturally on his arrival at once burn and ruin the country at the time when the spirits of the people are still hot and ready for the defence2 and1 therefore1 so much the less ought the prince to hesitate2 because after a time1 when spirits have cooled1 the damage is already done1 the ills are incurred1 and there is no longer any remedy2 and therefore they are so much the more ready to unite with their prince1 he appearing to be under obligations to them now that their houses have been burnt and their possessions ruined in his defence4 ,for it is the nature of men to be bound by the benefits they confer as much as by those they receive4 ,therefore1 if everything is well considered1 it will not be difficult for a wise prince to keep the minds of his citizens steadfast from first to last1 when he does not fail to support and defend them4 ,,chapter ,,xi4 ,,concerning ,,ecclesiastical ,,principalities ,it only remains now to speak of ecclesiastical principalities1 touching which all difficulties are prior to getting possession1 because they are acquired either by capacity or good fortune1 and they can be held without either2 for they are sustained by the ancient ordinances of religion1 which are so all-powerful1 and of such a character that the principalities may be held no matter how their princes behave and live4 ,these princes alone have states and do not defend them2 and they have subjects and do not rule them2 and the states1 although unguarded1 are not taken from them1 and the subjects1 although not ruled1 do not care1 and they have neither the desire nor the ability to alienate themselves4 ,such principalities only are secure and happy4 ,but being upheld by powers1 to which the human mind cannot reach1 ,i shall speak no more of them1 because1 being exalted and maintained by ,god1 it would be the act of a presumptuous and rash man to discuss them4 ,nevertheless1 if any one should ask of me how comes it that the ,church has attained such greatness in temporal power1 seeing that from ,alexander backwards the ,italian potentates 7not only those who have been called potentates1 but every baron and lord1 though the smallest7 have valued the temporal power very slightly--yet now a king of ,france trembles before it1 and it has been able to drive him from ,italy1 and to ruin the ,venetians--although this may be very manifest1 it does not appear to me superfluous to recall it in some measure to memory4 ,before ,charles1 ,king of ,france1 passed into ,italy1#a this country was under the dominion of the ,pope1 the ,venetians1 the ,king of ,naples1 the ,duke of ,milan1 and the ,florentines4 ,these potentates had two principal anxieties3 the one1 that no foreigner should enter ,italy under arms2 the other1 that none of themselves should seize more territory4 ,those about whom there was the most anxiety were the ,pope and the ,venetians4 ,to restrain the ,venetians the union of all the others was necessary1 as it was for the defence of ,ferrara2 and to keep down the ,pope they made use of the barons of ,rome1 who1 being divided into two factions1 ,orsini and ,colonnesi1 had always a pretext for disorder1 and1 standing with arms in their hands under the eyes of the ,pontiff1 kept the pontificate weak and powerless4 ,and although there might arise sometimes a courageous pope1 such as ,sixtus1 yet neither fortune nor wisdom could rid him of these annoyances4 ,and the short life of a pope is also a cause of weakness2 for in the ten years1 which is the average life of a pope1 he can with difficulty lower one of the factions2 and if1 so to speak1 one people should almost destroy the ,colonnesi1 another would arise hostile to the ,orsini1 who would support their opponents1 and yet would not have time to ruin the ,orsini4 ,this was the reason why the temporal powers of the pope were little esteemed in ,italy4 #a ,charles ,,viii invaded ,italy in #adid4 ,alexander the ,sixth arose afterwards1 who of all the pontiffs that have ever been showed how a pope with both money and arms was able to prevail2 and through the instrumentality of the ,duke ,valentino1 and by reason of the entry of the ,french1 he brought about all those things which ,i have discussed above in the actions of the duke4 ,and although his intention was not to aggrandize the ,church1 but the duke1 nevertheless1 what he did contributed to the greatness of the ,church1 which1 after his death and the ruin of the duke1 became the heir to all his labours4 ,pope ,julius came afterwards and found the ,church strong1 possessing all the ,romagna1 the barons of ,rome reduced to impotence1 and1 through the chastisements of ,alexander1 the factions wiped out2 he also found the way open to accumulate money in a manner such as had never been practised before ,alexander's time4 ,such things ,julius not only followed1 but improved upon1 and he intended to gain ,bologna1 to ruin the ,venetians1 and to drive the ,french out of ,italy4 ,all of these enterprises prospered with him1 and so much the more to his credit1 inasmuch as he did everything to strengthen the ,church and not any private person4 ,he kept also the ,orsini and ,colonnesi factions within the bounds in which he found them2 and although there was among them some mind to make disturbance1 nevertheless he held two things firm3 the one1 the greatness of the ,church1 with which he terrified them2 and the other1 not allowing them to have their own cardinals1 who caused the disorders among them4 ,for whenever these factions have their cardinals they do not remain quiet for long1 because cardinals foster the factions in ,rome and out of it1 and the barons are compelled to support them1 and thus from the ambitions of prelates arise disorders and tumults among the barons4 ,for these reasons his ,holiness ,pope ,leo#b found the pontificate most powerful1 and it is to be hoped that1 if others made it great in arms1 he will make it still greater and more venerated by his goodness and infinite other virtues4 #b ,pope ,leo ,x was the ,cardinal de' ,medici4 ,,chapter ,,xii4 ,,how ,,many ,,kinds ,,of ,,soldiery ,,there ,,are1 ,,and ,,concerning ,,mercenaries ,having discoursed particularly on the characteristics of such principalities as in the beginning ,i proposed to discuss1 and having considered in some degree the causes of there being good or bad1 and having shown the methods by which many have sought to acquire them and to hold them1 it now remains for me to discuss generally the means of offence and defence which belong to each of them4 ,we have seen above how necessary it is for a prince to have his foundations well laid1 otherwise it follows of necessity he will go to ruin4 ,the chief foundations of all states1 new as well as old or composite1 are good laws and good arms2 and as there cannot be good laws where the state is not well armed1 it follows that where they are well armed they have good laws4 ,i shall leave the laws out of the discussion and shall speak of the arms4 ,i say1 therefore1 that the arms with which a prince defends his state are either his own1 or they are mercenaries1 auxiliaries1 or mixed4 ,mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous2 and if one holds his state based on these arms1 he will stand neither firm nor safe2 for they are disunited1 ambitious1 and without discipline1 unfaithful1 valiant before friends1 cowardly before enemies2 they have neither the fear of ,god nor fidelity to men1 and destruction is deferred only so long as the attack is2 for in peace one is robbed by them1 and in war by the enemy4 ,the fact is1 they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend1 which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you4 ,they are ready enough to be your soldiers whilst you do not make war1 but if war comes they take themselves off or run from the foe2 which ,i should have little trouble to prove1 for the ruin of ,italy has been caused by nothing else than by resting all her hopes for many years on mercenaries1 and although they formerly made some display and appeared valiant amongst themselves1 yet when the foreigners came they showed what they were4 ,thus it was that ,charles1 ,king of ,france1 was allowed to seize ,italy with chalk in hand2#a and he who told us that our sins were the cause of it told the truth1 but they were not the sins he imagined1 but those which ,i have related4 ,and as they were the sins of princes1 it is the princes who have also suffered the penalty4 #a 8,with chalk in hand10 8col gesso40 ,this is one of the bons mots of ,alexander ,,vi1 and refers to the ease with which ,charles ,,viii seized ,italy1 implying that it was only necessary for him to send his quartermasters to chalk up the billets for his soldiers to conquer the country4 ,cf4 8,the ,history of ,henry ,,vii10 by ,lord ,bacon3 8,king ,charles had conquered the realm of ,naples1 and lost it again1 in a kind of a felicity of a dream4 ,he passed the whole length of ,italy without resistance3 so that it was true what ,pope ,alexander was wont to say3 ,that the ,frenchmen came into ,italy with chalk in their hands1 to mark up their lodgings1 rather than with swords to fight40 ,i wish to demonstrate further the infelicity of these arms4 ,the mercenary captains are either capable men or they are not2 if they are1 you cannot trust them1 because they always aspire to their own greatness1 either by oppressing you1 who are their master1 or others contrary to your intentions2 but if the captain is not skilful1 you are ruined in the usual way4 ,and if it be urged that whoever is armed will act in the same way1 whether mercenary or not1 ,i reply that when arms have to be resorted to1 either by a prince or a republic1 then the prince ought to go in person and perform the duty of a captain2 the republic has to send its citizens1 and when one is sent who does not turn out satisfactorily1 it ought to recall him1 and when one is worthy1 to hold him by the laws so that he does not leave the command4 ,and experience has shown princes and republics1 single-handed1 making the greatest progress1 and mercenaries doing nothing except damage2 and it is more difficult to bring a republic1 armed with its own arms1 under the sway of one of its citizens than it is to bring one armed with foreign arms4 ,rome and ,sparta stood for many ages armed and free4 ,the ,switzers are completely armed and quite free4 ,of ancient mercenaries1 for example1 there are the ,carthaginians1 who were oppressed by their mercenary soldiers after the first war with the ,romans1 although the ,carthaginians had their own citizens for captains4 ,after the death of ,epaminondas1 ,philip of ,macedon was made captain of their soldiers by the ,thebans1 and after victory he took away their liberty4 ,duke ,filippo being dead1 the ,milanese enlisted ,francesco ,sforza against the ,venetians1 and he1 having overcome the enemy at ,caravaggio1#b allied himself with them to crush the ,milanese1 his masters4 ,his father1 ,sforza1 having been engaged by ,queen ,johanna#c of ,naples1 left her unprotected1 so that she was forced to throw herself into the arms of the ,king of ,aragon1 in order to save her kingdom4 ,and if the ,venetians and ,florentines formerly extended their dominions by these arms1 and yet their captains did not make themselves princes1 but have defended them1 ,i reply that the ,florentines in this case have been favoured by chance1 for of the able captains1 of whom they might have stood in fear1 some have not conquered1 some have been opposed1 and others have turned their ambitions elsewhere4 ,one who did not conquer was ,giovanni ,acuto1#d and since he did not conquer his fidelity cannot be proved2 but every one will acknowledge that1 had he conquered1 the ,florentines would have stood at his discretion4 ,sforza had the ,bracceschi always against him1 so they watched each other4 ,francesco turned his ambition to ,lombardy2 ,braccio against the ,church and the kingdom of ,naples4 ,but let us come to that which happened a short while ago4 ,the ,florentines appointed as their captain ,pagolo ,vitelli1 a most prudent man1 who from a private position had risen to the greatest renown4 ,if this man had taken ,pisa1 nobody can deny that it would have been proper for the ,florentines to keep in with him1 for if he became the soldier of their enemies they had no means of resisting1 and if they held to him they must obey him4 ,the ,venetians1 if their achievements are considered1 will be seen to have acted safely and gloriously so long as they sent to war their own men1 when with armed gentlemen and plebians they did valiantly4 ,this was before they turned to enterprises on land1 but when they began to fight on land they forsook this virtue and followed the custom of ,italy4 ,and in the beginning of their expansion on land1 through not having much territory1 and because of their great reputation1 they had not much to fear from their captains2 but when they expanded1 as under ,carmignuola1#e they had a taste of this mistake2 for1 having found him a most valiant man 7they beat the ,duke of ,milan under his leadership71 and1 on the other hand1 knowing how lukewarm he was in the war1 they feared they would no longer conquer under him1 and for this reason they were not willing1 nor were they able1 to let him go2 and so1 not to lose again that which they had acquired1 they were compelled1 in order to secure themselves1 to murder him4 ,they had afterwards for their captains ,bartolomeo da ,bergamo1 ,roberto da ,san ,severino1 the count of ,pitigliano1#f and the like1 under whom they had to dread loss and not gain1 as happened afterwards at ,vaila1#g where in one battle they lost that which in eight hundred years they had acquired with so much trouble4 ,because from such arms conquests come but slowly1 long delayed and inconsiderable1 but the losses sudden and portentous4 #b ,battle of ,caravaggio1 #aeth ,september #addh4 #c ,johanna ,,ii of ,naples1 the widow of ,ladislao1 ,king of ,naples4 #d ,giovanni ,acuto4 ,an ,english knight whose name was ,sir ,john ,hawkwood4 ,he fought in the ,english wars in ,france1 and was knighted by ,edward ,,iii2 afterwards he collected a body of troops and went into ,italy4 ,these became the famous 8,white ,company40 ,he took part in many wars1 and died in ,florence in #acid4 ,he was born about #acbj at ,sible ,hedingham1 a village in ,essex4 ,he married ,domnia1 a daughter of ,bernabo ,visconti4 #e ,carmignuola4 ,francesco ,bussone1 born at ,carmagnola about #acij1 executed at ,venice1 #eth ,may #adcb4 #f ,bartolomeo ,colleoni of ,bergamo2 died #adeg4 ,roberto of ,san ,severino2 died fighting for ,venice against ,sigismund1 ,duke of ,austria1 in #adhg4 8,primo capitano in ,italia40--,machiavelli4 ,count of ,pitigliano2 ,nicolo ,orsini1 born #addb1 died #aeaj4 #g ,battle of ,vaila in #aeji4 ,and as with these examples ,i have reached ,italy1 which has been ruled for many years by mercenaries1 ,i wish to discuss them more seriously1 in order that1 having seen their rise and progress1 one may be better prepared to counteract them4 ,you must understand that the empire has recently come to be repudiated in ,italy1 that the ,pope has acquired more temporal power1 and that ,italy has been divided up into more states1 for the reason that many of the great cities took up arms against their nobles1 who1 formerly favoured by the emperor1 were oppressing them1 whilst the ,church was favouring them so as to gain authority in temporal power3 in many others their citizens became princes4 ,from this it came to pass that ,italy fell partly into the hands of the ,church and of republics1 and1 the ,church consisting of priests and the republic of citizens unaccustomed to arms1 both commenced to enlist foreigners4 ,the first who gave renown to this soldiery was ,alberigo da ,conio1#h the ,romagnian4 ,from the school of this man sprang1 among others1 ,braccio and ,sforza1 who in their time were the arbiters of ,italy4 ,after these came all the other captains who till now have directed the arms of ,italy2 and the end of all their valour has been1 that she has been overrun by ,charles1 robbed by ,louis1 ravaged by ,ferdinand1 and insulted by the ,switzers4 ,the principle that has guided them has been1 first1 to lower the credit of infantry so that they might increase their own4 ,they did this because1 subsisting on their pay and without territory1 they were unable to support many soldiers1 and a few infantry did not give them any authority2 so they were led to employ cavalry1 with a moderate force of which they were maintained and honoured2 and affairs were brought to such a pass that1 in an army of twenty thousand soldiers1 there were not to be found two thousand foot soldiers4 ,they had1 besides this1 used every art to lessen fatigue and danger to themselves and their soldiers1 not killing in the fray1 but taking prisoners and liberating without ransom4 ,they did not attack towns at night1 nor did the garrisons of the towns attack encampments at night2 they did not surround the camp either with stockade or ditch1 nor did they campaign in the winter4 ,all these things were permitted by their military rules1 and devised by them to avoid1 as ,i have said1 both fatigue and dangers2 thus they have brought ,italy to slavery and contempt4 #h ,alberigo da ,conio4 ,alberico da ,barbiano1 ,count of ,cunio in ,romagna4 ,he was the leader of the famous 8,company of ,st ,george10 composed entirely of ,italian soldiers4 ,he died in #adji4 ,,chapter ,,xiii4 ,,concerning ,,auxiliaries1 ,,mixed ,,soldiery1 ,,and ,,one',s ,,own ,auxiliaries1 which are the other useless arm1 are employed when a prince is called in with his forces to aid and defend1 as was done by ,pope ,julius in the most recent times2 for he1 having1 in the enterprise against ,ferrara1 had poor proof of his mercenaries1 turned to auxiliaries1 and stipulated with ,ferdinand1 ,king of ,spain1#a for his assistance with men and arms4 ,these arms may be useful and good in themselves1 but for him who calls them in they are always disadvantageous2 for losing1 one is undone1 and winning1 one is their captive4 #a ,ferdinand ,v 7,f4 ,,ii of ,aragon and ,sicily1 ,f4 ,,iii of ,naples71 surnamed 8,the ,catholic10 born #adeb1 died #aeaf4 ,and although ancient histories may be full of examples1 ,i do not wish to leave this recent one of ,pope ,julius the ,second1 the peril of which cannot fail to be perceived2 for he1 wishing to get ,ferrara1 threw himself entirely into the hands of the foreigner4 ,but his good fortune brought about a third event1 so that he did not reap the fruit of his rash choice2 because1 having his auxiliaries routed at ,ravenna1 and the ,switzers having risen and driven out the conquerors 7against all expectation1 both his and others71 it so came to pass that he did not become prisoner to his enemies1 they having fled1 nor to his auxiliaries1 he having conquered by other arms than theirs4 ,the ,florentines1 being entirely without arms1 sent ten thousand ,frenchmen to take ,pisa1 whereby they ran more danger than at any other time of their troubles4 ,the ,emperor of ,constantinople1#b to oppose his neighbours1 sent ten thousand ,turks into ,greece1 who1 on the war being finished1 were not willing to quit2 this was the beginning of the servitude of ,greece to the infidels4 #b ,joannes ,cantacuzenus1 born #acjj1 died #achc4 ,therefore1 let him who has no desire to conquer make use of these arms1 for they are much more hazardous than mercenaries1 because with them the ruin is ready made2 they are all united1 all yield obedience to others2 but with mercenaries1 when they have conquered1 more time and better opportunities are needed to injure you2 they are not all of one community1 they are found and paid by you1 and a third party1 which you have made their head1 is not able all at once to assume enough authority to injure you4 ,in conclusion1 in mercenaries dastardy is most dangerous2 in auxiliaries1 valour4 ,the wise prince1 therefore1 has always avoided these arms and turned to his own2 and has been willing rather to lose with them than to conquer with the others1 not deeming that a real victory which is gained with the arms of others4 ,i shall never hesitate to cite ,cesare ,borgia and his actions4 ,this duke entered the ,romagna with auxiliaries1 taking there only ,french soldiers1 and with them he captured ,imola and ,forli2 but afterwards1 such forces not appearing to him reliable1 he turned to mercenaries1 discerning less danger in them1 and enlisted the ,orsini and ,vitelli2 whom presently1 on handling and finding them doubtful1 unfaithful1 and dangerous1 he destroyed and turned to his own men4 ,and the difference between one and the other of these forces can easily be seen when one considers the difference there was in the reputation of the duke1 when he had the ,french1 when he had the ,orsini and ,vitelli1 and when he relied on his own soldiers1 on whose fidelity he could always count and found it ever increasing2 he was never esteemed more highly than when every one saw that he was complete master of his own forces4 ,i was not intending to go beyond ,italian and recent examples1 but ,i am unwilling to leave out ,hiero1 the ,syracusan1 he being one of those ,i have named above4 ,this man1 as ,i have said1 made head of the army by the ,syracusans1 soon found out that a mercenary soldiery1 constituted like our ,italian condottieri1 was of no use2 and it appearing to him that he could neither keep them nor let them go1 he had them all cut to pieces1 and afterwards made war with his own forces and not with aliens4 ,i wish also to recall to memory an instance from the ,old ,testament applicable to this subject4 ,david offered himself to ,saul to fight with ,goliath1 the ,philistine champion1 and1 to give him courage1 ,saul armed him with his own weapons2 which ,david rejected as soon as he had them on his back1 saying he could make no use of them1 and that he wished to meet the enemy with his sling and his knife4 ,in conclusion1 the arms of others either fall from your back1 or they weigh you down1 or they bind you fast4 ,charles the ,seventh1#c the father of ,king ,louis the ,eleventh1#d having by good fortune and valour liberated ,france from the ,english1 recognized the necessity of being armed with forces of his own1 and he established in his kingdom ordinances concerning men-at-arms and infantry4 ,afterwards his son1 ,king ,louis1 abolished the infantry and began to enlist the ,switzers1 which mistake1 followed by others1 is1 as is now seen1 a source of peril to that kingdom2 because1 having raised the reputation of the ,switzers1 he has entirely diminished the value of his own arms1 for he has destroyed the infantry altogether2 and his men-at-arms he has subordinated to others1 for1 being as they are so accustomed to fight along with ,switzers1 it does not appear that they can now conquer without them4 ,hence it arises that the ,french cannot stand against the ,switzers1 and without the ,switzers they do not come off well against others4 ,the armies of the ,french have thus become mixed1 partly mercenary and partly national1 both of which arms together are much better than mercenaries alone or auxiliaries alone1 but much inferior to one's own forces4 ,and this example proves it1 for the kingdom of ,france would be unconquerable if the ordinance of ,charles had been enlarged or maintained4 #c ,charles ,,vii of ,france1 surnamed 8,the ,victorious10 born #adjc1 died #adfa4 #d ,louis ,,xi1 son of the above1 born #adbc1 died #adhc4 ,but the scanty wisdom of man1 on entering into an affair which looks well at first1 cannot discern the poison that is hidden in it1 as ,i have said above of hectic fevers4 ,therefore1 if he who rules a principality cannot recognize evils until they are upon him1 he is not truly wise2 and this insight is given to few4 ,and if the first disaster to the ,roman ,empire#e should be examined1 it will be found to have commenced only with the enlisting of the ,goths2 because from that time the vigour of the ,roman ,empire began to decline1 and all that valour which had raised it passed away to others4 #e 8,many speakers to the ,house the other night in the debate on the reduction of armaments seemed to show a most lamentable ignorance of the conditions under which the ,british ,empire maintains its existence4 ,when ,mr ,balfour replied to the allegations that the ,roman ,empire sank under the weight of its military obligations1 he said that this was #8wholly unhistorical4' ,he might well have added that the ,roman power was at its zenith when every citizen acknowledged his liability to fight for the ,state1 but that it began to decline as soon as this obligation was no longer recognised40--,pall ,mall ,gazette1 #aeth ,may #aijf4 ,i conclude1 therefore1 that no principality is secure without having its own forces2 on the contrary1 it is entirely dependent on good fortune1 not having the valour which in adversity would defend it4 ,and it has always been the opinion and judgment of wise men that nothing can be so uncertain or unstable as fame or power not founded on its own strength4 ,and one's own forces are those which are composed either of subjects1 citizens1 or dependents2 all others are mercenaries or auxiliaries4 ,and the way to make ready one's own forces will be easily found if the rules suggested by me shall be reflected upon1 and if one will consider how ,philip1 the father of ,alexander the ,great1 and many republics and princes have armed and organized themselves1 to which rules ,i entirely commit myself4 ,,chapter ,,xiv4 ,,that ,,which ,,concerns ,a ,,prince ,,on ,,the ,,subject ,,of ,,the ,,art ,,of ,,war ,a prince ought to have no other aim or thought1 nor select anything else for his study1 than war and its rules and discipline2 for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules1 and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes1 but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank4 ,and1 on the contrary1 it is seen that when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost their states4 ,and the first cause of your losing it is to neglect this art2 and what enables you to acquire a state is to be master of the art4 ,francesco ,sforza1 through being martial1 from a private person became ,duke of ,milan2 and the sons1 through avoiding the hardships and troubles of arms1 from dukes became private persons4 ,for among other evils which being unarmed brings you1 it causes you to be despised1 and this is one of those ignominies against which a prince ought to guard himself1 as is shown later on4 ,because there is nothing proportionate between the armed and the unarmed2 and it is not reasonable that he who is armed should yield obedience willingly to him who is unarmed1 or that the unarmed man should be secure among armed servants4 ,because1 there being in the one disdain and in the other suspicion1 it is not possible for them to work well together4 ,and therefore a prince who does not understand the art of war1 over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned1 cannot be respected by his soldiers1 nor can he rely on them4 ,he ought never1 therefore1 to have out of his thoughts this subject of war1 and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise than in war2 this he can do in two ways1 the one by action1 the other by study4 ,as regards action1 he ought above all things to keep his men well organized and drilled1 to follow incessantly the chase1 by which he accustoms his body to hardships1 and learns something of the nature of localities1 and gets to find out how the mountains rise1 how the valleys open out1 how the plains lie1 and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes1 and in all this to take the greatest care4 ,which knowledge is useful in two ways4 ,firstly1 he learns to know his country1 and is better able to undertake its defence2 afterwards1 by means of the knowledge and observation of that locality1 he understands with ease any other which it may be necessary for him to study hereafter2 because the hills1 valleys1 and plains1 and rivers and marshes that are1 for instance1 in ,tuscany1 have a certain resemblance to those of other countries1 so that with a knowledge of the aspect of one country one can easily arrive at a knowledge of others4 ,and the prince that lacks this skill lacks the essential which it is desirable that a captain should possess1 for it teaches him to surprise his enemy1 to select quarters1 to lead armies1 to array the battle1 to besiege towns to advantage4 ,philopoemen1#a ,prince of the ,achaeans1 among other praises which writers have bestowed on him1 is commended because in time of peace he never had anything in his mind but the rules of war2 and when he was in the country with friends1 he often stopped and reasoned with them3 8,if the enemy should be upon that hill1 and we should find ourselves here with our army1 with whom would be the advantage8 ,how should one best advance to meet him1 keeping the ranks8 ,if we should wish to retreat1 how ought we to pursue80 ,and he would set forth to them1 as he went1 all the chances that could befall an army2 he would listen to their opinion and state his1 confirming it with reasons1 so that by these continual discussions there could never arise1 in time of war1 any unexpected circumstances that he could not deal with4 #a ,philopoemen1 8the last of the ,greeks10 born #beb ,b4,c41 died #ahc ,b4,c4 ,but to exercise the intellect the prince should read histories1 and study there the actions of illustrious men1 to see how they have borne themselves in war1 to examine the causes of their victories and defeat1 so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former2 and above all do as an illustrious man did1 who took as an exemplar one who had been praised and famous before him1 and whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his mind1 as it is said ,alexander the ,great imitated ,achilles1 ,caesar ,alexander1 ,scipio ,cyrus4 ,and whoever reads the life of ,cyrus1 written by ,xenophon1 will recognize afterwards in the life of ,scipio how that imitation was his glory1 and how in chastity1 affability1 humanity1 and liberality ,scipio conformed to those things which have been written of ,cyrus by ,xenophon4 ,a wise prince ought to observe some such rules1 and never in peaceful times stand idle1 but increase his resources with industry in such a way that they may be available to him in adversity1 so that if fortune chances it may find him prepared to resist her blows4 ,,chapter ,,xv4 ,,concerning ,,things ,,for ,,which ,,men1 ,,and ,,especially ,,princes1 ,,are ,,praised ,,or ,,blamed ,it remains now to see what ought to be the rules of conduct for a prince towards subject and friends4 ,and as ,i know that many have written on this point1 ,i expect ,i shall be considered presumptuous in mentioning it again1 especially as in discussing it ,i shall depart from the methods of other people4 ,but1 it being my intention to write a thing which shall be useful to him who apprehends it1 it appears to me more appropriate to follow up the real truth of the matter than the imagination of it2 for many have pictured republics and principalities which in fact have never been known or seen1 because how one lives is so far distant from how one ought to live1 that he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done1 sooner effects his ruin than his preservation2 for a man who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil4 ,hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong1 and to make use of it or not according to necessity4 ,therefore1 putting on one side imaginary things concerning a prince1 and discussing those which are real1 ,i say that all men when they are spoken of1 and chiefly princes for being more highly placed1 are remarkable for some of those qualities which bring them either blame or praise2 and thus it is that one is reputed liberal1 another miserly1 using a ,tuscan term 7because an avaricious person in our language is still he who desires to possess by robbery1 whilst we call one miserly who deprives himself too much of the use of his own72 one is reputed generous1 one rapacious2 one cruel1 one compassionate2 one faithless1 another faithful2 one effeminate and cowardly1 another bold and brave2 one affable1 another haughty2 one lascivious1 another chaste2 one sincere1 another cunning2 one hard1 another easy2 one grave1 another frivolous2 one religious1 another unbelieving1 and the like4 ,and ,i know that every one will confess that it would be most praiseworthy in a prince to exhibit all the above qualities that are considered good2 but because they can neither be entirely possessed nor observed1 for human conditions do not permit it1 it is necessary for him to be sufficiently prudent that he may know how to avoid the reproach of those vices which would lose him his state2 and also to keep himself1 if it be possible1 from those which would not lose him it2 but this not being possible1 he may with less hesitation abandon himself to them4 ,and again1 he need not make himself uneasy at incurring a reproach for those vices without which the state can only be saved with difficulty1 for if everything is considered carefully1 it will be found that something which looks like virtue1 if followed1 would be his ruin2 whilst something else1 which looks like vice1 yet followed brings him security and prosperity4 ,,chapter ,,xvi4 ,,concerning ,,liberality ,,and ,,meanness ,commencing then with the first of the above-named characteristics1 ,i say that it would be well to be reputed liberal4 ,nevertheless1 liberality exercised in a way that does not bring you the reputation for it1 injures you2 for if one exercises it honestly and as it should be exercised1 it may not become known1 and you will not avoid the reproach of its opposite4 ,therefore1 any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence2 so that a prince thus inclined will consume in such acts all his property1 and will be compelled in the end1 if he wish to maintain the name of liberal1 to unduly weigh down his people1 and tax them1 and do everything he can to get money4 ,this will soon make him odious to his subjects1 and becoming poor he will be little valued by any one2 thus1 with his liberality1 having offended many and rewarded few1 he is affected by the very first trouble and imperilled by whatever may be the first danger2 recognizing this himself1 and wishing to draw back from it1 he runs at once into the reproach of being miserly4 ,therefore1 a prince1 not being able to exercise this virtue of liberality in such a way that it is recognized1 except to his cost1 if he is wise he ought not to fear the reputation of being mean1 for in time he will come to be more considered than if liberal1 seeing that with his economy his revenues are enough1 that he can defend himself against all attacks1 and is able to engage in enterprises without burdening his people2 thus it comes to pass that he exercises liberality towards all from whom he does not take1 who are numberless1 and meanness towards those to whom he does not give1 who are few4 ,we have not seen great things done in our time except by those who have been considered mean2 the rest have failed4 ,pope ,julius the ,second was assisted in reaching the papacy by a reputation for liberality1 yet he did not strive afterwards to keep it up1 when he made war on the ,king of ,france2 and he made many wars without imposing any extraordinary tax on his subjects1 for he supplied his additional expenses out of his long thriftiness4 ,the present ,king of ,spain would not have undertaken or conquered in so many enterprises if he had been reputed liberal4 ,a prince1 therefore1 provided that he has not to rob his subjects1 that he can defend himself1 that he does not become poor and abject1 that he is not forced to become rapacious1 ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean1 for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern4 ,and if any one should say3 ,caesar obtained empire by liberality1 and many others have reached the highest positions by having been liberal1 and by being considered so1 ,i answer3 ,either you are a prince in fact1 or in a way to become one4 ,in the first case this liberality is dangerous1 in the second it is very necessary to be considered liberal2 and ,caesar was one of those who wished to become pre-eminent in ,rome2 but if he had survived after becoming so1 and had not moderated his expenses1 he would have destroyed his government4 ,and if any one should reply3 ,many have been princes1 and have done great things with armies1 who have been considered very liberal1 ,i reply3 ,either a prince spends that which is his own or his subjects' or else that of others4 ,in the first case he ought to be sparing1 in the second he ought not to neglect any opportunity for liberality4 ,and to the prince who goes forth with his army1 supporting it by pillage1 sack1 and extortion1 handling that which belongs to others1 this liberality is necessary1 otherwise he would not be followed by soldiers4 ,and of that which is neither yours nor your subjects' you can be a ready giver1 as were ,cyrus1 ,caesar1 and ,alexander2 because it does not take away your reputation if you squander that of others1 but adds to it2 it is only squandering your own that injures you4 ,and there is nothing wastes so rapidly as liberality1 for even whilst you exercise it you lose the power to do so1 and so become either poor or despised1 or else1 in avoiding poverty1 rapacious and hated4 ,and a prince should guard himself1 above all things1 against being despised and hated2 and liberality leads you to both4 ,therefore it is wiser to have a reputation for meanness which brings reproach without hatred1 than to be compelled through seeking a reputation for liberality to incur a name for rapacity which begets reproach with hatred4 ,,chapter ,,xvii4 ,,concerning ,,cruelty ,,and ,,clemency1 ,,and ,,whether ,,it ,,is ,,better ,,to ,,be ,,loved ,,than ,,feared ,coming now to the other qualities mentioned above1 ,i say that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel4 ,nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency4 ,cesare ,borgia was considered cruel2 notwithstanding1 his cruelty reconciled the ,romagna1 unified it1 and restored it to peace and loyalty4 ,and if this be rightly considered1 he will be seen to have been much more merciful than the ,florentine people1 who1 to avoid a reputation for cruelty1 permitted ,pistoia to be destroyed4#a ,therefore a prince1 so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal1 ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty2 because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who1 through too much mercy1 allow disorders to arise1 from which follow murders or robberies2 for these are wont to injure the whole people1 whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only4 #a ,during the rioting between the ,cancellieri and ,panciatichi factions in #aejb and #aejc4 ,and of all princes1 it is impossible for the new prince to avoid the imputation of cruelty1 owing to new states being full of dangers4 ,hence ,virgil1 through the mouth of ,dido1 excuses the inhumanity of her reign owing to its being new1 saying3 8,res dura1 et regni novitas me talia cogunt ,moliri1 et late fines custode tueri40#b ,nevertheless he ought to be slow to believe and to act1 nor should he himself show fear1 but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity1 so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and too much distrust render him intolerable4 #b 4 4 4 against my will1 my fate ,a throne unsettled1 and an infant state1 ,bid me defend my realms with all my pow'rs1 ,and guard with these severities my shores4 ,christopher ,pitt4 ,upon this a question arises3 whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved8 ,it may be answered that one should wish to be both1 but1 because it is difficult to unite them in one person1 it is much safer to be feared than loved1 when1 of the two1 either must be dispensed with4 ,because this is to be asserted in general of men1 that they are ungrateful1 fickle1 false1 cowardly1 covetous1 and as long as you succeed they are yours entirely2 they will offer you their blood1 property1 life1 and children1 as is said above1 when the need is far distant2 but when it approaches they turn against you4 ,and that prince who1 relying entirely on their promises1 has neglected other precautions1 is ruined2 because friendships that are obtained by payments1 and not by greatness or nobility of mind1 may indeed be earned1 but they are not secured1 and in time of need cannot be relied upon2 and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared1 for love is preserved by the link of obligation which1 owing to the baseness of men1 is broken at every opportunity for their advantage2 but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails4 ,nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that1 if he does not win love1 he avoids hatred2 because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated1 which will always be as long as he abstains from the property of his citizens and subjects and from their women4 ,but when it is necessary for him to proceed against the life of someone1 he must do it on proper justification and for manifest cause1 but above all things he must keep his hands off the property of others1 because men more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their patrimony4 ,besides1 pretexts for taking away the property are never wanting2 for he who has once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts for seizing what belongs to others2 but reasons for taking life1 on the contrary1 are more difficult to find and sooner lapse4 ,but when a prince is with his army1 and has under control a multitude of soldiers1 then it is quite necessary for him to disregard the reputation of cruelty1 for without it he would never hold his army united or disposed to its duties4 ,among the wonderful deeds of ,hannibal this one is enumerated3 that having led an enormous army1 composed of many various races of men1 to fight in foreign lands1 no dissensions arose either among them or against the prince1 whether in his bad or in his good fortune4 ,this arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty1 which1 with his boundless valour1 made him revered and terrible in the sight of his soldiers1 but without that cruelty1 his other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect4 ,and short-sighted writers admire his deeds from one point of view and from another condemn the principal cause of them4 ,that it is true his other virtues would not have been sufficient for him may be proved by the case of ,scipio1 that most excellent man1 not only of his own times but within the memory of man1 against whom1 nevertheless1 his army rebelled in ,spain2 this arose from nothing but his too great forbearance1 which gave his soldiers more license than is consistent with military discipline4 ,for this he was upbraided in the ,senate by ,fabius ,maximus1 and called the corrupter of the ,roman soldiery4 ,the ,locrians were laid waste by a legate of ,scipio1 yet they were not avenged by him1 nor was the insolence of the legate punished1 owing entirely to his easy nature4 ,insomuch that someone in the ,senate1 wishing to excuse him1 said there were many men who knew much better how not to err than to correct the errors of others4 ,this disposition1 if he had been continued in the command1 would have destroyed in time the fame and glory of ,scipio2 but1 he being under the control of the ,senate1 this injurious characteristic not only concealed itself1 but contributed to his glory4 ,returning to the question of being feared or loved1 ,i come to the conclusion that1 men loving according to their own will and fearing according to that of the prince1 a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others2 he must endeavour only to avoid hatred1 as is noted4 ,,chapter ,,xviii4#a ,,concerning ,,the ,,way ,,in ,,which ,,princes ,,should ,,keep ,,faith #a 8,the present chapter has given greater offence than any other portion of ,machiavelli's writings40 ,burd1 8,il ,principe10 p4 #big4 ,every one admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith1 and to live with integrity and not with craft4 ,nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account1 and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft1 and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word4 ,you must know there are two ways of contesting1#b the one by the law1 the other by force2 the first method is proper to men1 the second to beasts2 but because the first is frequently not sufficient1 it is necessary to have recourse to the second4 ,therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man4 ,this has been figuratively taught to princes by ancient writers1 who describe how ,achilles and many other princes of old were given to the ,centaur ,chiron to nurse1 who brought them up in his discipline2 which means solely that1 as they had for a teacher one who was half beast and half man1 so it is necessary for a prince to know how to make use of both natures1 and that one without the other is not durable4 ,a prince1 therefore1 being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast1 ought to choose the fox and the lion2 because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves4 ,therefore1 it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves4 ,those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about4 ,therefore a wise lord cannot1 nor ought he to1 keep faith when such observance may be turned against him1 and when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer4 ,if men were entirely good this precept would not hold1 but because they are bad1 and will not keep faith with you1 you too are not bound to observe it with them4 ,nor will there ever be wanting to a prince legitimate reasons to excuse this non-observance4 ,of this endless modern examples could be given1 showing how many treaties and engagements have been made void and of no effect through the faithlessness of princes2 and he who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best4 #b 8,contesting10 i4e4 8striving for mastery40 ,mr ,burd points out that this passage is imitated directly from ,cicero's 8,de ,officiis03 8,nam cum sint duo genera decertandi1 unum per disceptationem1 alterum per vim2 cumque illud proprium sit hominis1 hoc beluarum2 confugiendum est ad posterius1 si uti non licet superiore40 ,but it is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic1 and to be a great pretender and dissembler2 and men are so simple1 and so subject to present necessities1 that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived4 ,one recent example ,i cannot pass over in silence4 ,alexander the ,sixth did nothing else but deceive men1 nor ever thought of doing otherwise1 and he always found victims2 for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting1 or who with greater oaths would affirm a thing1 yet would observe it less2 nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes1#c because he well understood this side of mankind4 #c 8,nondimanco sempre gli succederono gli inganni 7ad votum740 ,the words 8ad votum0 are omitted in the ,testina addition1 #aeej4 ,alexander never did what he said1 ,cesare never said what he did4 ,italian ,proverb4 ,therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities ,i have enumerated1 but it is very necessary to appear to have them4 ,and ,i shall dare to say this also1 that to have them and always to observe them is injurious1 and that to appear to have them is useful2 to appear merciful1 faithful1 humane1 religious1 upright1 and to be so1 but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so1 you may be able and know how to change to the opposite4 ,and you have to understand this1 that a prince1 especially a new one1 cannot observe all those things for which men are esteemed1 being often forced1 in order to maintain the state1 to act contrary to fidelity1#d friendship1 humanity1 and religion4 ,therefore it is necessary for him to have a mind ready to turn itself accordingly as the winds and variations of fortune force it1 yet1 as ,i have said above1 not to diverge from the good if he can avoid doing so1 but1 if compelled1 then to know how to set about it4 #d 8,contrary to fidelity0 or 8faith10 8contro alla fede10 and 8tutto fede10 8altogether faithful10 in the next paragraph4 ,it is noteworthy that these two phrases1 8contro alla fede0 and 8tutto fede10 were omitted in the ,testina edition1 which was published with the sanction of the papal authorities4 ,it may be that the meaning attached to the word 8fede0 was 8the faith10 i4e4 the ,catholic creed1 and not as rendered here 8fidelity0 and 8faithful40 ,observe that the word 8religione0 was suffered to stand in the text of the ,testina1 being used to signify indifferently every shade of belief1 as witness 8the religion10 a phrase inevitably employed to designate the ,huguenot heresy4 ,south in his ,sermon ,,ix1 p4 #fi1 ed4 #ahdc1 comments on this passage as follows3 8,that great patron and ,coryphaeus of this tribe1 ,nicolo ,machiavel1 laid down this for a master rule in his political scheme3 #8,that the show of religion was helpful to the politician1 but the reality of it hurtful and pernicious4'0 ,for this reason a prince ought to take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not replete with the above-named five qualities1 that he may appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful1 faithful1 humane1 upright1 and religious4 ,there is nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality1 inasmuch as men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand1 because it belongs to everybody to see you1 to few to come in touch with you4 ,every one sees what you appear to be1 few really know what you are1 and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many1 who have the majesty of the state to defend them2 and in the actions of all men1 and especially of princes1 which it is not prudent to challenge1 one judges by the result4 ,for that reason1 let a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state1 the means will always be considered honest1 and he will be praised by everybody2 because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and by what comes of it2 and in the world there are only the vulgar1 for the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest on4 ,one prince#e of the present time1 whom it is not well to name1 never preaches anything else but peace and good faith1 and to both he is most hostile1 and either1 if he had kept it1 would have deprived him of reputation and kingdom many a time4 #e ,ferdinand of ,aragon4 8,when ,machiavelli was writing ,the ,prince it would have been clearly impossible to mention ,ferdinand's name here without giving offence40 ,burd's 8,il ,principe10 p4 #cjh4 ,,chapter ,,xix4 ,,that ,,one ,,should ,,avoid ,,being ,,despised ,,and ,,hated ,now1 concerning the characteristics of which mention is made above1 ,i have spoken of the more important ones1 the others ,i wish to discuss briefly under this generality1 that the prince must consider1 as has been in part said before1 how to avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible2 and as often as he shall have succeeded he will have fulfilled his part1 and he need not fear any danger in other reproaches4 ,it makes him hated above all things1 as ,i have said1 to be rapacious1 and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects1 from both of which he must abstain4 ,and when neither their property nor their honor is touched1 the majority of men live content1 and he has only to contend with the ambition of a few1 whom he can curb with ease in many ways4 ,it makes him contemptible to be considered fickle1 frivolous1 effeminate1 mean-spirited1 irresolute1 from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock2 and he should endeavour to show in his actions greatness1 courage1 gravity1 and fortitude2 and in his private dealings with his subjects let him show that his judgments are irrevocable1 and maintain himself in such reputation that no one can hope either to deceive him or to get round him4 ,that prince is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself1 and he who is highly esteemed is not easily conspired against2 for1 provided it is well known that he is an excellent man and revered by his people1 he can only be attacked with difficulty4 ,for this reason a prince ought to have two fears1 one from within1 on account of his subjects1 the other from without1 on account of external powers4 ,from the latter he is defended by being well armed and having good allies1 and if he is well armed he will have good friends1 and affairs will always remain quiet within when they are quiet without1 unless they should have been already disturbed by conspiracy2 and even should affairs outside be disturbed1 if he has carried out his preparations and has lived as ,i have said1 as long as he does not despair1 he will resist every attack1 as ,i said ,nabis the ,spartan did4 ,but concerning his subjects1 when affairs outside are disturbed he has only to fear that they will conspire secretly1 from which a prince can easily secure himself by avoiding being hated and despised1 and by keeping the people satisfied with him1 which it is most necessary for him to accomplish1 as ,i said above at length4 ,and one of the most efficacious remedies that a prince can have against conspiracies is not to be hated and despised by the people1 for he who conspires against a prince always expects to please them by his removal2 but when the conspirator can only look forward to offending them1 he will not have the courage to take such a course1 for the difficulties that confront a conspirator are infinite4 ,and as experience shows1 many have been the conspiracies1 but few have been successful2 because he who conspires cannot act alone1 nor can he take a companion except from those whom he believes to be malcontents1 and as soon as you have opened your mind to a malcontent you have given him the material with which to content himself1 for by denouncing you he can look for every advantage2 so that1 seeing the gain from this course to be assured1 and seeing the other to be doubtful and full of dangers1 he must be a very rare friend1 or a thoroughly obstinate enemy of the prince1 to keep faith with you4 ,and1 to reduce the matter into a small compass1 ,i say that1 on the side of the conspirator1 there is nothing but fear1 jealousy1 prospect of punishment to terrify him2 but on the side of the prince there is the majesty of the principality1 the laws1 the protection of friends and the state to defend him2 so that1 adding to all these things the popular goodwill1 it is impossible that any one should be so rash as to conspire4 ,for whereas in general the conspirator has to fear before the execution of his plot1 in this case he has also to fear the sequel to the crime2 because on account of it he has the people for an enemy1 and thus cannot hope for any escape4 ,endless examples could be given on this subject1 but ,i will be content with one1 brought to pass within the memory of our fathers4 ,messer ,annibale ,bentivogli1 who was prince in ,bologna 7grandfather of the present ,annibale71 having been murdered by the ,canneschi1 who had conspired against him1 not one of his family survived but ,messer ,giovanni1#a who was in childhood3 immediately after his assassination the people rose and murdered all the ,canneschi4 ,this sprung from the popular goodwill which the house of ,bentivogli enjoyed in those days in ,bologna2 which was so great that1 although none remained there after the death of ,annibale who was able to rule the state1 the ,bolognese1 having information that there was one of the ,bentivogli family in ,florence1 who up to that time had been considered the son of a blacksmith1 sent to ,florence for him and gave him the government of their city1 and it was ruled by him until ,messer ,giovanni came in due course to the government4 #a ,giovanni ,bentivogli1 born in ,bologna #adch1 died at ,milan #aejh4 ,he ruled ,bologna from #adfb to #aejf4 ,machiavelli's strong condemnation of conspiracies may get its edge from his own very recent experience 7,february #aeac71 when he had been arrested and tortured for his alleged complicity in the ,boscoli conspiracy4 ,for this reason ,i consider that a prince ought to reckon conspiracies of little account when his people hold him in esteem2 but when it is hostile to him1 and bears hatred towards him1 he ought to fear everything and everybody4 ,and well-ordered states and wise princes have taken every care not to drive the nobles to desperation1 and to keep the people satisfied and contented1 for this is one of the most important objects a prince can have4 ,among the best ordered and governed kingdoms of our times is ,france1 and in it are found many good institutions on which depend the liberty and security of the king2 of these the first is the parliament and its authority1 because he who founded the kingdom1 knowing the ambition of the nobility and their boldness1 considered that a bit to their mouths would be necessary to hold them in2 and1 on the other side1 knowing the hatred of the people1 founded in fear1 against the nobles1 he wished to protect them1 yet he was not anxious for this to be the particular care of the king2 therefore1 to take away the reproach which he would be liable to from the nobles for favouring the people1 and from the people for favouring the nobles1 he set up an arbiter1 who should be one who could beat down the great and favour the lesser without reproach to the king4 ,neither could you have a better or a more prudent arrangement1 or a greater source of security to the king and kingdom4 ,from this one can draw another important conclusion1 that princes ought to leave affairs of reproach to the management of others1 and keep those of grace in their own hands4 ,and further1 ,i consider that a prince ought to cherish the nobles1 but not so as to make himself hated by the people4 ,it may appear1 perhaps1 to some who have examined the lives and deaths of the ,roman emperors that many of them would be an example contrary to my opinion1 seeing that some of them lived nobly and showed great qualities of soul1 nevertheless they have lost their empire or have been killed by subjects who have conspired against them4 ,wishing1 therefore1 to answer these objections1 ,i will recall the characters of some of the emperors1 and will show that the causes of their ruin were not different to those alleged by me2 at the same time ,i will only submit for consideration those things that are noteworthy to him who studies the affairs of those times4 ,it seems to me sufficient to take all those emperors who succeeded to the empire from ,marcus the philosopher down to ,maximinus2 they were ,marcus and his son ,commodus1 ,pertinax1 ,julian1 ,severus and his son ,antoninus ,caracalla1 ,macrinus1 ,heliogabalus1 ,alexander1 and ,maximinus4 ,there is first to note that1 whereas in other principalities the ambition of the nobles and the insolence of the people only have to be contended with1 the ,roman emperors had a third difficulty in having to put up with the cruelty and avarice of their soldiers1 a matter so beset with difficulties that it was the ruin of many2 for it was a hard thing to give satisfaction both to soldiers and people2 because the people loved peace1 and for this reason they loved the unaspiring prince1 whilst the soldiers loved the warlike prince who was bold1 cruel1 and rapacious1 which qualities they were quite willing he should exercise upon the people1 so that they could get double pay and give vent to their own greed and cruelty4 ,hence it arose that those emperors were always overthrown who1 either by birth or training1 had no great authority1 and most of them1 especially those who came new to the principality1 recognizing the difficulty of these two opposing humours1 were inclined to give satisfaction to the soldiers1 caring little about injuring the people4 ,which course was necessary1 because1 as princes cannot help being hated by someone1 they ought1 in the first place1 to avoid being hated by every one1 and when they cannot compass this1 they ought to endeavour with the utmost diligence to avoid the hatred of the most powerful4 ,therefore1 those emperors who through inexperience had need of special favour adhered more readily to the soldiers than to the people2 a course which turned out advantageous to them or not1 accordingly as the prince knew how to maintain authority over them4 ,from these causes it arose that ,marcus1 ,pertinax1 and ,alexander1 being all men of modest life1 lovers of justice1 enemies to cruelty1 humane1 and benignant1 came to a sad end except ,marcus2 he alone lived and died honoured1 because he had succeeded to the throne by hereditary title1 and owed nothing either to the soldiers or the people2 and afterwards1 being possessed of many virtues which made him respected1 he always kept both orders in their places whilst he lived1 and was neither hated nor despised4 ,but ,pertinax was created emperor against the wishes of the soldiers1 who1 being accustomed to live licentiously under ,commodus1 could not endure the honest life to which ,pertinax wished to reduce them2 thus1 having given cause for hatred1 to which hatred there was added contempt for his old age1 he was overthrown at the very beginning of his administration4 ,and here it should be noted that hatred is acquired as much by good works as by bad ones1 therefore1 as ,i said before1 a prince wishing to keep his state is very often forced to do evil2 for when that body is corrupt whom you think you have need of to maintain yourself--it may be either the people or the soldiers or the nobles--you have to submit to its humours and to gratify them1 and then good works will do you harm4 ,but let us come to ,alexander1 who was a man of such great goodness1 that among the other praises which are accorded him is this1 that in the fourteen years he held the empire no one was ever put to death by him unjudged2 nevertheless1 being considered effeminate and a man who allowed himself to be governed by his mother1 he became despised1 the army conspired against him1 and murdered him4 ,turning now to the opposite characters of ,commodus1 ,severus1 ,antoninus ,caracalla1 and ,maximinus1 you will find them all cruel and rapacious-men who1 to satisfy their soldiers1 did not hesitate to commit every kind of iniquity against the people2 and all1 except ,severus1 came to a bad end2 but in ,severus there was so much valour that1 keeping the soldiers friendly1 although the people were oppressed by him1 he reigned successfully2 for his valour made him so much admired in the sight of the soldiers and people that the latter were kept in a way astonished and awed and the former respectful and satisfied4 ,and because the actions of this man1 as a new prince1 were great1 ,i wish to show briefly that he knew well how to counterfeit the fox and the lion1 which natures1 as ,i said above1 it is necessary for a prince to imitate4 ,knowing the sloth of the ,emperor ,julian1 he persuaded the army in ,sclavonia1 of which he was captain1 that it would be right to go to ,rome and avenge the death of ,pertinax1 who had been killed by the praetorian soldiers2 and under this pretext1 without appearing to aspire to the throne1 he moved the army on ,rome1 and reached ,italy before it was known that he had started4 ,on his arrival at ,rome1 the ,senate1 through fear1 elected him emperor and killed ,julian4 ,after this there remained for ,severus1 who wished to make himself master of the whole empire1 two difficulties2 one in ,asia1 where ,niger1 head of the ,asiatic army1 had caused himself to be proclaimed emperor2 the other in the west where ,albinus was1 who also aspired to the throne4 ,and as he considered it dangerous to declare himself hostile to both1 he decided to attack ,niger and to deceive ,albinus4 ,to the latter he wrote that1 being elected emperor by the ,senate1 he was willing to share that dignity with him and sent him the title of ,caesar2 and1 moreover1 that the ,senate had made ,albinus his colleague2 which things were accepted by ,albinus as true4 ,but after ,severus had conquered and killed ,niger1 and settled oriental affairs1 he returned to ,rome and complained to the ,senate that ,albinus1 little recognizing the benefits that he had received from him1 had by treachery sought to murder him1 and for this ingratitude he was compelled to punish him4 ,afterwards he sought him out in ,france1 and took from him his government and life4 ,he who will1 therefore1 carefully examine the actions of this man will find him a most valiant lion and a most cunning fox2 he will find him feared and respected by every one1 and not hated by the army2 and it need not be wondered at that he1 a new man1 was able to hold the empire so well1 because his supreme renown always protected him from that hatred which the people might have conceived against him for his violence4 ,but his son ,antoninus was a most eminent man1 and had very excellent qualities1 which made him admirable in the sight of the people and acceptable to the soldiers1 for he was a warlike man1 most enduring of fatigue1 a despiser of all delicate food and other luxuries1 which caused him to be beloved by the armies4 ,nevertheless1 his ferocity and cruelties were so great and so unheard of that1 after endless single murders1 he killed a large number of the people of ,rome and all those of ,alexandria4 ,he became hated by the whole world1 and also feared by those he had around him1 to such an extent that he was murdered in the midst of his army by a centurion4 ,and here it must be noted that such-like deaths1 which are deliberately inflicted with a resolved and desperate courage1 cannot be avoided by princes1 because any one who does not fear to die can inflict them2 but a prince may fear them the less because they are very rare2 he has only to be careful not to do any grave injury to those whom he employs or has around him in the service of the state4 ,antoninus had not taken this care1 but had contumeliously killed a brother of that centurion1 whom also he daily threatened1 yet retained in his bodyguard2 which1 as it turned out1 was a rash thing to do1 and proved the emperor's ruin4 ,but let us come to ,commodus1 to whom it should have been very easy to hold the empire1 for1 being the son of ,marcus1 he had inherited it1 and he had only to follow in the footsteps of his father to please his people and soldiers2 but1 being by nature cruel and brutal1 he gave himself up to amusing the soldiers and corrupting them1 so that he might indulge his rapacity upon the people2 on the other hand1 not maintaining his dignity1 often descending to the theatre to compete with gladiators1 and doing other vile things1 little worthy of the imperial majesty1 he fell into contempt with the soldiers1 and being hated by one party and despised by the other1 he was conspired against and was killed4 ,it remains to discuss the character of ,maximinus4 ,he was a very warlike man1 and the armies1 being disgusted with the effeminacy of ,alexander1 of whom ,i have already spoken1 killed him and elected ,maximinus to the throne4 ,this he did not possess for long1 for two things made him hated and despised2 the one1 his having kept sheep in ,thrace1 which brought him into contempt 7it being well known to all1 and considered a great indignity by every one71 and the other1 his having at the accession to his dominions deferred going to ,rome and taking possession of the imperial seat2 he had also gained a reputation for the utmost ferocity by having1 through his prefects in ,rome and elsewhere in the empire1 practised many cruelties1 so that the whole world was moved to anger at the meanness of his birth and to fear at his barbarity4 ,first ,africa rebelled1 then the ,senate with all the people of ,rome1 and all ,italy conspired against him1 to which may be added his own army2 this latter1 besieging ,aquileia and meeting with difficulties in taking it1 were disgusted with his cruelties1 and fearing him less when they found so many against him1 murdered him4 ,i do not wish to discuss ,heliogabalus1 ,macrinus1 or ,julian1 who1 being thoroughly contemptible1 were quickly wiped out2 but ,i will bring this discourse to a conclusion by saying that princes in our times have this difficulty of giving inordinate satisfaction to their soldiers in a far less degree1 because1 notwithstanding one has to give them some indulgence1 that is soon done2 none of these princes have armies that are veterans in the governance and administration of provinces1 as were the armies of the ,roman ,empire2 and whereas it was then more necessary to give satisfaction to the soldiers than to the people1 it is now more necessary to all princes1 except the ,turk and the ,soldan1 to satisfy the people rather the soldiers1 because the people are the more powerful4 ,from the above ,i have excepted the ,turk1 who always keeps round him twelve thousand infantry and fifteen thousand cavalry on which depend the security and strength of the kingdom1 and it is necessary that1 putting aside every consideration for the people1 he should keep them his friends4 ,the kingdom of the ,soldan is similar2 being entirely in the hands of soldiers1 it follows again that1 without regard to the people1 he must keep them his friends4 ,but you must note that the state of the ,soldan is unlike all other principalities1 for the reason that it is like the ,christian pontificate1 which cannot be called either an hereditary or a newly formed principality2 because the sons of the old prince are not the heirs1 but he who is elected to that position by those who have authority1 and the sons remain only noblemen4 ,and this being an ancient custom1 it cannot be called a new principality1 because there are none of those difficulties in it that are met with in new ones2 for although the prince is new1 the constitution of the state is old1 and it is framed so as to receive him as if he were its hereditary lord4 ,but returning to the subject of our discourse1 ,i say that whoever will consider it will acknowledge that either hatred or contempt has been fatal to the above-named emperors1 and it will be recognized also how it happened that1 a number of them acting in one way and a number in another1 only one in each way came to a happy end and the rest to unhappy ones4 ,because it would have been useless and dangerous for ,pertinax and ,alexander1 being new princes1 to imitate ,marcus1 who was heir to the principality2 and likewise it would have been utterly destructive to ,caracalla1 ,commodus1 and ,maximinus to have imitated ,severus1 they not having sufficient valour to enable them to tread in his footsteps4 ,therefore a prince1 new to the principality1 cannot imitate the actions of ,marcus1 nor1 again1 is it necessary to follow those of ,severus1 but he ought to take from ,severus those parts which are necessary to found his state1 and from ,marcus those which are proper and glorious to keep a state that may already be stable and firm4 ,,chapter ,,xx4 ,,are ,,fortresses1 ,,and ,,many ,,other ,,things ,,to ,,which ,,princes ,,often ,,resort1 ,,advantageous ,,or ,,hurtful8 #a4 ,some princes1 so as to hold securely the state1 have disarmed their subjects2 others have kept their subject towns distracted by factions2 others have fostered enmities against themselves2 others have laid themselves out to gain over those whom they distrusted in the beginning of their governments2 some have built fortresses2 some have overthrown and destroyed them4 ,and although one cannot give a final judgment on all of these things unless one possesses the particulars of those states in which a decision has to be made1 nevertheless ,i will speak as comprehensively as the matter of itself will admit4 #b4 ,there never was a new prince who has disarmed his subjects2 rather when he has found them disarmed he has always armed them1 because1 by arming them1 those arms become yours1 those men who were distrusted become faithful1 and those who were faithful are kept so1 and your subjects become your adherents4 ,and whereas all subjects cannot be armed1 yet when those whom you do arm are benefited1 the others can be handled more freely1 and this difference in their treatment1 which they quite understand1 makes the former your dependents1 and the latter1 considering it to be necessary that those who have the most danger and service should have the most reward1 excuse you4 ,but when you disarm them1 you at once offend them by showing that you distrust them1 either for cowardice or for want of loyalty1 and either of these opinions breeds hatred against you4 ,and because you cannot remain unarmed1 it follows that you turn to mercenaries1 which are of the character already shown2 even if they should be good they would not be sufficient to defend you against powerful enemies and distrusted subjects4 ,therefore1 as ,i have said1 a new prince in a new principality has always distributed arms4 ,histories are full of examples4 ,but when a prince acquires a new state1 which he adds as a province to his old one1 then it is necessary to disarm the men of that state1 except those who have been his adherents in acquiring it2 and these again1 with time and opportunity1 should be rendered soft and effeminate2 and matters should be managed in such a way that all the armed men in the state shall be your own soldiers who in your old state were living near you4 #c4 ,our forefathers1 and those who were reckoned wise1 were accustomed to say that it was necessary to hold ,pistoia by factions and ,pisa by fortresses2 and with this idea they fostered quarrels in some of their tributary towns so as to keep possession of them the more easily4 ,this may have been well enough in those times when ,italy was in a way balanced1 but ,i do not believe that it can be accepted as a precept for to-day1 because ,i do not believe that factions can ever be of use2 rather it is certain that when the enemy comes upon you in divided cities you are quickly lost1 because the weakest party will always assist the outside forces and the other will not be able to resist4 ,the ,venetians1 moved1 as ,i believe1 by the above reasons1 fostered the ,guelph and ,ghibelline factions in their tributary cities2 and although they never allowed them to come to bloodshed1 yet they nursed these disputes amongst them1 so that the citizens1 distracted by their differences1 should not unite against them4 ,which1 as we saw1 did not afterwards turn out as expected1 because1 after the rout at ,vaila1 one party at once took courage and seized the state4 ,such methods argue1 therefore1 weakness in the prince1 because these factions will never be permitted in a vigorous principality2 such methods for enabling one the more easily to manage subjects are only useful in times of peace1 but if war comes this policy proves fallacious4 #d4 ,without doubt princes become great when they overcome the difficulties and obstacles by which they are confronted1 and therefore fortune1 especially when she desires to make a new prince great1 who has a greater necessity to earn renown than an hereditary one1 causes enemies to arise and form designs against him1 in order that he may have the opportunity of overcoming them1 and by them to mount higher1 as by a ladder which his enemies have raised4 ,for this reason many consider that a wise prince1 when he has the opportunity1 ought with craft to foster some animosity against himself1 so that1 having crushed it1 his renown may rise higher4 #e4 ,princes1 especially new ones1 have found more fidelity and assistance in those men who in the beginning of their rule were distrusted than among those who in the beginning were trusted4 ,pandolfo ,petrucci1 ,prince of ,siena1 ruled his state more by those who had been distrusted than by others4 ,but on this question one cannot speak generally1 for it varies so much with the individual2 ,i will only say this1 that those men who at the commencement of a princedom have been hostile1 if they are of a description to need assistance to support themselves1 can always be gained over with the greatest ease1 and they will be tightly held to serve the prince with fidelity1 inasmuch as they know it to be very necessary for them to cancel by deeds the bad impression which he had formed of them2 and thus the prince always extracts more profit from them than from those who1 serving him in too much security1 may neglect his affairs4 ,and since the matter demands it1 ,i must not fail to warn a prince1 who by means of secret favours has acquired a new state1 that he must well consider the reasons which induced those to favour him who did so2 and if it be not a natural affection towards him1 but only discontent with their government1 then he will only keep them friendly with great trouble and difficulty1 for it will be impossible to satisfy them4 ,and weighing well the reasons for this in those examples which can be taken from ancient and modern affairs1 we shall find that it is easier for the prince to make friends of those men who were contented under the former government1 and are therefore his enemies1 than of those who1 being discontented with it1 were favourable to him and encouraged him to seize it4 #f4 ,it has been a custom with princes1 in order to hold their states more securely1 to build fortresses that may serve as a bridle and bit to those who might design to work against them1 and as a place of refuge from a first attack4 ,i praise this system because it has been made use of formerly4 ,notwithstanding that1 ,messer ,nicolo ,vitelli in our times has been seen to demolish two fortresses in ,citta di ,castello so that he might keep that state2 ,guido ,ubaldo1 ,duke of ,urbino1 on returning to his dominion1 whence he had been driven by ,cesare ,borgia1 razed to the foundations all the fortresses in that province1 and considered that without them it would be more difficult to lose it2 the ,bentivogli returning to ,bologna came to a similar decision4 ,fortresses1 therefore1 are useful or not according to circumstances2 if they do you good in one way they injure you in another4 ,and this question can be reasoned thus3 the prince who has more to fear from the people than from foreigners ought to build fortresses1 but he who has more to fear from foreigners than from the people ought to leave them alone4 ,the castle of ,milan1 built by ,francesco ,sforza1 has made1 and will make1 more trouble for the house of ,sforza than any other disorder in the state4 ,for this reason the best possible fortress is--not to be hated by the people1 because1 although you may hold the fortresses1 yet they will not save you if the people hate you1 for there will never be wanting foreigners to assist a people who have taken arms against you4 ,it has not been seen in our times that such fortresses have been of use to any prince1 unless to the ,countess of ,forli1#a when the ,count ,girolamo1 her consort1 was killed2 for by that means she was able to withstand the popular attack and wait for assistance from ,milan1 and thus recover her state2 and the posture of affairs was such at that time that the foreigners could not assist the people4 ,but fortresses were of little value to her afterwards when ,cesare ,borgia attacked her1 and when the people1 her enemy1 were allied with foreigners4 ,therefore1 it would have been safer for her1 both then and before1 not to have been hated by the people than to have had the fortresses4 ,all these things considered then1 ,i shall praise him who builds fortresses as well as him who does not1 and ,i shall blame whoever1 trusting in them1 cares little about being hated by the people4 #a ,catherine ,sforza1 a daughter of ,galeazzo ,sforza and ,lucrezia ,landriani1 born #adfc1 died #aeji4 ,it was to the ,countess of ,forli that ,machiavelli was sent as envoy on #adii4 ,a letter from ,fortunati to the countess announces the appointment3 8,i have been with the signori10 wrote ,fortunati1 8to learn whom they would send and when4 ,they tell me that ,nicolo ,machiavelli1 a learned young ,florentine noble1 secretary to my ,lords of the ,ten1 is to leave with me at once40 ,cf4 8,catherine ,sforza10 by ,count ,pasolini1 translated by ,p4 ,sylvester1 #ahih4 ,,chapter ,,xxi4 ,,how ,a ,,prince ,,should ,,conduct ,,himself ,,so ,,as ,,to ,,gain ,,renown ,nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example4 ,we have in our time ,ferdinand of ,aragon1 the present ,king of ,spain4 ,he can almost be called a new prince1 because he has risen1 by fame and glory1 from being an insignificant king to be the foremost king in ,christendom2 and if you will consider his deeds you will find them all great and some of them extraordinary4 ,in the beginning of his reign he attacked ,granada1 and this enterprise was the foundation of his dominions4 ,he did this quietly at first and without any fear of hindrance1 for he held the minds of the barons of ,castile occupied in thinking of the war and not anticipating any innovations2 thus they did not perceive that by these means he was acquiring power and authority over them4 ,he was able with the money of the ,church and of the people to sustain his armies1 and by that long war to lay the foundation for the military skill which has since distinguished him4 ,further1 always using religion as a plea1 so as to undertake greater schemes1 he devoted himself with pious cruelty to driving out and clearing his kingdom of the ,moors2 nor could there be a more admirable example1 nor one more rare4 ,under this same cloak he assailed ,africa1 he came down on ,italy1 he has finally attacked ,france2 and thus his achievements and designs have always been great1 and have kept the minds of his people in suspense and admiration and occupied with the issue of them4 ,and his actions have arisen in such a way1 one out of the other1 that men have never been given time to work steadily against him4 ,again1 it much assists a prince to set unusual examples in internal affairs1 similar to those which are related of ,messer ,bernabo da ,milano1 who1 when he had the opportunity1 by any one in civil life doing some extraordinary thing1 either good or bad1 would take some method of rewarding or punishing him1 which would be much spoken about4 ,and a prince ought1 above all things1 always endeavour in every action to gain for himself the reputation of being a great and remarkable man4 ,a prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy1 that is to say1 when1 without any reservation1 he declares himself in favour of one party against the other2 which course will always be more advantageous than standing neutral2 because if two of your powerful neighbours come to blows1 they are of such a character that1 if one of them conquers1 you have either to fear him or not4 ,in either case it will always be more advantageous for you to declare yourself and to make war strenuously2 because1 in the first case1 if you do not declare yourself1 you will invariably fall a prey to the conqueror1 to the pleasure and satisfaction of him who has been conquered1 and you will have no reasons to offer1 nor anything to protect or to shelter you4 ,because he who conquers does not want doubtful friends who will not aid him in the time of trial2 and he who loses will not harbour you because you did not willingly1 sword in hand1 court his fate4 ,antiochus went into ,greece1 being sent for by the tolians to drive out the ,romans4 ,he sent envoys to the ,achaeans1 who were friends of the ,romans1 exhorting them to remain neutral2 and on the other hand the ,romans urged them to take up arms4 ,this question came to be discussed in the council of the ,achaeans1 where the legate of ,antiochus urged them to stand neutral4 ,to this the ,roman legate answered3 8,as for that which has been said1 that it is better and more advantageous for your state not to interfere in our war1 nothing can be more erroneous2 because by not interfering you will be left1 without favour or consideration1 the guerdon of the conqueror40 ,thus it will always happen that he who is not your friend will demand your neutrality1 whilst he who is your friend will entreat you to declare yourself with arms4 ,and irresolute princes1 to avoid present dangers1 generally follow the neutral path1 and are generally ruined4 ,but when a prince declares himself gallantly in favour of one side1 if the party with whom he allies himself conquers1 although the victor may be powerful and may have him at his mercy1 yet he is indebted to him1 and there is established a bond of amity2 and men are never so shameless as to become a monument of ingratitude by oppressing you4 ,victories after all are never so complete that the victor must not show some regard1 especially to justice4 ,but if he with whom you ally yourself loses1 you may be sheltered by him1 and whilst he is able he may aid you1 and you become companions on a fortune that may rise again4 ,in the second case1 when those who fight are of such a character that you have no anxiety as to who may conquer1 so much the more is it greater prudence to be allied1 because you assist at the destruction of one by the aid of another who1 if he had been wise1 would have saved him2 and conquering1 as it is impossible that he should not do with your assistance1 he remains at your discretion4 ,and here it is to be noted that a prince ought to take care never to make an alliance with one more powerful than himself for the purposes of attacking others1 unless necessity compels him1 as is said above2 because if he conquers you are at his discretion1 and princes ought to avoid as much as possible being at the discretion of any one4 ,the ,venetians joined with ,france against the ,duke of ,milan1 and this alliance1 which caused their ruin1 could have been avoided4 ,but when it cannot be avoided1 as happened to the ,florentines when the ,pope and ,spain sent armies to attack ,lombardy1 then in such a case1 for the above reasons1 the prince ought to favour one of the parties4 ,never let any ,government imagine that it can choose perfectly safe courses2 rather let it expect to have to take very doubtful ones1 because it is found in ordinary affairs that one never seeks to avoid one trouble without running into another2 but prudence consists in knowing how to distinguish the character of troubles1 and for choice to take the lesser evil4 ,a prince ought also to show himself a patron of ability1 and to honour the proficient in every art4 ,at the same time he should encourage his citizens to practise their callings peaceably1 both in commerce and agriculture1 and in every other following1 so that the one should not be deterred from improving his possessions for fear lest they be taken away from him or another from opening up trade for fear of taxes2 but the prince ought to offer rewards to whoever wishes to do these things and designs in any way to honour his city or state4 ,further1 he ought to entertain the people with festivals and spectacles at convenient seasons of the year2 and as every city is divided into guilds or into societies1#a he ought to hold such bodies in esteem1 and associate with them sometimes1 and show himself an example of courtesy and liberality2 nevertheless1 always maintaining the majesty of his rank1 for this he must never consent to abate in anything4 #a 8,guilds or societies10 8in arti o in tribu40 8,arti0 were craft or trade guilds1 cf4 ,florio3 8,arte 4 4 4 a whole company of any trade in any city or corporation town40 ,the guilds of ,florence are most admirably described by ,mr ,edgcumbe ,staley in his work on the subject 7,methuen1 #aijf74 ,institutions of a somewhat similar character1 called 8artel10 exist in ,russia to-day1 cf4 ,sir ,mackenzie ,wallace's 8,russia10 ed4 #aije3 8,the sons 4 4 4 were always during the working season members of an artel4 ,in some of the larger towns there are artels of a much more complex kind-- permanent associations1 possessing large capital1 and pecuniarily responsible for the acts of the individual members40 ,the word 8artel10 despite its apparent similarity1 has1 ,mr ,aylmer ,maude assures me1 no connection with 8ars0 or 8arte40 ,its root is that of the verb 8rotisya10 to bind oneself by an oath2 and it is generally admitted to be only another form of 8rota10 which now signifies a 8regimental company40 ,in both words the underlying idea is that of a body of men united by an oath4 8,tribu0 were possibly gentile groups1 united by common descent1 and included individuals connected by marriage4 ,perhaps our words 8sects0 or 8clans0 would be most appropriate4 ,,chapter ,,xxii4 ,,concerning ,,the ,,secretaries ,,of ,,princes ,the choice of servants is of no little importance to a prince1 and they are good or not according to the discrimination of the prince4 ,and the first opinion which one forms of a prince1 and of his understanding1 is by observing the men he has around him2 and when they are capable and faithful he may always be considered wise1 because he has known how to recognize the capable and to keep them faithful4 ,but when they are otherwise one cannot form a good opinion of him1 for the prime error which he made was in choosing them4 ,there were none who knew ,messer ,antonio da ,venafro as the servant of ,pandolfo ,petrucci1 ,prince of ,siena1 who would not consider ,pandolfo to be a very clever man in having ,venafro for his servant4 ,because there are three classes of intellects3 one which comprehends by itself2 another which appreciates what others comprehended2 and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others2 the first is the most excellent1 the second is good1 the third is useless4 ,therefore1 it follows necessarily that1 if ,pandolfo was not in the first rank1 he was in the second1 for whenever one has judgment to know good and bad when it is said and done1 although he himself may not have the initiative1 yet he can recognize the good and the bad in his servant1 and the one he can praise and the other correct2 thus the servant cannot hope to deceive him1 and is kept honest4 ,but to enable a prince to form an opinion of his servant there is one test which never fails2 when you see the servant thinking more of his own interests than of yours1 and seeking inwardly his own profit in everything1 such a man will never make a good servant1 nor will you ever be able to trust him2 because he who has the state of another in his hands ought never to think of himself1 but always of his prince1 and never pay any attention to matters in which the prince is not concerned4 ,on the other hand1 to keep his servant honest the prince ought to study him1 honouring him1 enriching him1 doing him kindnesses1 sharing with him the honours and cares2 and at the same time let him see that he cannot stand alone1 so that many honours may not make him desire more1 many riches make him wish for more1 and that many cares may make him dread chances4 ,when1 therefore1 servants1 and princes towards servants1 are thus disposed1 they can trust each other1 but when it is otherwise1 the end will always be disastrous for either one or the other4 ,,chapter ,,xxiii4 ,,how ,,flatterers ,,should ,,be ,,avoided ,i do not wish to leave out an important branch of this subject1 for it is a danger from which princes are with difficulty preserved1 unless they are very careful and discriminating4 ,it is that of flatterers1 of whom courts are full1 because men are so self-complacent in their own affairs1 and in a way so deceived in them1 that they are preserved with difficulty from this pest1 and if they wish to defend themselves they run the danger of falling into contempt4 ,because there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that to tell you the truth does not offend you2 but when every one may tell you the truth1 respect for you abates4 ,therefore a wise prince ought to hold a third course by choosing the wise men in his state1 and giving to them only the liberty of speaking the truth to him1 and then only of those things of which he inquires1 and of none others2 but he ought to question them upon everything1 and listen to their opinions1 and afterwards form his own conclusions4 ,with these councillors1 separately and collectively1 he ought to carry himself in such a way that each of them should know that1 the more freely he shall speak1 the more he shall be preferred2 outside of these1 he should listen to no one1 pursue the thing resolved on1 and be steadfast in his resolutions4 ,he who does otherwise is either overthrown by flatterers1 or is so often changed by varying opinions that he falls into contempt4 ,i wish on this subject to adduce a modern example4 ,fra ,luca1 the man of affairs to ,maximilian1#a the present emperor1 speaking of his majesty1 said3 ,he consulted with no one1 yet never got his own way in anything4 ,this arose because of his following a practice the opposite to the above2 for the emperor is a secretive man--he does not communicate his designs to any one1 nor does he receive opinions on them4 ,but as in carrying them into effect they become revealed and known1 they are at once obstructed by those men whom he has around him1 and he1 being pliant1 is diverted from them4 ,hence it follows that those things he does one day he undoes the next1 and no one ever understands what he wishes or intends to do1 and no one can rely on his resolutions4 #a ,maximilian ,i1 born in #adei1 died #aeai1 ,emperor of the ,holy ,roman ,empire4 ,he married1 first1 ,mary1 daughter of ,charles the ,bold2 after her death1 ,bianca ,sforza2 and thus became involved in ,italian politics4 ,a prince1 therefore1 ought always to take counsel1 but only when he wishes and not when others wish2 he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless he asks it2 but1 however1 he ought to be a constant inquirer1 and afterwards a patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired2 also1 on learning that any one1 on any consideration1 has not told him the truth1 he should let his anger be felt4 ,and if there are some who think that a prince who conveys an impression of his wisdom is not so through his own ability1 but through the good advisers that he has around him1 beyond doubt they are deceived1 because this is an axiom which never fails3 that a prince who is not wise himself will never take good advice1 unless by chance he has yielded his affairs entirely to one person who happens to be a very prudent man4 ,in this case indeed he may be well governed1 but it would not be for long1 because such a governor would in a short time take away his state from him4 ,but if a prince who is not inexperienced should take counsel from more than one he will never get united counsels1 nor will he know how to unite them4 ,each of the counsellors will think of his own interests1 and the prince will not know how to control them or to see through them4 ,and they are not to be found otherwise1 because men will always prove untrue to you unless they are kept honest by constraint4 ,therefore it must be inferred that good counsels1 whencesoever they come1 are born of the wisdom of the prince1 and not the wisdom of the prince from good counsels4 ,,chapter ,,xxiv4 ,,why ,,the ,,princes ,,of ,,italy ,,have ,,lost ,,their ,,states ,the previous suggestions1 carefully observed1 will enable a new prince to appear well established1 and render him at once more secure and fixed in the state than if he had been long seated there4 ,for the actions of a new prince are more narrowly observed than those of an hereditary one1 and when they are seen to be able they gain more men and bind far tighter than ancient blood2 because men are attracted more by the present than by the past1 and when they find the present good they enjoy it and seek no further2 they will also make the utmost defence of a prince if he fails them not in other things4 ,thus it will be a double glory for him to have established a new principality1 and adorned and strengthened it with good laws1 good arms1 good allies1 and with a good example2 so will it be a double disgrace to him who1 born a prince1 shall lose his state by want of wisdom4 ,and if those seigniors are considered who have lost their states in ,italy in our times1 such as the ,king of ,naples1 the ,duke of ,milan1 and others1 there will be found in them1 firstly1 one common defect in regard to arms from the causes which have been discussed at length2 in the next place1 some one of them will be seen1 either to have had the people hostile1 or if he has had the people friendly1 he has not known how to secure the nobles4 ,in the absence of these defects states that have power enough to keep an army in the field cannot be lost4 ,philip of ,macedon1 not the father of ,alexander the ,great1 but he who was conquered by ,titus ,quintius1 had not much territory compared to the greatness of the ,romans and of ,greece who attacked him1 yet being a warlike man who knew how to attract the people and secure the nobles1 he sustained the war against his enemies for many years1 and if in the end he lost the dominion of some cities1 nevertheless he retained the kingdom4 ,therefore1 do not let our princes accuse fortune for the loss of their principalities after so many years' possession1 but rather their own sloth1 because in quiet times they never thought there could be a change 7it is a common defect in man not to make any provision in the calm against the tempest71 and when afterwards the bad times came they thought of flight and not of defending themselves1 and they hoped that the people1 disgusted with the insolence of the conquerors1 would recall them4 ,this course1 when others fail1 may be good1 but it is very bad to have neglected all other expedients for that1 since you would never wish to fall because you trusted to be able to find someone later on to restore you4 ,this again either does not happen1 or1 if it does1 it will not be for your security1 because that deliverance is of no avail which does not depend upon yourself2 those only are reliable1 certain1 and durable that depend on yourself and your valour4 ,,chapter ,,xxv4 ,,what ,,fortune ,,can ,,effect ,,in ,,human ,,affairs ,,and ,,how ,,to ,,withstand ,,her ,it is not unknown to me how many men have had1 and still have1 the opinion that the affairs of the world are in such wise governed by fortune and by ,god that men with their wisdom cannot direct them and that no one can even help them2 and because of this they would have us believe that it is not necessary to labour much in affairs1 but to let chance govern them4 ,this opinion has been more credited in our times because of the great changes in affairs which have been seen1 and may still be seen1 every day1 beyond all human conjecture4 ,sometimes pondering over this1 ,i am in some degree inclined to their opinion4 ,nevertheless1 not to extinguish our free will1 ,i hold it to be true that ,fortune is the arbiter of one-half of our actions1#a but that she still leaves us to direct the other half1 or perhaps a little less4 #a ,frederick the ,great was accustomed to say3 8,the older one gets the more convinced one becomes that his ,majesty ,king ,chance does three-quarters of the business of this miserable universe40 ,sorel's 8,eastern ,question40 ,i compare her to one of those raging rivers1 which when in flood overflows the plains1 sweeping away trees and buildings1 bearing away the soil from place to place2 everything flies before it1 all yield to its violence1 without being able in any way to withstand it2 and yet1 though its nature be such1 it does not follow therefore that men1 when the weather becomes fair1 shall not make provision1 both with defences and barriers1 in such a manner that1 rising again1 the waters may pass away by canal1 and their force be neither so unrestrained nor so dangerous4 ,so it happens with fortune1 who shows her power where valour has not prepared to resist her1 and thither she turns her forces where she knows that barriers and defences have not been raised to constrain her4 ,and if you will consider ,italy1 which is the seat of these changes1 and which has given to them their impulse1 you will see it to be an open country without barriers and without any defence4 ,for if it had been defended by proper valour1 as are ,germany1 ,spain1 and ,france1 either this invasion would not have made the great changes it has made or it would not have come at all4 ,and this ,i consider enough to say concerning resistance to fortune in general4 ,but confining myself more to the particular1 ,i say that a prince may be seen happy to-day and ruined to-morrow without having shown any change of disposition or character4 ,this1 ,i believe1 arises firstly from causes that have already been discussed at length1 namely1 that the prince who relies entirely on fortune is lost when it changes4 ,i believe also that he will be successful who directs his actions according to the spirit of the times1 and that he whose actions do not accord with the times will not be successful4 ,because men are seen1 in affairs that lead to the end which every man has before him1 namely1 glory and riches1 to get there by various methods2 one with caution1 another with haste2 one by force1 another by skill2 one by patience1 another by its opposite2 and each one succeeds in reaching the goal by a different method4 ,one can also see of two cautious men the one attain his end1 the other fail2 and similarly1 two men by different observances are equally successful1 the one being cautious1 the other impetuous2 all this arises from nothing else than whether or not they conform in their methods to the spirit of the times4 ,this follows from what ,i have said1 that two men working differently bring about the same effect1 and of two working similarly1 one attains his object and the other does not4 ,changes in estate also issue from this1 for if1 to one who governs himself with caution and patience1 times and affairs converge in such a way that his administration is successful1 his fortune is made2 but if times and affairs change1 he is ruined if he does not change his course of action4 ,but a man is not often found sufficiently circumspect to know how to accommodate himself to the change1 both because he cannot deviate from what nature inclines him to do1 and also because1 having always prospered by acting in one way1 he cannot be persuaded that it is well to leave it2 and1 therefore1 the cautious man1 when it is time to turn adventurous1 does not know how to do it1 hence he is ruined2 but had he changed his conduct with the times fortune would not have changed4 ,pope ,julius the ,second went to work impetuously in all his affairs1 and found the times and circumstances conform so well to that line of action that he always met with success4 ,consider his first enterprise against ,bologna1 ,messer ,giovanni ,bentivogli being still alive4 ,the ,venetians were not agreeable to it1 nor was the ,king of ,spain1 and he had the enterprise still under discussion with the ,king of ,france2 nevertheless he personally entered upon the expedition with his accustomed boldness and energy1 a move which made ,spain and the ,venetians stand irresolute and passive1 the latter from fear1 the former from desire to recover the kingdom of ,naples2 on the other hand1 he drew after him the ,king of ,france1 because that king1 having observed the movement1 and desiring to make the ,pope his friend so as to humble the ,venetians1 found it impossible to refuse him4 ,therefore ,julius with his impetuous action accomplished what no other pontiff with simple human wisdom could have done2 for if he had waited in ,rome until he could get away1 with his plans arranged and everything fixed1 as any other pontiff would have done1 he would never have succeeded4 ,because the ,king of ,france would have made a thousand excuses1 and the others would have raised a thousand fears4 ,i will leave his other actions alone1 as they were all alike1 and they all succeeded1 for the shortness of his life did not let him experience the contrary2 but if circumstances had arisen which required him to go cautiously1 his ruin would have followed1 because he would never have deviated from those ways to which nature inclined him4 ,i conclude1 therefore that1 fortune being changeful and mankind steadfast in their ways1 so long as the two are in agreement men are successful1 but unsuccessful when they fall out4 ,for my part ,i consider that it is better to be adventurous than cautious1 because fortune is a woman1 and if you wish to keep her under it is necessary to beat and ill-use her2 and it is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by the adventurous rather than by those who go to work more coldly4 ,she is1 therefore1 always1 woman-like1 a lover of young men1 because they are less cautious1 more violent1 and with more audacity command her4 ,,chapter ,,xxvi4 ,,an ,,exhortation ,,to ,,liberate ,,italy ,,from ,,the ,,barbarians ,having carefully considered the subject of the above discourses1 and wondering within myself whether the present times were propitious to a new prince1 and whether there were elements that would give an opportunity to a wise and virtuous one to introduce a new order of things which would do honour to him and good to the people of this country1 it appears to me that so many things concur to favour a new prince that ,i never knew a time more fit than the present4 ,and if1 as ,i said1 it was necessary that the people of ,israel should be captive so as to make manifest the ability of ,moses2 that the ,persians should be oppressed by the ,medes so as to discover the greatness of the soul of ,cyrus2 and that the ,athenians should be dispersed to illustrate the capabilities of ,theseus3 then at the present time1 in order to discover the virtue of an ,italian spirit1 it was necessary that ,italy should be reduced to the extremity that she is now in1 that she should be more enslaved than the ,hebrews1 more oppressed than the ,persians1 more scattered than the ,athenians2 without head1 without order1 beaten1 despoiled1 torn1 overrun2 and to have endured every kind of desolation4 ,although lately some spark may have been shown by one1 which made us think he was ordained by ,god for our redemption1 nevertheless it was afterwards seen1 in the height of his career1 that fortune rejected him2 so that ,italy1 left as without life1 waits for him who shall yet heal her wounds and put an end to the ravaging and plundering of ,lombardy1 to the swindling and taxing of the kingdom and of ,tuscany1 and cleanse those sores that for long have festered4 ,it is seen how she entreats ,god to send someone who shall deliver her from these wrongs and barbarous insolencies4 ,it is seen also that she is ready and willing to follow a banner if only someone will raise it4 ,nor is there to be seen at present one in whom she can place more hope than in your illustrious house1#a with its valour and fortune1 favoured by ,god and by the ,church of which it is now the chief1 and which could be made the head of this redemption4 ,this will not be difficult if you will recall to yourself the actions and lives of the men ,i have named4 ,and although they were great and wonderful men1 yet they were men1 and each one of them had no more opportunity than the present offers1 for their enterprises were neither more just nor easier than this1 nor was ,god more their friend than ,he is yours4 #a ,giuliano de ,medici4 ,he had just been created a cardinal by ,leo ,x4 ,in #aebc ,giuliano was elected ,pope1 and took the title of ,clement ,,vii4 ,with us there is great justice1 because that war is just which is necessary1 and arms are hallowed when there is no other hope but in them4 ,here there is the greatest willingness1 and where the willingness is great the difficulties cannot be great if you will only follow those men to whom ,i have directed your attention4 ,further than this1 how extraordinarily the ways of ,god have been manifested beyond example3 the sea is divided1 a cloud has led the way1 the rock has poured forth water1 it has rained manna1 everything has contributed to your greatness2 you ought to do the rest4 ,god is not willing to do everything1 and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us4 ,and it is not to be wondered at if none of the above-named ,italians have been able to accomplish all that is expected from your illustrious house2 and if in so many revolutions in ,italy1 and in so many campaigns1 it has always appeared as if military virtue were exhausted1 this has happened because the old order of things was not good1 and none of us have known how to find a new one4 ,and nothing honours a man more than to establish new laws and new ordinances when he himself was newly risen4 ,such things when they are well founded and dignified will make him revered and admired1 and in ,italy there are not wanting opportunities to bring such into use in every form4 ,here there is great valour in the limbs whilst it fails in the head4 ,look attentively at the duels and the hand-to-hand combats1 how superior the ,italians are in strength1 dexterity1 and subtlety4 ,but when it comes to armies they do not bear comparison1 and this springs entirely from the insufficiency of the leaders1 since those who are capable are not obedient1 and each one seems to himself to know1 there having never been any one so distinguished above the rest1 either by valour or fortune1 that others would yield to him4 ,hence it is that for so long a time1 and during so much fighting in the past twenty years1 whenever there has been an army wholly ,italian1 it has always given a poor account of itself2 the first witness to this is ,il ,taro1 afterwards ,allesandria1 ,capua1 ,genoa1 ,vaila1 ,bologna1 ,mestri4#b #b ,the battles of ,il ,taro1 #adie2 ,alessandria1 #adii2 ,capua1 #aeja2 ,genoa1 #aejg2 ,vaila1 #aeji2 ,bologna1 #aeaa2 ,mestri1 #aeac4 ,if1 therefore1 your illustrious house wishes to follow these remarkable men who have redeemed their country1 it is necessary before all things1 as a true foundation for every enterprise1 to be provided with your own forces1 because there can be no more faithful1 truer1 or better soldiers4 ,and although singly they are good1 altogether they will be much better when they find themselves commanded by their prince1 honoured by him1 and maintained at his expense4 ,therefore it is necessary to be prepared with such arms1 so that you can be defended against foreigners by ,italian valour4 ,and although ,swiss and ,spanish infantry may be considered very formidable1 nevertheless there is a defect in both1 by reason of which a third order would not only be able to oppose them1 but might be relied upon to overthrow them4 ,for the ,spaniards cannot resist cavalry1 and the ,switzers are afraid of infantry whenever they encounter them in close combat4 ,owing to this1 as has been and may again be seen1 the ,spaniards are unable to resist ,french cavalry1 and the ,switzers are overthrown by ,spanish infantry4 ,and although a complete proof of this latter cannot be shown1 nevertheless there was some evidence of it at the battle of ,ravenna1 when the ,spanish infantry were confronted by ,german battalions1 who follow the same tactics as the ,swiss2 when the ,spaniards1 by agility of body and with the aid of their shields1 got in under the pikes of the ,germans and stood out of danger1 able to attack1 while the ,germans stood helpless1 and1 if the cavalry had not dashed up1 all would have been over with them4 ,it is possible1 therefore1 knowing the defects of both these infantries1 to invent a new one1 which will resist cavalry and not be afraid of infantry2 this need not create a new order of arms1 but a variation upon the old4 ,and these are the kind of improvements which confer reputation and power upon a new prince4 ,this opportunity1 therefore1 ought not to be allowed to pass for letting ,italy at last see her liberator appear4 ,nor can one express the love with which he would be received in all those provinces which have suffered so much from these foreign scourings1 with what thirst for revenge1 with what stubborn faith1 with what devotion1 with what tears4 ,what door would be closed to him8 ,who would refuse obedience to him8 ,what envy would hinder him8 ,what ,italian would refuse him homage8 ,to all of us this barbarous dominion stinks4 ,let1 therefore1 your illustrious house take up this charge with that courage and hope with which all just enterprises are undertaken1 so that under its standard our native country may be ennobled1 and under its auspices may be verified that saying of ,petrarch3 ,virtu contro al ,furore ,prendera l'arme1 e fia il combatter corto3 ,che l'antico valore ,negli italici cuor non e ancor morto4 ,virtue against fury shall advance the fight1 ,and it i' th' combat soon shall put to flight3 ,for the old ,roman valour is not dead1 ,nor in th' ,italians' brests extinguished4 ,edward ,dacre1 #afdj4 ,,description ,,of ,,the ,,methods ,,adopted ,,by ,,the ,,duke ,,valentino ,,when ,,murdering ,,vitellozzo ,,vitelli1 ,,oliverotto ,,da ,,fermo1 ,,the ,,signor ,,pagolo1 ,,and ,,the ,,duke ,,di ,,gravina ,,orsini ,,by ,,nicolo ,,machiavelli ,the ,duke ,valentino had returned from ,lombardy1 where he had been to clear himself with the ,king of ,france from the calumnies which had been raised against him by the ,florentines concerning the rebellion of ,arezzo and other towns in the ,val di ,chiana1 and had arrived at ,imola1 whence he intended with his army to enter upon the campaign against ,giovanni ,bentivogli1 the tyrant of ,bologna3 for he intended to bring that city under his domination1 and to make it the head of his ,romagnian duchy4 ,these matters coming to the knowledge of the ,vitelli and ,orsini and their following1 it appeared to them that the duke would become too powerful1 and it was feared that1 having seized ,bologna1 he would seek to destroy them in order that he might become supreme in ,italy4 ,upon this a meeting was called at ,magione in the district of ,perugia1 to which came the cardinal1 ,pagolo1 and the ,duke di ,gravina ,orsini1 ,vitellozzo ,vitelli1 ,oliverotto da ,fermo1 ,gianpagolo ,baglioni1 the tyrant of ,perugia1 and ,messer ,antonio da ,venafro1 sent by ,pandolfo ,petrucci1 the ,prince of ,siena4 ,here were discussed the power and courage of the duke and the necessity of curbing his ambitions1 which might otherwise bring danger to the rest of being ruined4 ,and they decided not to abandon the ,bentivogli1 but to strive to win over the ,florentines2 and they sent their men to one place and another1 promising to one party assistance and to another encouragement to unite with them against the common enemy4 ,this meeting was at once reported throughout all ,italy1 and those who were discontented under the duke1 among whom were the people of ,urbino1 took hope of effecting a revolution4 ,thus it arose that1 men's minds being thus unsettled1 it was decided by certain men of ,urbino to seize the fortress of ,san ,leo1 which was held for the duke1 and which they captured by the following means4 ,the castellan was fortifying the rock and causing timber to be taken there2 so the conspirators watched1 and when certain beams which were being carried to the rock were upon the bridge1 so that it was prevented from being drawn up by those inside1 they took the opportunity of leaping upon the bridge and thence into the fortress4 ,upon this capture being effected1 the whole state rebelled and recalled the old duke1 being encouraged in this1 not so much by the capture of the fort1 as by the ,diet at ,magione1 from whom they expected to get assistance4 ,those who heard of the rebellion at ,urbino thought they would not lose the opportunity1 and at once assembled their men so as to take any town1 should any remain in the hands of the duke in that state2 and they sent again to ,florence to beg that republic to join with them in destroying the common firebrand1 showing that the risk was lessened and that they ought not to wait for another opportunity4 ,but the ,florentines1 from hatred1 for sundry reasons1 of the ,vitelli and ,orsini1 not only would not ally themselves1 but sent ,nicolo ,machiavelli1 their secretary1 to offer shelter and assistance to the duke against his enemies4 ,the duke was found full of fear at ,imola1 because1 against everybody's expectation1 his soldiers had at once gone over to the enemy and he found himself disarmed and war at his door4 ,but recovering courage from the offers of the ,florentines1 he decided to temporize before fighting with the few soldiers that remained to him1 and to negotiate for a reconciliation1 and also to get assistance4 ,this latter he obtained in two ways1 by sending to the ,king of ,france for men and by enlisting men-at-arms and others whom he turned into cavalry of a sort3 to all he gave money4 ,notwithstanding this1 his enemies drew near to him1 and approached ,fossombrone1 where they encountered some men of the duke and1 with the aid of the ,orsini and ,vitelli1 routed them4 ,when this happened1 the duke resolved at once to see if he could not close the trouble with offers of reconciliation1 and being a most perfect dissembler he did not fail in any practices to make the insurgents understand that he wished every man who had acquired anything to keep it1 as it was enough for him to have the title of prince1 whilst others might have the principality4 ,and the duke succeeded so well in this that they sent ,signor ,pagolo to him to negotiate for a reconciliation1 and they brought their army to a standstill4 ,but the duke did not stop his preparations1 and took every care to provide himself with cavalry and infantry1 and that such preparations might not be apparent to the others1 he sent his troops in separate parties to every part of the ,romagna4 ,in the meanwhile there came also to him five hundred ,french lancers1 and although he found himself sufficiently strong to take vengeance on his enemies in open war1 he considered that it would be safer and more advantageous to outwit them1 and for this reason he did not stop the work of reconciliation4 ,and that this might be effected the duke concluded a peace with them in which he confirmed their former covenants2 he gave them four thousand ducats at once2 he promised not to injure the ,bentivogli2 and he formed an alliance with ,giovanni2 and moreover he would not force them to come personally into his presence unless it pleased them to do so4 ,on the other hand1 they promised to restore to him the duchy of ,urbino and other places seized by them1 to serve him in all his expeditions1 and not to make war against or ally themselves with any one without his permission4 ,this reconciliation being completed1 ,guido ,ubaldo1 the ,duke of ,urbino1 again fled to ,venice1 having first destroyed all the fortresses in his state2 because1 trusting in the people1 he did not wish that the fortresses1 which he did not think he could defend1 should be held by the enemy1 since by these means a check would be kept upon his friends4 ,but the ,duke ,valentino1 having completed this convention1 and dispersed his men throughout the ,romagna1 set out for ,imola at the end of ,november together with his ,french men-at-arms3 thence he went to ,cesena1 where he stayed some time to negotiate with the envoys of the ,vitelli and ,orsini1 who had assembled with their men in the duchy of ,urbino1 as to the enterprise in which they should now take part2 but nothing being concluded1 ,oliverotto da ,fermo was sent to propose that if the duke wished to undertake an expedition against ,tuscany they were ready2 if he did not wish it1 then they would besiege ,sinigalia4 ,to this the duke replied that he did not wish to enter into war with ,tuscany1 and thus become hostile to the ,florentines1 but that he was very willing to proceed against ,sinigalia4 ,it happened that not long afterwards the town surrendered1 but the fortress would not yield to them because the castellan would not give it up to any one but the duke in person2 therefore they exhorted him to come there4 ,this appeared a good opportunity to the duke1 as1 being invited by them1 and not going of his own will1 he would awaken no suspicions4 ,and the more to reassure them1 he allowed all the ,french men-at-arms who were with him in ,lombardy to depart1 except the hundred lancers under ,mons4 di ,candales1 his brother-in-law4 ,he left ,cesena about the middle of ,december1 and went to ,fano1 and with the utmost cunning and cleverness he persuaded the ,vitelli and ,orsini to wait for him at ,sinigalia1 pointing out to them that any lack of compliance would cast a doubt upon the sincerity and permanency of the reconciliation1 and that he was a man who wished to make use of the arms and councils of his friends4 ,but ,vitellozzo remained very stubborn1 for the death of his brother warned him that he should not offend a prince and afterwards trust him2 nevertheless1 persuaded by ,pagolo ,orsini1 whom the duke had corrupted with gifts and promises1 he agreed to wait4 ,upon this the duke1 before his departure from ,fano1 which was to be on #cjth ,december #aejb1 communicated his designs to eight of his most trusted followers1 among whom were ,don ,michele and the ,monsignor d',euna1 who was afterwards cardinal2 and he ordered that1 as soon as ,vitellozzo1 ,pagolo ,orsini1 the ,duke di ,gravina1 and ,oliverotto should arrive1 his followers in pairs should take them one by one1 entrusting certain men to certain pairs1 who should entertain them until they reached ,sinigalia2 nor should they be permitted to leave until they came to the duke's quarters1 where they should be seized4 ,the duke afterwards ordered all his horsemen and infantry1 of which there were more than two thousand cavalry and ten thousand footmen1 to assemble by daybreak at the ,metauro1 a river five miles distant from ,fano1 and await him there4 ,he found himself1 therefore1 on the last day of ,december at the ,metauro with his men1 and having sent a cavalcade of about two hundred horsemen before him1 he then moved forward the infantry1 whom he accompanied with the rest of the men-at-arms4 ,fano and ,sinigalia are two cities of ,la ,marca situated on the shore of the ,adriatic ,sea1 fifteen miles distant from each other1 so that he who goes towards ,sinigalia has the mountains on his right hand1 the bases of which are touched by the sea in some places4 ,the city of ,sinigalia is distant from the foot of the mountains a little more than a bow-shot and from the shore about a mile4 ,on the side opposite to the city runs a little river which bathes that part of the walls looking towards ,fano1 facing the high road4 ,thus he who draws near to ,sinigalia comes for a good space by road along the mountains1 and reaches the river which passes by ,sinigalia4 ,if he turns to his left hand along the bank of it1 and goes for the distance of a bow-shot1 he arrives at a bridge which crosses the river2 he is then almost abreast of the gate that leads into ,sinigalia1 not by a straight line1 but transversely4 ,before this gate there stands a collection of houses with a square to which the bank of the river forms one side4 ,the ,vitelli and ,orsini having received orders to wait for the duke1 and to honour him in person1 sent away their men to several castles distant from ,sinigalia about six miles1 so that room could be made for the men of the duke2 and they left in ,sinigalia only ,oliverotto and his band1 which consisted of one thousand infantry and one hundred and fifty horsemen1 who were quartered in the suburb mentioned above4 ,matters having been thus arranged1 the ,duke ,valentino left for ,sinigalia1 and when the leaders of the cavalry reached the bridge they did not pass over1 but having opened it1 one portion wheeled towards the river and the other towards the country1 and a way was left in the middle through which the infantry passed1 without stopping1 into the town4 ,vitellozzo1 ,pagolo1 and the ,duke di ,gravina on mules1 accompanied by a few horsemen1 went towards the duke2 ,vitellozo1 unarmed and wearing a cape lined with green1 appeared very dejected1 as if conscious of his approaching death--a circumstance which1 in view of the ability of the man and his former fortune1 caused some amazement4 ,and it is said that when he parted from his men before setting out for ,sinigalia to meet the duke he acted as if it were his last parting from them4 ,he recommended his house and its fortunes to his captains1 and advised his nephews that it was not the fortune of their house1 but the virtues of their fathers that should be kept in mind4 ,these three1 therefore1 came before the duke and saluted him respectfully1 and were received by him with goodwill2 they were at once placed between those who were commissioned to look after them4 ,but the duke noticing that ,oliverotto1 who had remained with his band in ,sinigalia1 was missing--for ,oliverotto was waiting in the square before his quarters near the river1 keeping his men in order and drilling them--signalled with his eye to ,don ,michelle1 to whom the care of ,oliverotto had been committed1 that he should take measures that ,oliverotto should not escape4 ,therefore ,don ,michele rode off and joined ,oliverotto1 telling him that it was not right to keep his men out of their quarters1 because these might be taken up by the men of the duke2 and he advised him to send them at once to their quarters and to come himself to meet the duke4 ,and ,oliverotto1 having taken this advice1 came before the duke1 who1 when he saw him1 called to him2 and ,oliverotto1 having made his obeisance1 joined the others4 ,so the whole party entered ,sinigalia1 dismounted at the duke's quarters1 and went with him into a secret chamber1 where the duke made them prisoners2 he then mounted on horseback1 and issued orders that the men of ,oliverotto and the ,orsini should be stripped of their arms4 ,those of ,oliverotto1 being at hand1 were quickly settled1 but those of the ,orsini and ,vitelli1 being at a distance1 and having a presentiment of the destruction of their masters1 had time to prepare themselves1 and bearing in mind the valour and discipline of the ,orsinian and ,vitellian houses1 they stood together against the hostile forces of the country and saved themselves4 ,but the duke's soldiers1 not being content with having pillaged the men of ,oliverotto1 began to sack ,sinigalia1 and if the duke had not repressed this outrage by killing some of them they would have completely sacked it4 ,night having come and the tumult being silenced1 the duke prepared to kill ,vitellozzo and ,oliverotto2 he led them into a room and caused them to be strangled4 ,neither of them used words in keeping with their past lives3 ,vitellozzo prayed that he might ask of the pope full pardon for his sins2 ,oliverotto cringed and laid the blame for all injuries against the duke on ,vitellozzo4 ,pagolo and the ,duke di ,gravina ,orsini were kept alive until the duke heard from ,rome that the pope had taken the ,cardinal ,orsino1 the ,archbishop of ,florence1 and ,messer ,jacopo da ,santa ,croce4 ,after which news1 on #ahth ,january #aejb1 in the castle of ,pieve1 they also were strangled in the same way4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,castruccio ,,castracani ,,of ,,lucca ,,written ,,by ,,nicolo ,,machiavelli ,and sent to his friends ,,zanobi ,,buondelmonti ,and ,,luigi ,,alamanni ,,castruccio ,,castracani #abhd-acbh ,it appears1 dearest ,zanobi and ,luigi1 a wonderful thing to those who have considered the matter1 that all men1 or the larger number of them1 who have performed great deeds in the world1 and excelled all others in their day1 have had their birth and beginning in baseness and obscurity2 or have been aggrieved by ,fortune in some outrageous way4 ,they have either been exposed to the mercy of wild beasts1 or they have had so mean a parentage that in shame they have given themselves out to be sons of ,jove or of some other deity4 ,it would be wearisome to relate who these persons may have been because they are well known to everybody1 and1 as such tales would not be particularly edifying to those who read them1 they are omitted4 ,i believe that these lowly beginnings of great men occur because ,fortune is desirous of showing to the world that such men owe much to her and little to wisdom1 because she begins to show her hand when wisdom can really take no part in their career3 thus all success must be attributed to her4 ,castruccio ,castracani of ,lucca was one of those men who did great deeds1 if he is measured by the times in which he lived and the city in which he was born2 but1 like many others1 he was neither fortunate nor distinguished in his birth1 as the course of this history will show4 ,it appeared to be desirable to recall his memory1 because ,i have discerned in him such indications of valour and fortune as should make him a great exemplar to men4 ,i think also that ,i ought to call your attention to his actions1 because you of all men ,i know delight most in noble deeds4 ,the family of ,castracani was formerly numbered among the noble families of ,lucca1 but in the days of which ,i speak it had somewhat fallen in estate1 as so often happens in this world4 ,to this family was born a son ,antonio1 who became a priest of the order of ,san ,michele of ,lucca1 and for this reason was honoured with the title of ,messer ,antonio4 ,he had an only sister1 who had been married to ,buonaccorso ,cenami1 but ,buonaccorso dying she became a widow1 and not wishing to marry again went to live with her brother4 ,messer ,antonio had a vineyard behind the house where he resided1 and as it was bounded on all sides by gardens1 any person could have access to it without difficulty4 ,one morning1 shortly after sunrise1 ,madonna ,dianora1 as the sister of ,messer ,antonio was called1 had occasion to go into the vineyard as usual to gather herbs for seasoning the dinner1 and hearing a slight rustling among the leaves of a vine she turned her eyes in that direction1 and heard something resembling the cry of an infant4 ,whereupon she went towards it1 and saw the hands and face of a baby who was lying enveloped in the leaves and who seemed to be crying for its mother4 ,partly wondering and partly fearing1 yet full of compassion1 she lifted it up and carried it to the house1 where she washed it and clothed it with clean linen as is customary1 and showed it to ,messer ,antonio when he returned home4 ,when he heard what had happened and saw the child he was not less surprised or compassionate than his sister4 ,they discussed between themselves what should be done1 and seeing that he was priest and that she had no children1 they finally determined to bring it up4 ,they had a nurse for it1 and it was reared and loved as if it were their own child4 ,they baptized it1 and gave it the name of ,castruccio after their father4 ,as the years passed ,castruccio grew very handsome1 and gave evidence of wit and discretion1 and learnt with a quickness beyond his years those lessons which ,messer ,antonio imparted to him4 ,messer ,antonio intended to make a priest of him1 and in time would have inducted him into his canonry and other benefices1 and all his instruction was given with this object2 but ,antonio discovered that the character of ,castruccio was quite unfitted for the priesthood4 ,as soon as ,castruccio reached the age of fourteen he began to take less notice of the chiding of ,messer ,antonio and ,madonna ,dianora and no longer to fear them2 he left off reading ecclesiastical books1 and turned to playing with arms1 delighting in nothing so much as in learning their uses1 and in running1 leaping1 and wrestling with other boys4 ,in all exercises he far excelled his companions in courage and bodily strength1 and if at any time he did turn to books1 only those pleased him which told of wars and the mighty deeds of men4 ,messer ,antonio beheld all this with vexation and sorrow4 ,there lived in the city of ,lucca a gentleman of the ,guinigi family1 named ,messer ,francesco1 whose profession was arms and who in riches1 bodily strength1 and valour excelled all other men in ,lucca4 ,he had often fought under the command of the ,visconti of ,milan1 and as a ,ghibelline was the valued leader of that party in ,lucca4 ,this gentleman resided in ,lucca and was accustomed to assemble with others most mornings and evenings under the balcony of the ,podesta1 which is at the top of the square of ,san ,michele1 the finest square in ,lucca1 and he had often seen ,castruccio taking part with other children of the street in those games of which ,i have spoken4 ,noticing that ,castruccio far excelled the other boys1 and that he appeared to exercise a royal authority over them1 and that they loved and obeyed him1 ,messer ,francesco became greatly desirous of learning who he was4 ,being informed of the circumstances of the bringing up of ,castruccio he felt a greater desire to have him near to him4 ,therefore he called him one day and asked him whether he would more willingly live in the house of a gentleman1 where he would learn to ride horses and use arms1 or in the house of a priest1 where he would learn nothing but masses and the services of the ,church4 ,messer ,francesco could see that it pleased ,castruccio greatly to hear horses and arms spoken of1 even though he stood silent1 blushing modestly2 but being encouraged by ,messer ,francesco to speak1 he answered that1 if his master were agreeable1 nothing would please him more than to give up his priestly studies and take up those of a soldier4 ,this reply delighted ,messer ,francesco1 and in a very short time he obtained the consent of ,messer ,antonio1 who was driven to yield by his knowledge of the nature of the lad1 and the fear that he would not be able to hold him much longer4 ,thus ,castruccio passed from the house of ,messer ,antonio the priest to the house of ,messer ,francesco ,guinigi the soldier1 and it was astonishing to find that in a very short time he manifested all that virtue and bearing which we are accustomed to associate with a true gentleman4 ,in the first place he became an accomplished horseman1 and could manage with ease the most fiery charger1 and in all jousts and tournaments1 although still a youth1 he was observed beyond all others1 and he excelled in all exercises of strength and dexterity4 ,but what enhanced so much the charm of these accomplishments1 was the delightful modesty which enabled him to avoid offence in either act or word to others1 for he was deferential to the great men1 modest with his equals1 and courteous to his inferiors4 ,these gifts made him beloved1 not only by all the ,guinigi family1 but by all ,lucca4 ,when ,castruccio had reached his eighteenth year1 the ,ghibellines were driven from ,pavia by the ,guelphs1 and ,messer ,francesco was sent by the ,visconti to assist the ,ghibellines1 and with him went ,castruccio1 in charge of his forces4 ,castruccio gave ample proof of his prudence and courage in this expedition1 acquiring greater reputation than any other captain1 and his name and fame were known1 not only in ,pavia1 but throughout all ,lombardy4 ,castruccio1 having returned to ,lucca in far higher estimation than he left it1 did not omit to use all the means in his power to gain as many friends as he could1 neglecting none of those arts which are necessary for that purpose4 ,about this time ,messer ,francesco died1 leaving a son thirteen years of age named ,pagolo1 and having appointed ,castruccio to be his son's tutor and administrator of his estate4 ,before he died ,francesco called ,castruccio to him1 and prayed him to show ,pagolo that goodwill which he 7,francesco7 had always shown to ,,him1 and to render to the son the gratitude which he had not been able to repay to the father4 ,upon the death of ,francesco1 ,castruccio became the governor and tutor of ,pagolo1 which increased enormously his power and position1 and created a certain amount of envy against him in ,lucca in place of the former universal goodwill1 for many men suspected him of harbouring tyrannical intentions4 ,among these the leading man was ,giorgio degli ,opizi1 the head of the ,guelph party4 ,this man hoped after the death of ,messer ,francesco to become the chief man in ,lucca1 but it seemed to him that ,castruccio1 with the great abilities which he already showed1 and holding the position of governor1 deprived him of his opportunity2 therefore he began to sow those seeds which should rob ,castruccio of his eminence4 ,castruccio at first treated this with scorn1 but afterwards he grew alarmed1 thinking that ,messer ,giorgio might be able to bring him into disgrace with the deputy of ,king ,ruberto of ,naples and have him driven out of ,lucca4 ,the ,lord of ,pisa at that time was ,uguccione of the ,faggiuola of ,arezzo1 who being in the first place elected their captain afterwards became their lord4 ,there resided in ,paris some exiled ,ghibellines from ,lucca1 with whom ,castruccio held communications with the object of effecting their restoration by the help of ,uguccione4 ,castruccio also brought into his plans friends from ,lucca who would not endure the authority of the ,opizi4 ,having fixed upon a plan to be followed1 ,castruccio cautiously fortified the tower of the ,onesti1 filling it with supplies and munitions of war1 in order that it might stand a siege for a few days in case of need4 ,when the night came which had been agreed upon with ,uguccione1 who had occupied the plain between the mountains and ,pisa with many men1 the signal was given1 and without being observed ,uguccione approached the gate of ,san ,piero and set fire to the portcullis4 ,castruccio raised a great uproar within the city1 calling the people to arms and forcing open the gate from his side4 ,uguccione entered with his men1 poured through the town1 and killed ,messer ,giorgio with all his family and many of his friends and supporters4 ,the governor was driven out1 and the government reformed according to the wishes of ,uguccione1 to the detriment of the city1 because it was found that more than one hundred families were exiled at that time4 ,of those who fled1 part went to ,florence and part to ,pistoia1 which city was the headquarters of the ,guelph party1 and for this reason it became most hostile to ,uguccione and the ,lucchese4 ,as it now appeared to the ,florentines and others of the ,guelph party that the ,ghibellines absorbed too much power in ,tuscany1 they determined to restore the exiled ,guelphs to ,lucca4 ,they assembled a large army in the ,val di ,nievole1 and seized ,montecatini2 from thence they marched to ,montecarlo1 in order to secure the free passage into ,lucca4 ,upon this ,uguccione assembled his ,pisan and ,lucchese forces1 and with a number of ,german cavalry which he drew out of ,lombardy1 he moved against the quarters of the ,florentines1 who upon the appearance of the enemy withdrew from ,montecarlo1 and posted themselves between ,montecatini and ,pescia4 ,uguccione now took up a position near to ,montecarlo1 and within about two miles of the enemy1 and slight skirmishes between the horse of both parties were of daily occurrence4 ,owing to the illness of ,uguccione1 the ,pisans and ,lucchese delayed coming to battle with the enemy4 ,uguccione1 finding himself growing worse1 went to ,montecarlo to be cured1 and left the command of the army in the hands of ,castruccio4 ,this change brought about the ruin of the ,guelphs1 who1 thinking that the hostile army having lost its captain had lost its head1 grew over-confident4 ,castruccio observed this1 and allowed some days to pass in order to encourage this belief2 he also showed signs of fear1 and did not allow any of the munitions of the camp to be used4 ,on the other side1 the ,guelphs grew more insolent the more they saw these evidences of fear1 and every day they drew out in the order of battle in front of the army of ,castruccio4 ,presently1 deeming that the enemy was sufficiently emboldened1 and having mastered their tactics1 he decided to join battle with them4 ,first he spoke a few words of encouragement to his soldiers1 and pointed out to them the certainty of victory if they would but obey his commands4 ,castruccio had noticed how the enemy had placed all his best troops in the centre of the line of battle1 and his less reliable men on the wings of the army2 whereupon he did exactly the opposite1 putting his most valiant men on the flanks1 while those on whom he could not so strongly rely he moved to the centre4 ,observing this order of battle1 he drew out of his lines and quickly came in sight of the hostile army1 who1 as usual1 had come in their insolence to defy him4 ,he then commanded his centre squadrons to march slowly1 whilst he moved rapidly forward those on the wings4 ,thus1 when they came into contact with the enemy1 only the wings of the two armies became engaged1 whilst the center battalions remained out of action1 for these two portions of the line of battle were separated from each other by a long interval and thus unable to reach each other4 ,by this expedient the more valiant part of ,castruccio's men were opposed to the weaker part of the enemy's troops1 and the most efficient men of the enemy were disengaged2 and thus the ,florentines were unable to fight with those who were arrayed opposite to them1 or to give any assistance to their own flanks4 ,so1 without much difficulty1 ,castruccio put the enemy to flight on both flanks1 and the centre battalions took to flight when they found themselves exposed to attack1 without having a chance of displaying their valour4 ,the defeat was complete1 and the loss in men very heavy1 there being more than ten thousand men killed with many officers and knights of the ,guelph party in ,tuscany1 and also many princes who had come to help them1 among whom were ,piero1 the brother of ,king ,ruberto1 and ,carlo1 his nephew1 and ,filippo1 the lord of ,taranto4 ,on the part of ,castruccio the loss did not amount to more than three hundred men1 among whom was ,francesco1 the son of ,uguccione1 who1 being young and rash1 was killed in the first onset4 ,this victory so greatly increased the reputation of ,castruccio that ,uguccione conceived some jealousy and suspicion of him1 because it appeared to ,uguccione that this victory had given him no increase of power1 but rather than diminished it4 ,being of this mind1 he only waited for an opportunity to give effect to it4 ,this occurred on the death of ,pier ,agnolo ,micheli1 a man of great repute and abilities in ,lucca1 the murderer of whom fled to the house of ,castruccio for refuge4 ,on the sergeants of the captain going to arrest the murderer1 they were driven off by ,castruccio1 and the murderer escaped4 ,this affair coming to the knowledge of ,uguccione1 who was then at ,pisa1 it appeared to him a proper opportunity to punish ,castruccio4 ,he therefore sent for his son ,neri1 who was the governor of ,lucca1 and commissioned him to take ,castruccio prisoner at a banquet and put him to death4 ,castruccio1 fearing no evil1 went to the governor in a friendly way1 was entertained at supper1 and then thrown into prison4 ,but ,neri1 fearing to put him to death lest the people should be incensed1 kept him alive1 in order to hear further from his father concerning his intentions4 ,ugucionne cursed the hesitation and cowardice of his son1 and at once set out from ,pisa to ,lucca with four hundred horsemen to finish the business in his own way2 but he had not yet reached the baths when the ,pisans rebelled and put his deputy to death and created ,count ,gaddo della ,gherardesca their lord4 ,before ,uguccione reached ,lucca he heard of the occurrences at ,pisa1 but it did not appear wise to him to turn back1 lest the ,lucchese with the example of ,pisa before them should close their gates against him4 ,but the ,lucchese1 having heard of what had happened at ,pisa1 availed themselves of this opportunity to demand the liberation of ,castruccio1 notwithstanding that ,uguccione had arrived in their city4 ,they first began to speak of it in private circles1 afterwards openly in the squares and streets2 then they raised a tumult1 and with arms in their hands went to ,uguccione and demanded that ,castruccio should be set at liberty4 ,uguccione1 fearing that worse might happen1 released him from prison4 ,whereupon ,castruccio gathered his friends around him1 and with the help of the people attacked ,uguccione2 who1 finding he had no resource but in flight1 rode away with his friends to ,lombardy1 to the lords of ,scale1 where he died in poverty4 ,but ,castruccio from being a prisoner became almost a prince in ,lucca1 and he carried himself so discreetly with his friends and the people that they appointed him captain of their army for one year4 ,having obtained this1 and wishing to gain renown in war1 he planned the recovery of the many towns which had rebelled after the departure of ,uguccione1 and with the help of the ,pisans1 with whom he had concluded a treaty1 he marched to ,serezzana4 ,to capture this place he constructed a fort against it1 which is called to-day ,zerezzanello2 in the course of two months ,castruccio captured the town4 ,with the reputation gained at that siege1 he rapidly seized ,massa1 ,carrara1 and ,lavenza1 and in a short time had overrun the whole of ,lunigiana4 ,in order to close the pass which leads from ,lombardy to ,lunigiana1 he besieged ,pontremoli and wrested it from the hands of ,messer ,anastagio ,palavicini1 who was the lord of it4 ,after this victory he returned to ,lucca1 and was welcomed by the whole people4 ,and now ,castruccio1 deeming it imprudent any longer to defer making himself a prince1 got himself created the lord of ,lucca by the help of ,pazzino del ,poggio1 ,puccinello dal ,portico1 ,francesco ,boccansacchi1 and ,cecco ,guinigi1 all of whom he had corrupted2 and he was afterwards solemnly and deliberately elected prince by the people4 ,at this time ,frederick of ,bavaria1 the ,king of the ,romans1 came into ,italy to assume the ,imperial crown1 and ,castruccio1 in order that he might make friends with him1 met him at the head of five hundred horsemen4 ,castruccio had left as his deputy in ,lucca1 ,pagolo ,guinigi1 who was held in high estimation1 because of the people's love for the memory of his father4 ,castruccio was received in great honour by ,frederick1 and many privileges were conferred upon him1 and he was appointed the emperor's lieutenant in ,tuscany4 ,at this time the ,pisans were in great fear of ,gaddo della ,gherardesca1 whom they had driven out of ,pisa1 and they had recourse for assistance to ,frederick4 ,frederick created ,castruccio the lord of ,pisa1 and the ,pisans1 in dread of the ,guelph party1 and particularly of the ,florentines1 were constrained to accept him as their lord4 ,frederick1 having appointed a governor in ,rome to watch his ,italian affairs1 returned to ,germany4 ,all the ,tuscan and ,lombardian ,ghibellines1 who followed the imperial lead1 had recourse to ,castruccio for help and counsel1 and all promised him the governorship of his country1 if enabled to recover it with his assistance4 ,among these exiles were ,matteo ,guidi1 ,nardo ,scolari1 ,lapo ,uberti1 ,gerozzo ,nardi1 and ,piero ,buonaccorsi1 all exiled ,florentines and ,ghibellines4 ,castruccio had the secret intention of becoming the master of all ,tuscany by the aid of these men and of his own forces2 and in order to gain greater weight in affairs1 he entered into a league with ,messer ,matteo ,visconti1 the ,prince of ,milan1 and organized for him the forces of his city and the country districts4 ,as ,lucca had five gates1 he divided his own country districts into five parts1 which he supplied with arms1 and enrolled the men under captains and ensigns1 so that he could quickly bring into the field twenty thousand soldiers1 without those whom he could summon to his assistance from ,pisa4 ,while he surrounded himself with these forces and allies1 it happened at ,messer ,matteo ,visconti was attacked by the ,guelphs of ,piacenza1 who had driven out the ,ghibellines with the assistance of a ,florentine army and the ,king ,ruberto4 ,messer ,matteo called upon ,castruccio to invade the ,florentines in their own territories1 so that1 being attacked at home1 they should be compelled to draw their army out of ,lombardy in order to defend themselves4 ,castruccio invaded the ,valdarno1 and seized ,fucecchio and ,san ,miniato1 inflicting immense damage upon the country4 ,whereupon the ,florentines recalled their army1 which had scarcely reached ,tuscany1 when ,castruccio was forced by other necessities to return to ,lucca4 ,there resided in the city of ,lucca the ,poggio family1 who were so powerful that they could not only elevate ,castruccio1 but even advance him to the dignity of prince2 and it appearing to them they had not received such rewards for their services as they deserved1 they incited other families to rebel and to drive ,castruccio out of ,lucca4 ,they found their opportunity one morning1 and arming themselves1 they set upon the lieutenant whom ,castruccio had left to maintain order and killed him4 ,they endeavoured to raise the people in revolt1 but ,stefano di ,poggio1 a peaceable old man who had taken no hand in the rebellion1 intervened and compelled them by his authority to lay down their arms2 and he offered to be their mediator with ,castruccio to obtain from him what they desired4 ,therefore they laid down their arms with no greater intelligence than they had taken them up4 ,castruccio1 having heard the news of what had happened at ,lucca1 at once put ,pagolo ,guinigi in command of the army1 and with a troop of cavalry set out for home4 ,contrary to his expectations1 he found the rebellion at an end1 yet he posted his men in the most advantageous places throughout the city4 ,as it appeared to ,stefano that ,castruccio ought to be very much obliged to him1 he sought him out1 and without saying anything on his own behalf1 for he did not recognize any need for doing so1 he begged ,castruccio to pardon the other members of his family by reason of their youth1 their former friendships1 and the obligations which ,castruccio was under to their house4 ,to this ,castruccio graciously responded1 and begged ,stefano to reassure himself1 declaring that it gave him more pleasure to find the tumult at an end than it had ever caused him anxiety to hear of its inception4 ,he encouraged ,stefano to bring his family to him1 saying that he thanked ,god for having given him the opportunity of showing his clemency and liberality4 ,upon the word of ,stefano and ,castruccio they surrendered1 and with ,stefano were immediately thrown into prison and put to death4 ,meanwhile the ,florentines had recovered ,san ,miniato1 whereupon it seemed advisable to ,castruccio to make peace1 as it did not appear to him that he was sufficiently secure at ,lucca to leave him4 ,he approached the ,florentines with the proposal of a truce1 which they readily entertained1 for they were weary of the war1 and desirous of getting rid of the expenses of it4 ,a treaty was concluded with them for two years1 by which both parties agreed to keep the conquests they had made4 ,castruccio thus released from this trouble1 turned his attention to affairs in ,lucca1 and in order that he should not again be subject to the perils from which he had just escaped1 he1 under various pretences and reasons1 first wiped out all those who by their ambition might aspire to the principality2 not sparing one of them1 but depriving them of country and property1 and those whom he had in his hands of life also1 stating that he had found by experience that none of them were to be trusted4 ,then for his further security he raised a fortress in ,lucca with the stones of the towers of those whom he had killed or hunted out of the state4 ,whilst ,castruccio made peace with the ,florentines1 and strengthened his position in ,lucca1 he neglected no opportunity1 short of open war1 of increasing his importance elsewhere4 ,it appeared to him that if he could get possession of ,pistoia1 he would have one foot in ,florence1 which was his great desire4 ,he1 therefore1 in various ways made friends with the mountaineers1 and worked matters so in ,pistoia that both parties confided their secrets to him4 ,pistoia was divided1 as it always had been1 into the ,bianchi and ,neri parties2 the head of the ,bianchi was ,bastiano di ,possente1 and of the ,neri1 ,jacopo da ,gia4 ,each of these men held secret communications with ,castruccio1 and each desired to drive the other out of the city2 and1 after many threatenings1 they came to blows4 ,jacopo fortified himself at the ,florentine gate1 ,bastiano at that of the ,lucchese side of the city2 both trusted more in ,castruccio than in the ,florentines1 because they believed that ,castruccio was far more ready and willing to fight than the ,florentines1 and they both sent to him for assistance4 ,he gave promises to both1 saying to ,bastiano that he would come in person1 and to ,jacopo that he would send his pupil1 ,pagolo ,guinigi4 ,at the appointed time he sent forward ,pagolo by way of ,pisa1 and went himself direct to ,pistoia2 at midnight both of them met outside the city1 and both were admitted as friends4 ,thus the two leaders entered1 and at a signal given by ,castruccio1 one killed ,jacopo da ,gia1 and the other ,bastiano di ,possente1 and both took prisoners or killed the partisans of either faction4 ,without further opposition ,pistoia passed into the hands of ,castruccio1 who1 having forced the ,signoria to leave the palace1 compelled the people to yield obedience to him1 making them many promises and remitting their old debts4 ,the countryside flocked to the city to see the new prince1 and all were filled with hope and quickly settled down1 influenced in a great measure by his great valour4 ,about this time great disturbances arose in ,rome1 owing to the dearness of living which was caused by the absence of the pontiff at ,avignon4 ,the ,german governor1 ,enrico1 was much blamed for what happened--murders and tumults following each other daily1 without his being able to put an end to them4 ,this caused ,enrico much anxiety lest the ,romans should call in ,ruberto1 the ,king of ,naples1 who would drive the ,germans out of the city1 and bring back the ,pope4 ,having no nearer friend to whom he could apply for help than ,castruccio1 he sent to him1 begging him not only to give him assistance1 but also to come in person to ,rome4 ,castruccio considered that he ought not to hesitate to render the emperor this service1 because he believed that he himself would not be safe if at any time the emperor ceased to hold ,rome4 ,leaving ,pagolo ,guinigi in command at ,lucca1 ,castruccio set out for ,rome with six hundred horsemen1 where he was received by ,enrico with the greatest distinction4 ,in a short time the presence of ,castruccio obtained such respect for the emperor that1 without bloodshed or violence1 good order was restored1 chiefly by reason of ,castruccio having sent by sea from the country round ,pisa large quantities of corn1 and thus removed the source of the trouble4 ,when he had chastised some of the ,roman leaders1 and admonished others1 voluntary obedience was rendered to ,enrico4 ,castruccio received many honours1 and was made a ,roman senator4 ,this dignity was assumed with the greatest pomp1 ,castruccio being clothed in a brocaded toga1 which had the following words embroidered on its front3 8,i am what ,god wills40 ,whilst on the back was3 8,what ,god desires shall be40 ,during this time the ,florentines1 who were much enraged that ,castruccio should have seized ,pistoia during the truce1 considered how they could tempt the city to rebel1 to do which they thought would not be difficult in his absence4 ,among the exiled ,pistoians in ,florence were ,baldo ,cecchi and ,jacopo ,baldini1 both men of leading and ready to face danger4 ,these men kept up communications with their friends in ,pistoia1 and with the aid of the ,florentines entered the city by night1 and after driving out some of ,castruccio's officials and partisans1 and killing others1 they restored the city to its freedom4 ,the news of this greatly angered ,castruccio1 and taking leave of ,enrico1 he pressed on in great haste to ,pistoia4 ,when the ,florentines heard of his return1 knowing that he would lose no time1 they decided to intercept him with their forces in the ,val di ,nievole1 under the belief that by doing so they would cut off his road to ,pistoia4 ,assembling a great army of the supporters of the ,guelph cause1 the ,florentines entered the ,pistoian territories4 ,on the other hand1 ,castruccio reached ,montecarlo with his army2 and having heard where the ,florentines' lay1 he decided not to encounter it in the plains of ,pistoia1 nor to await it in the plains of ,pescia1 but1 as far as he possibly could1 to attack it boldly in the ,pass of ,serravalle4 ,he believed that if he succeeded in this design1 victory was assured1 although he was informed that the ,florentines had thirty thousand men1 whilst he had only twelve thousand4 ,although he had every confidence in his own abilities and the valour of his troops1 yet he hesitated to attack his enemy in the open lest he should be overwhelmed by numbers4 ,serravalle is a castle between ,pescia and ,pistoia1 situated on a hill which blocks the ,val di ,nievole1 not in the exact pass1 but about a bowshot beyond2 the pass itself is in places narrow and steep1 whilst in general it ascends gently1 but is still narrow1 especially at the summit where the waters divide1 so that twenty men side by side could hold it4 ,the lord of ,serravalle was ,manfred1 a ,german1 who1 before ,castruccio became lord of ,pistoia1 had been allowed to remain in possession of the castle1 it being common to the ,lucchese and the ,pistoians1 and unclaimed by either--neither of them wishing to displace ,manfred as long as he kept his promise of neutrality1 and came under obligations to no one4 ,for these reasons1 and also because the castle was well fortified1 he had always been able to maintain his position4 ,it was here that ,castruccio had determined to fall upon his enemy1 for here his few men would have the advantage1 and there was no fear lest1 seeing the large masses of the hostile force before they became engaged1 they should not stand4 ,as soon as this trouble with ,florence arose1 ,castruccio saw the immense advantage which possession of this castle would give him1 and having an intimate friendship with a resident in the castle1 he managed matters so with him that four hundred of his men were to be admitted into the castle the night before the attack on the ,florentines1 and the castellan put to death4 ,castruccio1 having prepared everything1 had now to encourage the ,florentines to persist in their desire to carry the seat of war away from ,pistoia into the ,val di ,nievole1 therefore he did not move his army from ,montecarlo4 ,thus the ,florentines hurried on until they reached their encampment under ,serravalle1 intending to cross the hill on the following morning4 ,in the meantime1 ,castruccio had seized the castle at night1 had also moved his army from ,montecarlo1 and marching from thence at midnight in dead silence1 had reached the foot of ,serravalle3 thus he and the ,florentines commenced the ascent of the hill at the same time in the morning4 ,castruccio sent forward his infantry by the main road1 and a troop of four hundred horsemen by a path on the left towards the castle4 ,the ,florentines sent forward four hundred cavalry ahead of their army which was following1 never expecting to find ,castruccio in possession of the hill1 nor were they aware of his having seized the castle4 ,thus it happened that the ,florentine horsemen mounting the hill were completely taken by surprise when they discovered the infantry of ,castruccio1 and so close were they upon it they had scarcely time to pull down their visors4 ,it was a case of unready soldiers being attacked by ready1 and they were assailed with such vigour that with difficulty they could hold their own1 although some few of them got through4 ,when the noise of the fighting reached the ,florentine camp below1 it was filled with confusion4 ,the cavalry and infantry became inextricably mixed3 the captains were unable to get their men either backward or forward1 owing to the narrowness of the pass1 and amid all this tumult no one knew what ought to be done or what could be done4 ,in a short time the cavalry who were engaged with the enemy's infantry were scattered or killed without having made any effective defence because of their unfortunate position1 although in sheer desperation they had offered a stout resistance4 ,retreat had been impossible1 with the mountains on both flanks1 whilst in front were their enemies1 and in the rear their friends4 ,when ,castruccio saw that his men were unable to strike a decisive blow at the enemy and put them to flight1 he sent one thousand infantrymen round by the castle1 with orders to join the four hundred horsemen he had previously dispatched there1 and commanded the whole force to fall upon the flank of the enemy4 ,these orders they carried out with such fury that the ,florentines could not sustain the attack1 but gave way1 and were soon in full retreat--conquered more by their unfortunate position than by the valour of their enemy4 ,those in the rear turned towards ,pistoia1 and spread through the plains1 each man seeking only his own safety4 ,the defeat was complete and very sanguinary4 ,many captains were taken prisoners1 among whom were ,bandini dei ,rossi1 ,francesco ,brunelleschi1 and ,giovanni della ,tosa1 all ,florentine noblemen1 with many ,tuscans and ,neapolitans who fought on the ,florentine side1 having been sent by ,king ,ruberto to assist the ,guelphs4 ,immediately the ,pistoians heard of this defeat they drove out the friends of the ,guelphs1 and surrendered to ,castruccio4 ,he was not content with occupying ,prato and all the castles on the plains on both sides of the ,arno1 but marched his army into the plain of ,peretola1 about two miles from ,florence4 ,here he remained many days1 dividing the spoils1 and celebrating his victory with feasts and games1 holding horse races1 and foot races for men and women4 ,he also struck medals in commemoration of the defeat of the ,florentines4 ,he endeavoured to corrupt some of the citizens of ,florence1 who were to open the city gates at night2 but the conspiracy was discovered1 and the participators in it taken and beheaded1 among whom were ,tommaso ,lupacci and ,lambertuccio ,frescobaldi4 ,this defeat caused the ,florentines great anxiety1 and despairing of preserving their liberty1 they sent envoys to ,king ,ruberto of ,naples1 offering him the dominion of their city2 and he1 knowing of what immense importance the maintenance of the ,guelph cause was to him1 accepted it4 ,he agreed with the ,florentines to receive from them a yearly tribute of two hundred thousand florins1 and he sent his son ,carlo to ,florence with four thousand horsemen4 ,shortly after this the ,florentines were relieved in some degree of the pressure of ,castruccio's army1 owing to his being compelled to leave his positions before ,florence and march on ,pisa1 in order to suppress a conspiracy that had been raised against him by ,benedetto ,lanfranchi1 one of the first men in ,pisa1 who could not endure that his fatherland should be under the dominion of the ,lucchese4 ,he had formed this conspiracy1 intending to seize the citadel1 kill the partisans of ,castruccio1 and drive out the garrison4 ,as1 however1 in a conspiracy paucity of numbers is essential to secrecy1 so for its execution a few are not sufficient1 and in seeking more adherents to his conspiracy ,lanfranchi encountered a person who revealed the design to ,castruccio4 ,this betrayal cannot be passed by without severe reproach to ,bonifacio ,cerchi and ,giovanni ,guidi1 two ,florentine exiles who were suffering their banishment in ,pisa4 ,thereupon ,castruccio seized ,benedetto and put him to death1 and beheaded many other noble citizens1 and drove their families into exile4 ,it now appeared to ,castruccio that both ,pisa and ,pistoia were thoroughly disaffected2 he employed much thought and energy upon securing his position there1 and this gave the ,florentines their opportunity to reorganize their army1 and to await the coming of ,carlo1 the son of the ,king of ,naples4 ,when ,carlo arrived they decided to lose no more time1 and assembled a great army of more than thirty thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry--having called to their aid every ,guelph there was in ,italy4 ,they consulted whether they should attack ,pistoia or ,pisa first1 and decided that it would be better to march on the latter--a course1 owing to the recent conspiracy1 more likely to succeed1 and of more advantage to them1 because they believed that the surrender of ,pistoia would follow the acquisition of ,pisa4 ,in the early part of ,may #acbh1 the ,florentines put in motion this army and quickly occupied ,lastra1 ,signa1 ,montelupo1 and ,empoli1 passing from thence on to ,san ,miniato4 ,when ,castruccio heard of the enormous army which the ,florentines were sending against him1 he was in no degree alarmed1 believing that the time had now arrived when ,fortune would deliver the empire of ,tuscany into his hands1 for he had no reason to think that his enemy would make a better fight1 or had better prospects of success1 than at ,pisa or ,serravalle4 ,he assembled twenty thousand foot soldiers and four thousand horsemen1 and with this army went to ,fucecchio1 whilst he sent ,pagolo ,guinigi to ,pisa with five thousand infantry4 ,fucecchio has a stronger position than any other town in the ,pisan district1 owing to its situation between the rivers ,arno and ,gusciana and its slight elevation above the surrounding plain4 ,moreover1 the enemy could not hinder its being victualled unless they divided their forces1 nor could they approach it either from the direction of ,lucca or ,pisa1 nor could they get through to ,pisa1 or attack ,castruccio's forces except at a disadvantage4 ,in one case they would find themselves placed between his two armies1 the one under his own command and the other under ,pagolo1 and in the other case they would have to cross the ,arno to get to close quarters with the enemy1 an undertaking of great hazard4 ,in order to tempt the ,florentines to take this latter course1 ,castruccio withdrew his men from the banks of the river and placed them under the walls of ,fucecchio1 leaving a wide expanse of land between them and the river4 ,the ,florentines1 having occupied ,san ,miniato1 held a council of war to decide whether they should attack ,pisa or the army of ,castruccio1 and1 having weighed the difficulties of both courses1 they decided upon the latter4 ,the river ,arno was at that time low enough to be fordable1 yet the water reached to the shoulders of the infantrymen and to the saddles of the horsemen4 ,on the morning of #aj ,june #acbh1 the ,florentines commenced the battle by ordering forward a number of cavalry and ten thousand infantry4 ,castruccio1 whose plan of action was fixed1 and who well knew what to do1 at once attacked the ,florentines with five thousand infantry and three thousand horsemen1 not allowing them to issue from the river before he charged them2 he also sent one thousand light infantry up the river bank1 and the same number down the ,arno4 ,the infantry of the ,florentines were so much impeded by their arms and the water that they were not able to mount the banks of the river1 whilst the cavalry had made the passage of the river more difficult for the others1 by reason of the few who had crossed having broken up the bed of the river1 and this being deep with mud1 many of the horses rolled over with their riders and many of them had stuck so fast that they could not move4 ,when the ,florentine captains saw the difficulties their men were meeting1 they withdrew them and moved higher up the river1 hoping to find the river bed less treacherous and the banks more adapted for landing4 ,these men were met at the bank by the forces which ,castruccio had already sent forward1 who1 being light armed with bucklers and javelins in their hands1 let fly with tremendous shouts into the faces and bodies of the cavalry4 ,the horses1 alarmed by the noise and the wounds1 would not move forward1 and trampled each other in great confusion4 ,the fight between the men of ,castruccio and those of the enemy who succeeded in crossing was sharp and terrible2 both sides fought with the utmost desperation and neither would yield4 ,the soldiers of ,castruccio fought to drive the others back into the river1 whilst the ,florentines strove to get a footing on land in order to make room for the others pressing forward1 who if they could but get out of the water would be able to fight1 and in this obstinate conflict they were urged on by their captains4 ,castruccio shouted to his men that these were the same enemies whom they had before conquered at ,serravalle1 whilst the ,florentines reproached each other that the many should be overcome by the few4 ,at length ,castruccio1 seeing how long the battle had lasted1 and that both his men and the enemy were utterly exhausted1 and that both sides had many killed and wounded1 pushed forward another body of infantry to take up a position at the rear of those who were fighting2 he then commanded these latter to open their ranks as if they intended to retreat1 and one part of them to turn to the right and another to the left4 ,this cleared a space of which the ,florentines at once took advantage1 and thus gained possession of a portion of the battlefield4 ,but when these tired soldiers found themselves at close quarters with ,castruccio's reserves they could not stand against them and at once fell back into the river4 ,the cavalry of either side had not as yet gained any decisive advantage over the other1 because ,castruccio1 knowing his inferiority in this arm1 had commanded his leaders only to stand on the defensive against the attacks of their adversaries1 as he hoped that when he had overcome the infantry he would be able to make short work of the cavalry4 ,this fell out as he had hoped1 for when he saw the ,florentine army driven back across the river he ordered the remainder of his infantry to attack the cavalry of the enemy4 ,this they did with lance and javelin1 and1 joined by their own cavalry1 fell upon the enemy with the greatest fury and soon put him to flight4 ,the ,florentine captains1 having seen the difficulty their cavalry had met with in crossing the river1 had attempted to make their infantry cross lower down the river1 in order to attack the flanks of ,castruccio's army4 ,but here1 also1 the banks were steep and already lined by the men of ,castruccio1 and this movement was quite useless4 ,thus the ,florentines were so completely defeated at all points that scarcely a third of them escaped1 and ,castruccio was again covered with glory4 ,many captains were taken prisoners1 and ,carlo1 the son of ,king ,ruberto1 with ,michelagnolo ,falconi and ,taddeo degli ,albizzi1 the ,florentine commissioners1 fled to ,empoli4 ,if the spoils were great1 the slaughter was infinitely greater1 as might be expected in such a battle4 ,of the ,florentines there fell twenty thousand two hundred and thirty-one men1 whilst ,castruccio lost one thousand five hundred and seventy men4 ,but ,fortune growing envious of the glory of ,castruccio took away his life just at the time when she should have preserved it1 and thus ruined all those plans which for so long a time he had worked to carry into effect1 and in the successful prosecution of which nothing but death could have stopped him4 ,castruccio was in the thick of the battle the whole of the day2 and when the end of it came1 although fatigued and overheated1 he stood at the gate of ,fucecchio to welcome his men on their return from victory and personally thank them4 ,he was also on the watch for any attempt of the enemy to retrieve the fortunes of the day2 he being of the opinion that it was the duty of a good general to be the first man in the saddle and the last out of it4 ,here ,castruccio stood exposed to a wind which often rises at midday on the banks of the ,arno1 and which is often very unhealthy2 from this he took a chill1 of which he thought nothing1 as he was accustomed to such troubles2 but it was the cause of his death4 ,on the following night he was attacked with high fever1 which increased so rapidly that the doctors saw it must prove fatal4 ,castruccio1 therefore1 called ,pagolo ,guinigi to him1 and addressed him as follows3 8,if ,i could have believed that ,fortune would have cut me off in the midst of the career which was leading to that glory which all my successes promised1 ,i should have laboured less1 and ,i should have left thee1 if a smaller state1 at least with fewer enemies and perils1 because ,i should have been content with the governorships of ,lucca and ,pisa4 ,i should neither have subjugated the ,pistoians1 nor outraged the ,florentines with so many injuries4 ,but ,i would have made both these peoples my friends1 and ,i should have lived1 if no longer1 at least more peacefully1 and have left you a state without a doubt smaller1 but one more secure and established on a surer foundation4 ,but ,fortune1 who insists upon having the arbitrament of human affairs1 did not endow me with sufficient judgment to recognize this from the first1 nor the time to surmount it4 ,thou hast heard1 for many have told thee1 and ,i have never concealed it1 how ,i entered the house of thy father whilst yet a boy--a stranger to all those ambitions which every generous soul should feel--and how ,i was brought up by him1 and loved as though ,i had been born of his blood2 how under his governance ,i learned to be valiant and capable of availing myself of all that fortune1 of which thou hast been witness4 ,when thy good father came to die1 he committed thee and all his possessions to my care1 and ,i have brought thee up with that love1 and increased thy estate with that care1 which ,i was bound to show4 ,and in order that thou shouldst not only possess the estate which thy father left1 but also that which my fortune and abilities have gained1 ,i have never married1 so that the love of children should never deflect my mind from that gratitude which ,i owed to the children of thy father4 ,thus ,i leave thee a vast estate1 of which ,i am well content1 but ,i am deeply concerned1 inasmuch as ,i leave it thee unsettled and insecure4 ,thou hast the city of ,lucca on thy hands1 which will never rest contented under thy government4 ,thou hast also ,pisa1 where the men are of nature changeable and unreliable1 who1 although they may be sometimes held in subjection1 yet they will ever disdain to serve under a ,lucchese4 ,pistoia is also disloyal to thee1 she being eaten up with factions and deeply incensed against thy family by reason of the wrongs recently inflicted upon them4 ,thou hast for neighbours the offended ,florentines1 injured by us in a thousand ways1 but not utterly destroyed1 who will hail the news of my death with more delight than they would the acquisition of all ,tuscany4 ,in the ,emperor and in the princes of ,milan thou canst place no reliance1 for they are far distant1 slow1 and their help is very long in coming4 ,therefore1 thou hast no hope in anything but in thine own abilities1 and in the memory of my valour1 and in the prestige which this latest victory has brought thee2 which1 as thou knowest how to use it with prudence1 will assist thee to come to terms with the ,florentines1 who1 as they are suffering under this great defeat1 should be inclined to listen to thee4 ,and whereas ,i have sought to make them my enemies1 because ,i believed that war with them would conduce to my power and glory1 thou hast every inducement to make friends of them1 because their alliance will bring thee advantages and security4 ,it is of the greatest important in this world that a man should know himself1 and the measure of his own strength and means2 and he who knows that he has not a genius for fighting must learn how to govern by the arts of peace4 ,and it will be well for thee to rule thy conduct by my counsel1 and to learn in this way to enjoy what my life-work and dangers have gained2 and in this thou wilt easily succeed when thou hast learnt to believe that what ,i have told thee is true4 ,and thou wilt be doubly indebted to me1 in that ,i have left thee this realm and have taught thee how to keep it40 ,after this there came to ,castruccio those citizens of ,pisa1 ,pistoia1 and ,lucca1 who had been fighting at his side1 and whilst recommending ,pagolo to them1 and making them swear obedience to him as his successor1 he died4 ,he left a happy memory to those who had known him1 and no prince of those times was ever loved with such devotion as he was4 ,his obsequies were celebrated with every sign of mourning1 and he was buried in ,san ,francesco at ,lucca4 ,fortune was not so friendly to ,pagolo ,guinigi as she had been to ,castruccio1 for he had not the abilities4 ,not long after the death of ,castruccio1 ,pagolo lost ,pisa1 and then ,pistoia1 and only with difficulty held on to ,lucca4 ,this latter city continued in the family of ,guinigi until the time of the great-grandson of ,pagolo4 ,from what has been related here it will be seen that ,castruccio was a man of exceptional abilities1 not only measured by men of his own time1 but also by those of an earlier date4 ,in stature he was above the ordinary height1 and perfectly proportioned4 ,he was of a gracious presence1 and he welcomed men with such urbanity that those who spoke with him rarely left him displeased4 ,his hair was inclined to be red1 and he wore it cut short above the ears1 and1 whether it rained or snowed1 he always went without a hat4 ,he was delightful among friends1 but terrible to his enemies2 just to his subjects2 ready to play false with the unfaithful1 and willing to overcome by fraud those whom he desired to subdue1 because he was wont to say that it was the victory that brought the glory1 not the methods of achieving it4 ,no one was bolder in facing danger1 none more prudent in extricating himself4 ,he was accustomed to say that men ought to attempt everything and fear nothing2 that ,god is a lover of strong men1 because one always sees that the weak are chastised by the strong4 ,he was also wonderfully sharp or biting though courteous in his answers2 and as he did not look for any indulgence in this way of speaking from others1 so he was not angered with others did not show it to him4 ,it has often happened that he has listened quietly when others have spoken sharply to him1 as on the following occasions4 ,he had caused a ducat to be given for a partridge1 and was taken to task for doing so by a friend1 to whom ,castruccio had said3 8,you would not have given more than a penny40 8,that is true10 answered the friend4 ,then said ,castruccio to him3 8,a ducat is much less to me40 ,having about him a flatterer on whom he had spat to show that he scorned him1 the flatterer said to him3 8,fisherman are willing to let the waters of the sea saturate them in order that they may take a few little fishes1 and ,i allow myself to be wetted by spittle that ,i may catch a whale02 and this was not only heard by ,castruccio with patience but rewarded4 ,when told by a priest that it was wicked for him to live so sumptuously1 ,castruccio said3 8,if that be a vice then you should not fare so splendidly at the feasts of our saints40 ,passing through a street he saw a young man as he came out of a house of ill fame blush at being seen by ,castruccio1 and said to him3 8,thou shouldst not be ashamed when thou comest out1 but when thou goest into such places40 ,a friend gave him a very curiously tied knot to undo and was told3 8,fool1 do you think that ,i wish to untie a thing which gave so much trouble to fasten40 ,castruccio said to one who professed to be a philosopher3 8,you are like the dogs who always run after those who will give them the best to eat10 and was answered3 8,we are rather like the doctors who go to the houses of those who have the greatest need of them40 ,going by water from ,pisa to ,leghorn1 ,castruccio was much disturbed by a dangerous storm that sprang up1 and was reproached for cowardice by one of those with him1 who said that he did not fear anything4 ,castruccio answered that he did not wonder at that1 since every man valued his soul for what is was worth4 ,being asked by one what he ought to do to gain estimation1 he said3 8,when thou goest to a banquet take care that thou dost not seat one piece of wood upon another40 ,to a person who was boasting that he had read many things1 ,castruccio said3 8,he knows better than to boast of remembering many things40 ,someone bragged that he could drink much without becoming intoxicated4 ,castruccio replied3 8,an ox does the same40 ,castruccio was acquainted with a girl with whom he had intimate relations1 and being blamed by a friend who told him that it was undignified for him to be taken in by a woman1 he said3 8,she has not taken me in1 ,i have taken her40 ,being also blamed for eating very dainty foods1 he answered3 8,thou dost not spend as much as ,i do80 and being told that it was true1 he continued3 8,then thou art more avaricious than ,i am gluttonous40 ,being invited by ,taddeo ,bernardi1 a very rich and splendid citizen of ,luca1 to supper1 he went to the house and was shown by ,taddeo into a chamber hung with silk and paved with fine stones representing flowers and foliage of the most beautiful colouring4 ,castruccio gathered some saliva in his mouth and spat it out upon ,taddeo1 and seeing him much disturbed by this1 said to him3 8,i knew not where to spit in order to offend thee less40 ,being asked how ,caesar died he said3 8,god willing ,i will die as he did40 ,being one night in the house of one of his gentlemen where many ladies were assembled1 he was reproved by one of his friends for dancing and amusing himself with them more than was usual in one of his station1 so he said3 8,he who is considered wise by day will not be considered a fool at night40 ,a person came to demand a favour of ,castruccio1 and thinking he was not listening to his plea threw himself on his knees to the ground1 and being sharply reproved by ,castruccio1 said3 8,thou art the reason of my acting thus for thou hast thy ears in thy feet10 whereupon he obtained double the favour he had asked4 ,castruccio used to say that the way to hell was an easy one1 seeing that it was in a downward direction and you travelled blindfolded4 ,being asked a favour by one who used many superfluous words1 he said to him3 8,when you have another request to make1 send someone else to make it40 ,having been wearied by a similar man with a long oration who wound up by saying3 8,perhaps ,i have fatigued you by speaking so long10 ,castruccio said3 8,you have not1 because ,i have not listened to a word you said40 ,he used to say of one who had been a beautiful child and who afterwards became a fine man1 that he was dangerous1 because he first took the husbands from the wives and now he took the wives from their husbands4 ,to an envious man who laughed1 he said3 8,do you laugh because you are successful or because another is unfortunate80 ,whilst he was still in the charge of ,messer ,francesco ,guinigi1 one of his companions said to him3 8,what shall ,i give you if you will let me give you a blow on the nose80 ,castruccio answered3 8,a helmet40 ,having put to death a citizen of ,lucca who had been instrumental in raising him to power1 and being told that he had done wrong to kill one of his old friends1 he answered that people deceived themselves2 he had only killed a new enemy4 ,castruccio praised greatly those men who intended to take a wife and then did not do so1 saying that they were like men who said they would go to sea1 and then refused when the time came4 ,he said that it always struck him with surprise that whilst men in buying an earthen or glass vase would sound it first to learn if it were good1 yet in choosing a wife they were content with only looking at her4 ,he was once asked in what manner he would wish to be buried when he died1 and answered3 8,with the face turned downwards1 for ,i know when ,i am gone this country will be turned upside down40 ,on being asked if it had ever occurred to him to become a friar in order to save his soul1 he answered that it had not1 because it appeared strange to him that ,fra ,lazerone should go to ,paradise and ,uguccione della ,faggiuola to the ,inferno4 ,he was once asked when should a man eat to preserve his health1 and replied3 8,if the man be rich let him eat when he is hungry2 if he be poor1 then when he can40 ,seeing one of his gentlemen make a member of his family lace him up1 he said to him3 8,i pray ,god that you will let him feed you also40 ,seeing that someone had written upon his house in ,latin the words3 8,may ,god preserve this house from the wicked10 he said1 8,the owner must never go in40 ,passing through one of the streets he saw a small house with a very large door1 and remarked3 8,that house will fly through the door40 ,he was having a discussion with the ambassador of the ,king of ,naples concerning the property of some banished nobles1 when a dispute arose between them1 and the ambassador asked him if he had no fear of the king4 8,is this king of yours a bad man or a good one80 asked ,castruccio1 and was told that he was a good one1 whereupon he said1 8,why should you suggest that ,i should be afraid of a good man80 ,i could recount many other stories of his sayings both witty and weighty1 but ,i think that the above will be sufficient testimony to his high qualities4 ,he lived forty-four years1 and was in every way a prince4 ,and as he was surrounded by many evidences of his good fortune1 so he also desired to have near him some memorials of his bad fortune2 therefore the manacles with which he was chained in prison are to be seen to this day fixed up in the tower of his residence1 where they were placed by him to testify forever to his days of adversity4 ,as in his life he was inferior neither to ,philip of ,macedon1 the father of ,alexander1 nor to ,scipio of ,rome1 so he died in the same year of his age as they did1 and he would doubtless have excelled both of them had ,fortune decreed that he should be born1 not in ,lucca1 but in ,macedonia or ,rome4