The Prince (Niccolò Machiavelli) | Full Audiobook [Deluxe Edition] - The Prince [Deluxe Edition]

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Pigeon Publishing House presents The Prince author Niccolo Machiavelli. Preface.
First written in fifteen thirteen and published posthumously in fifteen
thirty two, The Prince remains one of the most influential

(00:21):
and controversial works ever written on power, politics, and human nature.
In this groundbreaking treatise, Niccolo Machiavelli sought to reveal the
inner workings of leadership, not as it should be, but
as it truly is. With unflinching realism, Machiavelli explored the

(00:42):
dynamics of authority, strategy, and survival in a world ruled
by ambition and uncertainty. His insights into human behavior, often
unsettling in their honesty, continue to resonate in the realms
of politics, business, and personal leadership. Though often misunderstood as

(01:02):
a manual for tyranny, The Prince is at its heart
a study of wisdom, adaptability, and the art of navigating
complex realities. Its lessons challenge readers to confront uncomfortable truths
that success often requires clarity of vision, courage and decision,
and mastery over both one's own impulses and the forces

(01:24):
of circumstance. More than five centuries later. The Prince stands
as a mirror to power itself, its brilliance, its danger,
and its enduring allure. Introduction. Nicolo Machiavelli was born at
Florence on May third, fourteen sixty nine. He was the

(01:46):
second son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli, a lawyer of
some repute, and of Bartolamia di Stefanonelli, his wife. Both
parents were members of the old Florentine nobility. His life
falls naturally into three periods, each of which singularly enough
constitutes a distinct and important era in the history of Florence.

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His youth was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as
an Italian power under the guidance of Lorenzo de Medici
Illinois Magnifico. The downfall of the Medici in Florence occurred
in fourteen ninety four, in which year Machiavelli entered the
public service. During his official career, Florence was free under

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the government of a republic, which lasted until fifteen twelve,
when the Medici returned to power and Machiavelli lost his office.
The Medici again ruled Florence from fifteen twelve until fifteen
twenty seven, when they were once more driven out. This
was the period of Machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence,

(02:57):
but he died within a few weeks of the expulsion
of the Medici, on June twenty second, fifteen twenty seven,
in his fifty eighth year, without having regained office. Youth
eighty one to twenty five fourteen sixty nine to ninety four.
Although there is little recorded of the youth of Machiavelli,

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the Florence of those days is so well known that
the early environment of this representative citizen may be easily imagined.
Florence has been described as a city with two opposite
currents of life, one directed by the fervent and austere Savonarola,
the other by the splendor loving Lorenzo Savonarola's influence upon

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the young Machiavelli must have been slight, for although at
one time he wielded immense power over the fortunes of Florence,
he only furnished Machiavelli with a subject of a gibe
in the Prince, where he is cited as an example
of an unarmed prophet who came to a bad end,
Whereas the magnificence of the Medija she and rule during

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the life of Lorenzo appeared to have impressed Machiavelli strongly,
for he frequently recurs to it in his writings, and
it is to Lorenzo's grandson that he dedicates the Prince. Machiavelli,
in his History of Florence, gives us a picture of
the young men among whom his youth was past. He writes,

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they were freer than their forefathers in dress and living,
and spent more in other kinds of excesses, consuming their
time and money in idolests, gaming, and women. Their chief
aim was to appear well dressed and to speak with
wit and acuteness, whilst he who could wound others the
most cleverly was thought the wisest. In a letter to

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his son Guido, Machiavelli shows why youth should avail itself
of its opportunities for study, and leads us to infer
that his own youth had been so occupied. He writes,
I have received your letter, which has given me the
greatest pleasure, especially because you tell me you are quite
restored in health than which I could have no better news.

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For if God grant life to you and to me,
I hope to make a good man of you. If
you are willing to do your share, then, writing of
a new patron, he continues, this will turn out well
for you. But it is necessary for you to study,
since then you have no longer the excuse of illness.
Take pains to study letters and music. For you see

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what honor is done to me for the little skill
I have. Therefore, my son, if you wish to please
me and to bring success in honor to yourself, do
write and study, because others will help you if you
help yourself. Office eighty twenty five to forty three fourteen
ninety four to fifteen twelve. The second period of Machiavelli's

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life was spent in the service of the Free Republic
of Florence, which flourished, as stated above, from the expulsion
of the Medici in fourteen ninety four until their return
in fifteen twelve. After serving four years in one of
the public offices, he was appointed Chancellor and Secretary to
the Second Chancery the ten of Liberty and Peace. Here

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we are on firm ground when dealing with the events
of Machiavelli's life, for during this time he took a
leading part in the affairs of the Republic, and we
have its decrees, records, and dispatches to guide us, as
well as his own writings. A mere recapitulation of a
few of his transactions with the statesmen and soldiers of

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his time gives a fair indication of his activities and
supplies the sources from which he drew the experiences in
characters which illustrate the prince. His first mission was in
fourteen ninety nine to catharinas Forza, my Lady of Foli,
of the Prince, from whose conduct and fate he drew
the moral that it is far better to ruin the

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confidence of the people than to rely on fortresses. This
is a very noticeable principle in Machiavelli, and is urged
by him in many ways as a matter of vital
importance to princes. In fifteen hundred he was sent to
France to obtain terms from Louis the twelfth for continuing
the war against Pisa. This king, it was who, in

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his conduct of affairs in Italy, committed the five capital
errors in state craft, summarized in the Prince, and was
consequently driven out. He also it was who made the
dissolution of his marriage a condition of support to Pope
Alexander the sixth, which leads Machiavelli to refer those who
urged that such promises should be kept to what he

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has written concerning the faith of princes. Machiavelli's public life
was largely occupied with events arising out of the ambitions
of Pope Alexander the sixth and his son chesare Borgia,
the Duke Valentino, and these characters fill a large space
of the Prince maki 'iaevelli never hesitates to cite the

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actions of the Duke for the benefit of usurpers who
wish to keep the states they have seized. He can,
indeed find no precepts to offer so good as the
pattern of chasaree Borga's conduct. Insomuch, the Chaserray is acclaimed
by some critics as the hero of the Prince, Yet
in the Prince the Duke is, in point of fact,
cited as a type of the man who rises on

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the fortune of others and falls with them, who takes
every course that might be expected from a prudent man,
but the course which will save him, who is prepared
for all eventualities, but the one which happens, and who,
when all his abilities fail to carry him through, exclaims
that it was not his fault, but an extraordinary and
unforeseen fatality. On the death of Pius I in fifteen

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o three, Machiavelli was sent to Rome to watch the
election of his successor, and there he saw chasarey Borja
cheated into allowing the choice of the college to fall
on juliaeodel Rovie. Julius too, who was one of the
cardinals that had most reason to fear the Duke. Machiavelli,
when commenting on this election, says that he who thinks

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new favors will cause great personages to forget old injuries,
deceives himself. Julius did not rest until he had ruined
chase array. It was to Julius too that Machiavelli was
sent in fifteen o six, when that pontiff was commencing
his enterprise against Bologna, which he brought to a successful issue,

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as he did many of his other adventures, owing chiefly
to his impetuous character. It is in reference to Pope
Julius that Machiavelli moralizes on the resemblance between fortune and women,
and concludes that it is the bold, rather than the cautious, man,
that will win and hold them both. It is impossible

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to follow here the varying fortunes of the Italian states,
which in fifteen o seven were controlled by France, Spain
and Germany, with results that have lasted to our day.
We are concerned with those events and with the three
great actors in them, so far only as they impinge
on the personality of Machiavelli. He had several meetings with

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Louis the twelfth of France, and his estimate of that
monarch's character has already been alluded to. Machiavelli has painted
Ferdinand of Aragon as the man who accomplished great things
under the cloak of religion, but who in reality had
no mercy, faith, humanity or integrity, and who, had he
allowed himself to be influenced by such motives, would have

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been ruined. The Emperor Maximilian was one of the most
interesting men of the age, and his character has been
drawn by many hands. But Machiavelli, who was an envoy
at his court, in one thousand, five hundred seven to
eight reveals the secret of his many failures when he
describes him as a secret of man without force of character,

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ignoring the human agencies necessary to carry his schemes into effect,
and never insisting on the fulfillment of his wishes. The
remaining years of Machiavelli's official career were filled with events
arising out of the League of Cambrai, made in fifteen
o eight between the three great European powers already mentioned

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in the Pope, with the object of crushing the Venetian Republic.
This result was attained in the Battle of Vila, when
Venice lost in one day all that she had won
in eight hundred years. Florence had a difficult part to
play during these events, complicated as they were by the
feud which broke out between the Pope and the French,

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because friendship with France had dictated the entire policy of
the Republic. When in fifteen eleven Julius too finally formed
the Holy League against France and with the assistance of
the Swiss, drove the French out of Italy, Florence lay
at the mercy of the Pope and had to submit
to his terms, one of which was that the Medici

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should be restored. The return of the Medici to Florence
on September one, fifteen twelve, and the consequent fall of
the Republic was the signal for the dismissal of Machiavelli
and his friends, and thus put an end to his
public career, for as we have seen, he died without
regaining office literature in death eighty forty three to fifty eight,

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fifteen twelve to twenty seven. On the return of the Medici, Machiavelli,
who for a few weeks had vainly helped to retain
his office under the new masters of Florence, was dismissed
by decre dated November seventh, fifteen twelve. Shortly after this,
he was accused of complicity in an abortive conspiracy against

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the Medici, imprisoned and put to the question by torture.
The new Medici in Pope Leo the tenth, procured his release,
and he retired to his small property at San Casciano,
near Florence, where he devoted himself to literature. In a
letter to Francesco vet Tore dated December thirteenth, fifteen thirteen.

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He has left a very interesting description of his life
at this period which elucidates his methods and his motives
in writing The Prince. After describing his daily occupations with
his family and neighbors, he writes, the evening being come,
I return home and go to my study. At the entrance,
I pull off my peasant clothes covered with dust and dirt,

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and put on my noble court dress, And thus becomingly reclothed,
I pass into the ancient courts of the men of old, where,
being lovingly received by them, I am fed with that
food which is mine alone. Or I do not hesitate
to speak with them and to ask for the reason
of their actions, And they, in their benignity answer me,

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And for four hours I feel no weariness. I forget
every trouble. Poverty does not, dismay does not terrify me.
I am possessed entirely by those great men. And because
Dante says, knowledge doth come of learning well retained unfruitful. Else,
I have noted down what I have gained from their conversation,

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and have composed a small work on principalities, where I
pour myself out as fully as I can in meditation
on the subject, discussing what a principality is, what kinds
there are, how they can be acquired, how they can
be kept, why they are lost? And if any of
my fancies ever pleased you, This ought not to displease you,
And to a prince, especially to a new one, it

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should be welcome. Therefore I dedicate it to his magnificence,
Giuliano Filippo Casavecchio has seen it. He will be able
to tell you what is in it, and of the
discourses I have had with him. Nevertheless, I am still
enriching and polishing it. The Little Books suffered many vicissudes

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before attaining the form in which it has reached us.
Various mental influences were at work during its composition. Its
title and patron were changed, and for some unknown reason,
it was finally dedicated to Lorenzo de Menici. Although Machiavelli
discussed with Casavecchia whether it should be sent or presented

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in person to the patron, there is no evidence that
Lorenzo ever received or even read it. He certainly never
gave Machiavelli any employment. Although it was plagiarized during Machiavelli's lifetime.
The Prince was never published by him, and its text
is still disputable. Machiavelli concludes his letter to Vettori, thus,

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and as to this little thing his book, 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 idled, and men ought ever
to desire to be served by one who has reaped
experience at the expense of others, And of my loyalty
none could doubt, because having always kept faith, I could

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not now learn how to break it. For he who
has been faithful and honest as I have, cannot change
his nature. And my poverty is a witness to my honesty.
Before Machiavelli had got the Prince off his hands, he
commenced his discourse on the First Decade of Titus Leviews,
which should be read concurrently with the Prince. These, in

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several minor works occupied him until the year fifteen eighteen,
when he accepted a small commission to look after the
affairs of some Florentine merchants at Genoa. In fifteen nineteen,
the Medician rulers of Florence granted a few political concessions
to her citizens, and Machiavelli, with others, was consulted upon

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a new constitution under which the Great Council was to
be restored, but on one pretext or another, it was
not promulgated. In fifteen twenty the Florentine merchants again had
recourse to Machiavelli to settle their difficulties with Luca, But
this year was chiefly remarkable for his re entry into
Florentine literary society, where he was much sought after, and

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also for the production of his Art of War. It
was in the same year that he received a commission
at the instance of Cardinal de Medici, to write the
History of Florence, a task which occupied him until fifteen
twenty five. His return to popular favor may have determined
the Medici to give him this employment, for an old

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writer observes that an able statesman out of work, like
a huge whale, will endeavor to overturn the ship unless
he has an empty cask to play with. When the
History of Florence was finished, Machiavelli took it to Rome
for presentation to his patron, Giuliano de Medici, who had
in the meanwhile become Pope under the title of Clement

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the seventh. It is somewhat remarkable that, as in fifteen thirteen,
Machiavelli had written the Prince for the instruction of the
Medici after they had just regained power in Florence. So
in fifteen twenty five he dedicated the history of Florence
to the head of the family, when its ruin was
now at hand. In that year, the Battle of Pavia

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destroyed the French rule in Italy and left Francis Ayah
prisoner in the hands of his great rival, Charles the fifth.
This was followed by the Sack of Rome, upon the
news of which the popular party at Florence threw off
the yoke of the Medici, who were once more banished.
Machiavelli was absent from Florence at this time, but hastened

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his return, hoping to secure his former office of Secretary
to the ten of Liberty in peace. Unhappily, he was
taken ill soon after he reached Florence, where he died
on June twenty second, fifteen twenty seven. The man and
his works. No one can say where the bones of

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Machiavelli rest, but modern Florence has decreed him a stately
cenotaph in Santa Croce by the side of her most
famous sons, recognizing that whatever other nations may have found
in his works, Italy found in them the idea of
her unity in the germs of her renaissance among the
nations of Europe. Whilst it is idle to protest against

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the worldwide and evil signification of his name, it may
be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine
which the sinister reputation implies, was unknown to his own day,
and that the researches of recent times have enabled us
to interpret him more reasonably. It is due to these
inquiries that the shape of an unholy necromancer, which so

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long haunted men's vision, has begun to fade. Machiavelli was
undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry, noting
with appreciative by whatever passed before, and with his supreme
literary gift, turning it to account in his enforced retirement
from affairs. He does not present himself, nor is he

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depicted by his contemporaries as a type of that rare
combination the successful statesman and author, for he appears to
have been only moderately prosperous in his several embassies and
political employments. He was misled by Catharina Sforza, ignored by
Louis the Twelfth, overaught by chasare Borgia. Several of his

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embassies were quite barren of results. His attempts to fortify
Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised astonished everybody
by their cowardice. In the conduct of his own affairs,
he was timid and time serving. He dared not appear
by the side of Soderini, to whom he owed so much,
for fear of compromising himself. His connection with the Medici

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was open to suspicion, and Giuliano appears to have recognized
his real forte when he set him to write the
history of Florence rather than employ him in the state.
And it is on the literary side of his character,
and there alone, that we find no weakness and no failure.
Although the light of almost four centuries has been focused

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on the prince, its problems are still debatable and interesting
because they are the eternal problems between the ruled and
their rulers, such as they are. Its ethics are those
of Machiavelli's contemporaries. Yet they cannot be said to be
out of dates. So long as the governments of Europe
rely on material rather than on moral forces. Its historical

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incidents and personages become interesting by reason of the uses
which Machiavelli makes of them to illustrate his theories of
government and conduct. Leaving out of consideration those maxims of
state which still furnish some European and Eastern statesmen with
principles of action, the prince is bestrewn with truths that

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can be proved at every turn. Men are still the
dupes of their simplicity in greed, as they were in
the days of Alexander six. The cloak of religion still
conceals the vices which Machiavelli laid bare in the character
of Ferdinand of Aragon. Men will not look at things

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as they really are, but as they wish them to be,
and are ruined in politics. There are no perfectly safe courses.
Prudence consists in choosing the least dangerous ones, then to
pass to a higher plane. Machiavelli reiterates that although crimes
may win an empire, they do not win glory. Necessary

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wars are just wars, and the arms of a nation
are hallowed when it has no other resource but to fight.
It is the cry of a far later day than
Machiavelli's that government should be elevated into a living moral force,
capable of inspiring caring the people with a just recognition
of the fundamental principles of society. To this high argument,

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the Prince contributes but little. Machiavelli always refused to write
either of men or of governments otherwise than as he
found them, And he writes with such skill and insight
that his work is of abiding value. But what invests
the Prince with more than a merely artistic or historical
interest is the incontrovertible truth that it deals with the

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great principles which still guide nations and rulers in their
relationship with each other and their neighbors. In translating the Prince,
Miam has been to achieve, at all costs, an exact
literal rendering of the original, rather than a fluent paraphrase
adapted to the modern notions of style and expression. Machiavelli

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was no facial Phrasemonger, the conditions under which he wrote
obliged him to weigh every word. His themes were lofty,
his substance grave, his manner nobly plain, innis serious in
the prince, it may be truly said, there is reason
assignable not only for every word, but for the position
of every word. To an Englishman of Shakespeare's time, the

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translation of such a treatise was in some ways a
comparatively easy task, for in those times the genius of
the English more nearly resembled that of the Italian language.
To the Englishman of today, it is not so simple.
To take a single example, The word entritenor employed by
Machiavelli to indicate the policy adopted by the Roman Senate

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towards the weaker states of Greece, would by an Elizabethan
be correctly rendered entertained, and every contemporary reader would understand
what was meant by saying that Rome entertained the Aetolians
and the Achaeans without augmenting their power. But today such
a phrase would seem obsolete and ambiguous, if not unmeaning.

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We are compelled to say that Rome maintained friendly relations
with the Etoians, et cetera, using four words to do
the work of one. I have tried to preserve the
pithy brevity of the Italians, so far as was consistent
with an absolute fidelity to the sense. If the result
be an occasional asperity, I can only hope that the reader,

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in his eagerness to reach the author's meaning, may overlook
the roughness of the road that leads into it. The
following is a list of the works of Machiavelli. Principal works.

Speaker 2 (25:33):
Discorso sopra le cosa di pisa, mile qua trceento del
modo di tratari popoi de la valdi rebellati, mile chin cuacento,
due del modo, tuto del duca, Valentino della mazzare, vitellozzo Vitelli,
o riveroto da fermo ecera mile chin cucento, due discorso

(25:56):
sopra la provincion del danaro mile cinquaceno, due the cennale
primo poem in terza rima milechin cucento, sai retrati de
le cozza de la le magna, uno chinku zerotto tratino
do dici de cennale secondo milechin cuacento nove Retrati de

(26:16):
le coosa di Francia Milechin cuncento Diecchi Discursi sopra la
prima dica di.

Speaker 1 (26:23):
T Livio, three volumes, fifteen twelve to seventeen. El Principal
fifteen thirteen, Andrea Comedy translated from Terence fifteen thirteen, Mandregola
Pros Comedy in five acts with prologue in verse, fifteen thirteen,
Delo Lingua Dialogue fifteen fourteen, Clesia Comedy in pros fifteen fifteen.

Speaker 2 (26:48):
Belfa Garci Diavoo Novela Milechin cuacento quin dici asinodoro poem
in terza Rima Milechin cuacento di casette de la de
la guera, Uno cinque uno nove tratino venti discorso so.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Preleri for mari los tato di.

Speaker 2 (27:07):
Ferentze Mileching cucento venti so Mario de le coza de
la chita di Lucca Millleachin cuacento venti Vita di Castruccio
Castra Canida Luca Mileachin cucento venti Estorie Fiorentine auto books,
Uno chinque due uno tratino cinque framenti Storici, Milechin Cuacento, Vientichinque.

Speaker 1 (27:33):
Other poems include Ceneri, Canzoni Arawa and Cantai Carnacioleski Editions
although Venice, fifteen forty six, Della Thirtina fifteen fifty, Cambiagi Florence,
six volumes, one thousand, seven hundred eighty two to five.
Des Classici milan ten eighteen thirteen, Silvestri nine volumes, eighteen

(27:58):
twenty two, Passerunning fan Fanning Milanesi, six volumes only published
eighteen seventy three to seven. Minor works ed baff l.

Speaker 2 (28:12):
Polidori, Mileo Tocento, Cinquanta due lettere Familiari ed.

Speaker 1 (28:19):
Edel Weisi eighteen eighty three, two editions, one with excisions
credited writings. Edition G. Canestrini, eighteen fifty seven. Letters to f.

Speaker 2 (28:29):
Vettore Cia, Ridolfi, pincierin Torno, los Copo Dienne Machiavelli Ne
libre principe eccetera.

Speaker 1 (28:41):
Di Ferrara, The Private Correspondence of Niccolo Macchiavelli, nineteen twenty nine.
Dedication to the magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de Medici. Those
who Strive to obtain the good graces of a prince,
are accustomed to before him with such things as they

(29:01):
hold most precious or in which they see him take
most delight. Whence one often sees horses, arms, cloth of gold,
precious stones, and similar ornaments presented to princes worthy of
their greatness. Desiring therefore to present myself to your magnificence
with some testimony of my devotion towards you, I have

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not found among my possessions anything which I hold more
dear than or value so much as the knowledge of
the actions of great men, acquired by long experience in
contemporary affairs, and a continual study of antiquity, which, having
reflected upon it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send,
digested into a little volume, to your magnificence. And although

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I may consider this work unworthy of your countenance, nevertheless
I trust much to your benignity that it may be acceptable,
seeing that it is not possible for me to make
a better gift than to offer you the opportunity unity
of understanding in the shortest time, all that I have
learnt in so many years, and with so many troubles
and dangers, which work I have not embellished with swelling

(30:09):
or magnificent words, nor stuffed with rounded periods, nor with
any extrinsic allurements or adornments whatever with which so many
are accustomed to embellish their works. For I have wished
either that no honor should be given it, or else
that the truth of the matter and the weightiness of
the theme shall make it acceptable. Nor do I hold

(30:32):
with those who regard it as a presumption if a
man of low and humble condition dare to discuss and
settle the concerns of princes. Because just as those who
draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate
the nature of the mountains and of lofty places, and
in order to contemplate the plains place themselves upon high mountains,
even so to understand the nature of the people, it

(30:55):
needs to be a prince, and to understand that of princes,
it needs to be of the people. Take, then, your magnificence,
this little gift in the spirit in which I send it,
wherein if it be diligently read and considered by you,
you will learn my extreme desire that you should attain
that greatness which fortune and your other attributes promise, and

(31:19):
if your magnificence, from the summit of your greatness will
sometimes turn your eyes to these lower regions, you will
see how unmeritedly I suffer a great and continued malignity
of fortune the prince. Chapter one, How many kinds of

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principalities there are, and by what means they are acquired?
All states, all powers that have held and hold rule
over men, have been and are either republics or principalities.
Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been
long established, or they are new. The new are either

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entirely new, as was Milan to Francesco's Forza, or they are,
as it were, members annexed to the hereditary state of
the prince who has acquired them, as was the Kingdom
of Naples to that of the King of Spain. Such dominions,
thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince
or to live in freedom, and are acquired either by

(32:24):
the arms of the prince himself or of others, or
else by fortune or by ability. Chapter two. Concerning hereditary principalities,
I will leave out all discussion on republics, inasmuch as
in another place I have written of them at length,

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and will address myself only to principalities. In doing so,
I will keep to the order indicated above, and discuss
how such principalities are to be ruled and preserved. I
say at once there are fewer difficulties in holding hereditary states,
and those long accustomed to the family of their prince

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the new ones. For it is sufficient only not to
transgress the customs of his ancestors, and to deal prudently
with circumstances as they arise. For a prince of average
powers to maintain himself in his state unless he be
deprived of it by some extraordinary and excessive force, And
if he should be so deprived of it, whenever anything

(33:26):
sinister happens to the usurper, he will regain it. We
have in Italy, for example, the Duke of Ferrara, who
could not have withstood the attacks of the Venetians in
eighty four, nor those of Pope Julius in ten, unless
he had been long established in his dominions. For the

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hereditary prince has less cause and less necessity to offend.
Hence it happens that he will be more loved, and
unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated, it is
reasonable to expect that his subjects will be naturally well
disposed towards him, and in the antiquity and duration of
his rule, the memories and motives that make for change

(34:06):
or lost for one change always leaves the toothing for another.
Chapter three concerning mixed principalities. But the difficulties occur in
a new principality, and firstly, if it be not entirely new,
but is as it were, a member of a state,

(34:28):
which taken collectively, may be called composite. The changes arise
chiefly from an inherent difficulty, which there is in all
new principalities. For men change their rulers willingly, hoping to
better themselves, and this hope induces them to take up
arms against him who rules, wherein they are deceived, because
they afterwards find by experience they have gone from bad

(34:51):
to worse. This follows also on another natural and common necessity,
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 acquisition.
In this way, you have enemies in all those whom
you have injured in seizing that principality, and you are

(35:13):
not able to keep those friends who put you there
because of your not being able to satisfy them in
the way they expected, and you cannot take strong measures
against them, feeling bound to them. For although one may
be very strong in armed forces, yet in entering a province,
one has always need of the goodwill of the natives.

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For these reasons, Lewis, the twelfth King of France, quickly
occupied Milan and is quickly lost it. And to turn
him out the first time, it only needed Lodavico's own forces,
because those who would open the gates to him, finding
themselves deceived in their hopes of future benefit, would not
endure the ill treatment of the new prince. It is

(35:55):
very true that after acquiring rebellious provinces a second time,
they are not so lightly lost afterwards, because the prince,
with little reluctance, takes the opportunity of the rebellion to
punish the delinquents, to clear out the suspects, and to
strengthen himself in the weakest places, thus to cause France

(36:16):
to lose Milan the first time. It was enough for
the Duke Lodovico to raise insurrections on the borders, but
to cause him to lose it a second time. It
was necessary to bring the whole world against him, and
that his armies should be defeated and driven out of Italy,
which followed from the causes above mentioned. Nevertheless, Milan was

(36:38):
taken from France both the first and the second time.
The general reasons for the first have been discussed. It
remains to name those for the second, and to see
what resources he had, and what any one in his
situation would have had for maintaining himself more securely in
his acquisition than did the King of France. And now

(37:00):
I say that those dominions, which, when acquired, are added
to an ancient state by him who acquires them, are
either of the same country in language, or they are not.
When they are, it is easier to hold them, especially
when they have not been accustomed to self government, and
to hold them securely. It is enough to have destroyed
the family of the prince who is ruling them. Because

(37:23):
the two peoples, preserving in other things the old conditions
and not being unlike in customs, will live quietly together,
as one has seen in Brittany, Burgundy, Gascony and Normandy,
which have been bound to France for so long a time,
And although there may be some difference in language, nevertheless

(37:43):
the customs are alike, and the people will easily be
able to get on amongst themselves. He who has annexed them,
if he wishes to hold them, has only to bear
in mind two considerations, the one that the family of
their former lord is extinguished, the other that neither their
laws nor their taxes are altered, so that in a

(38:03):
very short time they will become entirely one body with
the old principality. But when states are acquired in a
country differing in language, customs or laws, there are difficulties,
and good fortune and great energy are needed to hold them.
And one of the greatest and most real helps would
be that he who has acquired them should go and

(38:24):
reside there. This would make his position more secure and durable,
as it has made that of the Turk in Greece, who,
notwithstanding all the other measures taken by him for holding
that state, if he had not settled there, would not
have been able to keep it. Because if one is
on the spot, disorders are seen as they spring up

(38:46):
and one can quickly remedy them. But if one is
not at hand, they are hurt of only when they
are great, and then one can no longer remedy them.
Besides this, the country is not pillaged by your officials.
The subjects are satisfied by prompt recourse to the prince. Thus,
wishing to be good, they have more cost to love him,

(39:06):
and wishing to be otherwise to fear him. He who
would attack that state from the outside must have the
utmost caution. As long as the prince resides there, it
can only be wrested from him with the greatest difficulty.
The other, in better course, is to send colonies to
one or two places, which may be his keys to

(39:27):
that state, For it is necessary either to do this
or else to keep there a great number of cavalry
and infantry. A prince does not spend much on colonies,
for with little or no expense, he can send them
out and keep them there. And he offends a minority
only of the citizens from whom he takes lands and
houses to give them to the new inhabitants, And those

(39:48):
whom he offends, remaining poor and scattered, are never able
to injure him whilst the rest, being uninjured, are easily
kept quiet and at the same time or anxious not
to air for fear it should have happen to them,
as it has to those who have been despoiled. In conclusion,
I say that these colonies are not costly, they are
more faithful, They injure less, and the injured, as has

(40:11):
been said, being poor and scattered, cannot hurt. Upon this
one has to remark that men ought either to be
well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of
lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot. 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 revenge. But in maintaining armed men

(40:35):
there in place of colonies, one spends much more, having
to consume on the garrison all the income from the state,
so that the acquisition turns into a loss, and many
more are exasperated because the whole state is injured through
the shifting of the garrison up and down. All become
acquainted with hardship, and all become hostile. And they are
enemies who, whilst beaten on their own ground, are yet

(40:59):
able to do hurt for every reason. Therefore, such guards
are as useless as a colony is useful. Again, the
prince who holds a country differing in the above respects
ought to make himself the head and defender of his
less powerful neighbors, and to weaken the more powerful amongst them,
taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall,

(41:22):
by any accident get a footing there for it will
always happen that such a one will be introduced by
those who are discontented, either through excess of ambition or
through fear. As one has seen already, the Romans were
brought into Greece by the Aetolians, and in every other
country where they obtained a footing, they were brought in

(41:43):
by the inhabitants. And the usual course of affairs is
that as soon as a powerful foreigner enters a country,
all the subject states are drawn to him, moved by
the hatred which they feel against the ruling power, so
that in respect to those subject states, he has not
to take any trouble to gain them over to himself,

(42:04):
but the whole of them quickly rally to the state
which he has acquired. There he has only to take
care that they do not get hold of too much
power and too much authority. And then with his own
forces and with their good will, he can easily keep
down the more powerful of them, so as to remain
entirely master in the country. And he who does not

(42:26):
properly manage this business will soon lose what he has acquired,
and whilst he does hold it, he will have endless
difficulties and troubles. The Romans in the countries which they
annexed observed closely these measures. They sent colonies and maintain
friendly relations with the minor powers without increasing their strength.

(42:47):
They kept down the greater and did not allow any
strong foreign powers to gain authority. Greece appears to me
sufficient for an example. The Achaeans and Eetolians were kept
friendly by them. The Kingdom of Macedonia was humbled, Antiachus
was driven out. Yet the merits of the Achaeans and
Eetolians never secured for them permission to increase their power.

(43:10):
Nor did the persuasions of Philip ever induce the Romans
to be his friends without first humbling him, Nor did
the influence of Antiochus make them agree that he should
retain any lordship over the country, because the Romans did
in these instances what all prudent princes ought to do,
who have to regard not only present troubles, but also

(43:32):
future ones, for which they must prepare with every energy,
Because when foreseen, it is easy to remedy them. But
if you wait until they approach, the medicine is no
longer in time, because the malady has become incurable. For
it happens in this as the physicians say it happens
in hectic fever, that in the beginning of the malady

(43:52):
it is easy to cure but difficult to detect. But
in the course of time, not having been either detected
or treated in the beginning, it becomes easy to detect
but difficult to cure. Thus it happens in affairs of state,
For when the evils that arise have been foreseen, which
it is only given to a wise man to see,

(44:14):
they can be quickly redressed. But when, through not having
been foreseen, they have been permitted to grow in a
way that everyone can see them, there is no longer
a remedy. Therefore, the Romans, foreseeing troubles, dealt with them
at once, and even to avoid a war, would not
let them come to a head, for they knew that

(44:34):
war is not to be avoided, but is only to
be put off to the advantage of others. Moreover, they
wished to fight with Philip and Antiochus in Greece, so
as not to have to do it in Italy. They
could have avoided both, but this they did not wish,
nor did that ever please them. Which is forever in
the mouths of the wise ones of our time. Let
us enjoy the benefits of the time, but rather the

(44:57):
benefits of their own valor and prudence. Before time drives
everything before it and is able to bring with it
good as well as evil, and evil as well as good.
But let us turn to France and inquire whether she
has done any of the things mentioned. I will speak
of Lewis and not of Charles, as the one whose

(45:17):
conduct is the better to be observed. He having held
possession of Italy for the longest period, and you will
see that he has done the opposite to those things
which ought to be done to retain a state composed
of diverse elements. King Lewis was brought into Italy by
the ambition of the Venetians, who desired to obtain half

(45:39):
the state of Lombardy by his intervention. I will not
blame the course taken by the King, because, wishing to
get a foothold in Italy, 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 get, and he would have
succeeded very quickly in his design, if in other matters

(46:02):
he had not made some mistakes. The King, however, having
acquired Lombardy, regained at once the authority which Charles had
lost Genoa yielded. The Florentines became his friends, the Marquess
of Manchua, the Duke of Ferrara, the Bentivogli, my lady
of Forli, the lords of Fienza, of Pesaro, of Rimini,

(46:23):
of Camerino, of Cambino, the Lucchesi, the Pissans, the Sienese.
Everybody made advances to him to become his friend. Then
could the Venetians realize the rashness of the course taken
by them, which, in order that they might secure two
towns in Lombardy, had made the king master of two
thirds of Italy. Let anyone now consider with what little

(46:47):
difficulty the King could have maintained his position in Italy
had he observed the rules above laid down, and kept
all his friends secure and protected. For although they were numerous,
they were both weak and timid, some afraid of the Church,
some of the Venetians, and thus they would always have
been forced to stand in with him, And by their
means he could easily have made himself secure against those

(47:09):
who remained powerful. But he was no sooner in Milan
than he did the contrary by assisting Pope Alexander to
occupy the Romagna. It never occurred to him that by
this action he was weakening himself, depriving himself of friends
and of those who had thrown themselves into his lap.
Whilst he aggrandized the church by adding much temporal power

(47:32):
to the spiritual, thus giving it greater authority. And having
committed this prime error, he was obliged to follow it up,
so much so that to put an end to the
ambition of Alexander, and to prevent his becoming the Master
of Tuscany, he was himself forced to come into Italy. And,
as if it were not enough to have aggrandized the

(47:55):
Church and deprived himself of friends, he wishing to have
the Kingdom of Naples divided it with the King of Spain,
and where he was the prime arbiter in Italy, he
takes an associate, so that the ambitious of that country,
in the malcontents of his own, should have somewhere to shelter.
And whereas he could have left in the kingdom his
own pensioner as king, he drove him out to put

(48:17):
one there who was able to drive him Lewis out.
In turn. The wish to acquire is in truth very
natural and common, and men always do so when they can,
and for this they will be praised, not blamed. But
when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so
by any means, then there is folly in blame. Therefore,

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if France could have attacked Naples with her own forces,
she ought to have done so. If she could not,
then she ought not to have divided it. 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 Italy, this other partition merited blame, for
it had not the excuse of that necessity. Therefore Lewis

(49:01):
made these five errors he destroyed the minor powers, he
increased the strength of one of the greater powers in Italy.
He brought in a foreign power, he did not settle
in the country. He did not send colonies, which errors,
had he lived, were not enough to injure him had
he not made a sixth by taking away their dominions
from the Venetians, because had he not aggrandized the Church

(49:25):
nor brought Spain into Italy, it would have been very
reasonable and necessary to humble them. But having first taken
these steps, he ought never to have consented to their ruin,
for they, being powerful, would always have kept off others
from designs on Lombardy, to which the Venetians would never
have consented, except to become masters themselves there. Also, because

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the others would not wish to take Lombardy from France
in order to give it to the Venetians, and to
run counter to both, they would not have had the courage.
And if anyone should say King Lewis yielded the Romania
to Alexander and the Kingdom to Spain to avoid war,
I answer for the reasons given above that a blunder
wrought never to be perpetrated to avoid war because it

(50:12):
is not to be avoided, but is only deferred to
your disadvantage. And if another should allege the pledge which
the King had given to the Pope, that he would
assist him in the enterprise in exchange for the dissolution
of his marriage, and for the cap to Rowan, to
that I reply what I shall write later on concerning

(50:32):
the faith of princes and how it ought to be
capt Thus King lewis lost Lombardy by not having followed
any of the conditions observed by those who have taken
possession of countries and wished to retain them. Nor is
there any miracle in this, but much that is reasonable
and quite natural. And on these matters I spoke at

(50:55):
nonce with Rowan when Valentino as chesare Borgia, the son
of Pope Alexander, was usually called, occupied the Romagna. And
on Cardinal Rowan observing to me that the Italians did
not understand war, I replied to him that the French
did not understand statecraft, meaning that otherwise they would not
have allowed the Church to reach such greatness. And in fact,

(51:19):
it has been seen that the greatness of the Church
and of Spain in Italy has been caused by France,
and her ruin may be attributed to them. From this
a general rule is drawn, which never or rarely fails,
that he who is the cause of another becoming powerful
is ruined, because that predominancy has been brought about either
by astuteness or else by force, and both are distrusted

(51:42):
by him who has been raised to power. Chapter four.
Why the Kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not
rebel against the successors of Alexander at his death? Considering
the difficulties which mean men have had to hold to
a newly acquired state, some might wonder, how, seeing that

(52:04):
Alexander the Great became the master of Asia in a
few years, and died whilst it was scarcely settled, whence
it might appear reasonable that the whole empire would have rebelled. Nevertheless,
his successors maintained themselves and had to meet no other
difficulty than that which arose among themselves from their own ambitions.

(52:25):
I answer that the principalities of which one has record
are found to be governed in two different ways, either
by a prince with a body of servants who assist
him to govern the kingdom, as ministers by his favor
and permission or by a prince, and barons who hold
that dignity by antiquity of blood and not by the
grace of the prince. Such barons have states in their

(52:47):
own subjects who recognize them as lords and hold them
in natural affection. Those states that are governed by a
prince and his servants hold their prince in more consideration,
because in all the kind there is no one who
is recognized as superior to him, and if they yield
obedience to another, they do it as to a minister
and official, and they do not bear him any particular affection.

(53:13):
The examples of these two governments in our time are
the Turk and the King of France. The entire monarchy
of the Turk is governed by one lord. The others
are his servants, and dividing his kingdom into sanjaks, he
sends their different administrators and shifts and changes them as
he chooses. But the King of France is placed in

(53:35):
the midst of an ancient body of lords. Acknowledged by
their own subjects and beloved by them. They have their
own prerogatives, nor can the king take these away accept
at his peril Therefore, he who considers both of these
states will recognize great difficulties in seizing the state of
the Turk, but once it is conquered, great ease in

(53:56):
holding it. The causes of the difficulty in seizing the
Kingdom of the Turk or that the usurper cannot be
called in by the princes of the kingdom, nor can
he hope to be assisted in his designs by the
revolt of those whom the Lord has around him. This
arises from the reasons given above, for his ministers, being

(54:17):
all slaves and bondmen, can only be corrupted with great difficulty,
and one can expect little advantage from them when they
have been corrupted, as they cannot carry the people with them.
For the reasons assigned, Hence, he who attacks the Turk
must bear in mind that he will find him united,
and he will have to rely more on his own
strength than on the revolt of others. But if once

(54:40):
the Turk has been conquered and rotted in the field
in such a way that he cannot replace his armies,
there is nothing to fear but the family of this prince,
and this being exterminated, there remains no one to fear
the others having no credit with the people, and as
the conqueror did not rely on them before his victory,
so he ought not to fear them after it. The

(55:04):
contrary happens in kingdoms governed like that of France, because
one can easily enter there by gaining over some baron
of the kingdom. For one always finds malcontents in such
as desire a change. Such men, for the reasons given,
can open the way into the state and render the
victory easy. But if you wish to hold it afterwards,

(55:26):
you meet with infinite difficulties, both from those who have
assisted you and from those you have crushed. Nor is
it enough for you to have exterminated the family of
the prince, because the lords that remain make themselves the
heads of fresh movements against you, And as you are
unable either to satisfy or exterminate them, that state is

(55:46):
lost whenever time brings the opportunity. Now, if you will
consider what was the nature of the government of Darius,
you will find it similar to the kingdom of the Turk,
And therefore it was only necessary for Alexander first to
overthrow him in the field, and then to take the
country from him. After which victory Darius being killed. The

(56:09):
state remained secure to Alexander for the above reasons, and
if his successors had been united, they would have enjoyed
it securely and at their ease. For there were no
tumults raised in the kingdom, except those they provoked themselves.
But it is impossible to hold with such tranquility states

(56:30):
constituted like that of France. Hence arose those frequent rebellions
against the Romans in Spain, France and Greece, owing to
the many principalities there were in these states, of which
as long as the memory of them endured, the Romans
always held an insecure possession. But with the power and
long continuance of the empire, the memory of them passed away,

(56:52):
and the Romans then became secure possessors. And when fighting
afterwards amongst themselves, each one one was able to attach
to himself his own parts of the country according to
the authority he had assumed there, and the family of
the former lord being exterminated, none other than the Romans
were acknowledged. When these things are remembered, no one will

(57:15):
marvel at the ease with which Alexander held the Empire
of Asia. Or at the difficulties which others have had
to keep an acquisition, such as Puris and many more.
This is not occasioned by the little or abundance of
ability in the conqueror, but by the want of uniformity
in the subject state. Chapter five concerning the way to

(57:38):
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 freedom. There are three courses for those
who wish to hold them. The first is to ruin them.
The next is to reside there in person. The third

(57:59):
is to permit them to live under their own laws,
drawing a tribute and establishing within it an oligarchy, which
will keep it friendly to you, because such a government,
being created by the Prince, knows that it cannot stand
without his friendship and interest, and does its utmost to
support him. And therefore he who would keep a city

(58:19):
accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the
means of its own citizens than in any other way.
There are, for example, the Spartans and the Romans. The
Spartans held Athens, and Thebes establishing there an oligarchy. Nevertheless,
they lost them. The Romans, in order to hold Capua,

(58:41):
Carthage and Namantia, dismantled them and did not lose them.
They wished to hold Greece as the Spartans held it,
making it free and permitting its laws, and did not succeed.
So to hold it. They were compelled to dismantle many
cities in the country, for in truth, there is there's
no safe way to retain them otherwise than by ruining them.

(59:04):
And he who becomes master of a city accustomed to
freedom and does not destroy it may expect to be
destroyed by it. For in rebellion it has always the
watchword of liberty and its ancient privileges as a rallying point,
which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget.
And whatever you may do or provide against, they never

(59:25):
forget that name or their privileges, unless they are disunited
or dispersed. But at every chance they immediately rally to them.
As Pisa after the hundred years she had been held
in bondage by the Florentines. But when cities or countries
are accustomed to live under a prince and his family
is exterminated. They, being on the one hand, accustomed to

(59:48):
obey and on the other hand not having the old prince,
cannot agree in making one from amongst themselves, and they
do not know how to govern themselves. For this reason
they are very slow to take up arms, and a
prince can gain them to himself and secure them much
more easily. But in republics there is more vitality, greater hatred,

(01:00:10):
and more desire for vengeance, which will never permit them
to allow the memory of their former liberty to rest,
So that the safest way is to destroy them. More
to reside there Chapter six concerning new principalities which are

(01:00:32):
acquired by one's own arms and ability. Let no one
be surprised if, in speaking of entirely new principalities, as
I shall do, I adduce the highest examples, both of
prince and of state. Because men, walking almost always in
paths beaten by others, and following by imitation their deeds,
are yet unable to keep entirely to the ways of others,

(01:00:55):
or retain to the power of those they imitate. A
wise man ought always to follow the paths beaten by
great men, and to imitate those who have been supreme,
so that if his ability does not equal theirs, at
least it will savor of it. Let him act like
the clever archers, who, deciding to hit the mark which
yet appears too far distant, and knowing the limits to

(01:01:18):
which the strength of their bow attains, take aim much
higher than the mark, not to reach by their strength
or arrow to so great a height, but to be able,
with the aid of so high an aim, to hit
the mark they wish to reach. I say therefore, that
in entirely new principalities, where there is a new prince,
more or less difficulty is found in keeping them. Accordingly

(01:01:40):
as there is more or less ability in him who
has acquired the state. Now, as the fact of becoming
a prince from a private station presupposes either ability or fortune,
it is clear that one or other of these things
will mitigate in some degree many difficulties. Nevertheless, he who
is relied least on fortune is established the strongest. Further,

(01:02:05):
it facilitates matters when the prince, having no other state,
is compelled to reside there in person, but to come
to those who, by their own ability and not through fortune,
have risen to be princes. I say that Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus,
and such like are the most excellent examples. And although

(01:02:26):
one may not discuss Moses, he having been a mere
executor of the will of God, yet he ought to
be admired, if only for that favor which made him
worthy to speak with God. But in considering Cyrus and
others who have acquired or founded kingdoms, all will be
found admirable. And if their particular deeds and conduct shall

(01:02:47):
be considered, they will not be found inferior to those
of Moses, although he had so great a preceptor, and
in examining their actions and lives, one cannot see that
they owed anything to fortune beyond opportunity, which brought them
the material to mold into the form which seemed best
to them. Without that opportunity, their powers of mind would

(01:03:11):
have been extinguished, and without those powers, the opportunity would
have come in vain. It was necessary, therefore, to Moses
that he should find the people of Israel and Egypt
enslaved and oppressed by the Egyptians, in order that they
should be disposed to follow him, so as to be
delivered out of bondage. It was necessary that Romulus should

(01:03:34):
not remain in Alba, and that he should be abandoned
at his birth, in order that he should become king
of Roman, founder of the fatherland. It was necessary that
Cyrus should find the Persians discontented with the government of
the Meds, and the Meads, soft and effeminate through their
long peace. Theseus could not have shown his ability had

(01:03:55):
he not found the Athenians dispersed. These uppertunities therefore made
those men fortunate, and their high ability enabled them to
recognize the opportunity whereby their country was ennobled and made famous.
Those who by valorous ways become princes like these men
acquire a principality with difficulty, but they keep it with ease.

(01:04:20):
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 security. And
it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more
difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or
more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead
in the introduction of a new order of things. Because

(01:04:43):
the innovator has for enemies all those who have done
well under the old conditions and lukewarm defenders in those
who may do well under the new. This coolness arises
partly from fear of the opponents, who have the laws
on their side, and partly from the incready dulity of
men who do not readily believe in new things until
they have had a long experience of them. Thus it

(01:05:07):
happens that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity
to attack, they do it like partisans, whilst the others
defend lukewarmly, in such wise that the Prince is endangered
along with them. It is necessary, therefore, if we desire
to discuss this matter thoroughly, to inquire whether these innovators
can rely on themselves or have to depend on others,

(01:05:30):
that is to say, whether to consummate their enterprise, have
they to use prayers or can they use force. In
the first instance, they always succeed badly and never compass anything.
But when they can rely on themselves and use force,
then they are rarely endangered. Hence it is that all
armed prophets have conquered and the unarmed ones have been destroyed.

(01:05:55):
Besides the reasons mentioned, the nature of the people is variable,
and whilst it is easy to persuade them. It is
difficult to fix them, and that persuasion, and thus it
is necessary to take such measures that, when they believe
no longer, it may be possible to make them believe
by force. If Moses, Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus had been unarmed,

(01:06:19):
they could not have enforced their constitutions for long, as
happened in our time to Fra Girolamo Savonarola, who was
ruined with his new order of things. Immediately the multitude
believed in him no longer, and he had no means
of keeping steadfast those who believed, or of making the
unbelievers to believe. Therefore, such as these have great difficulties

(01:06:41):
in consummating their enterprise, for all their dangers are in
the ascent. Yet with ability they will overcome them. But
when these are overcome, and those who envied them their
success are exterminated, they will begin to be respected, and
they will continue afterwards, powerful, secure, honored, and happy. To

(01:07:01):
these great examples, I wished to add a lesser one.
Still it bears some resemblance to them, and I wish
it to suffice me, for all of a like kind
it is higher o the Syracusin this man rose from
a private station to be prince of Syracuse. Nor did
he either owe anything to fortune but opportunity. For the Syracusans,

(01:07:23):
being oppressed, chose him for their captain. Afterwards he was
rewarded by being made their prince. He was of so
great ability even as a private citizen, that one who
writes of him says he wanted nothing but a kingdom.
To be a king, this man abolished the old soldiery,
organized the new, gave up old alliances, made new ones.

(01:07:46):
And as he had his own soldiers and allies on
such foundations, he was able to build any edifice. Thus,
whilst he had endured much trouble in acquiring, he had
but little in keeping. Chapter seven concerning new principalities, which
are acquired either by the arms of others or by

(01:08:06):
good fortune. Those who solely by good fortune become princes
from being private citizens have little trouble in rising, but
much in keeping a top. They have not any difficulties
on the way up, because they fly, but they have
many when they reach the summit. Such are those to
whom some state is given, either for money or by

(01:08:27):
the favor of him who bestows it, as happened to
many in Greece, in the cities of Ionia and of
the Hellespont, where princes were made by Darius in order
that they might hold the cities both for his security
and his glory. As also were those emperors who, by
the corruption of the soldiers from being citizens, came to empire.

(01:08:48):
Such stands simply elevated upon the good will and the
fortune of him who has elevated them, two most inconstant
and unstable things. Neither had they the knowledge requisite for
the position, because unless they are men of great worth
and ability, it is not reasonable to expect that they
should know how to command, having always lived in a

(01:09:09):
private condition. Besides, they cannot hold it because they have
not forces which they can keep. Friendly and faithful states
that rise unexpectedly, then, like all other things in nature,
which are born and grow rapidly, cannot leave their foundations
and correspondencies fixed in such a way that the first
storm will not overthrow them. Unless, as is said, those

(01:09:31):
who unexpectedly become princes or men of so much ability
that they know they have to be prepared at once
to hold it which fortune has thrown into their laps,
And that those foundations which others have laid before they
became princes, they must lay afterwards. Concerning these two methods
of rising to be a prince by ability or fortune,

(01:09:54):
I wish to adduce two examples within our own recollection,
and these are Francesco's form in chaesare Borgia. Francesco, by
proper means and with great ability, from being a private
person rose to be Duke of Milan, and that which
he had acquired with a thousand anxieties he kept with
little trouble. On the other hand, chaesare Borgia, called by

(01:10:18):
the people. Duke Valentino acquired his state during the ascendancy
of his father, and on its decline he lost it,
notwithstanding that he had taken every measure and done all
that ought to be done by a wise enablement to
fix firmly his roots in the states which the arms
and fortunes of others had bestowed on him. Because as

(01:10:38):
is stated above, he who has not first laid his
foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards,
but they will be laid with trouble to the architect,
in danger to the building. If therefore, all the steps
taken by the Duke be considered, it will be seen
that he laid solid foundations for his future power. And

(01:10:59):
I do not consider it superfluous to discuss them, because
I do not know what better precepts to give a
new prince than the example of his actions. And if
his dispositions were of no avail, that was not his fault,
but the extraordinary and extreme malignity of fortune. Alexander the sixth,
in wishing to aggrandize the Duke his son, had many

(01:11:21):
immediate and prospective difficulties. Firstly, he did not see his
way to make him master of any state that was
not a state of the Church. And if he was
willing to rob the Church, he knew that the Duke
of Milan and the Venetians would not consent, because Fienza
and Rhemony were already under the protection of the Venetians.

(01:11:42):
Besides this, he saw the arms of Italy, especially those
by which he might have been assisted, in hands that
would fear the aggrandizement of the Pope, namely the Orsinian,
the Coolonesi, and their following. It behooved him, therefore, to
upset this state of affairs and in broil the powers,
so as to make himself securely master of part of

(01:12:04):
their states. This was easy for him to do because
he found the Venetians, moved by other reasons, inclined to
bring back the French into Italy. He would not only
not oppose this, but he would render it more easy
by dissolving the former marriage of King Louis. Therefore, the
King came into Italy with the assistance of the Venetians

(01:12:26):
and the consent of Alexander. He was no sooner in
Milan than the Pope had soldiers from him for the
attempt on the Romagna, which yielded to him on the
reputation of the King. The Duke, therefore, having acquired the
Romagna and beaten the KOLONIESI, while wishing to hold that
and to advance further, was hindered by two things. The

(01:12:48):
one his forces did not appear loyal to him, the
other the good will of France. That is to say,
he feared that the forces of the Orsini which he
was using, would not stand to him, that not only
might they hinder him from winning more, but might themselves
seize what he had won, and that the King might
also do the same. Of the Orsini. He had a

(01:13:10):
warning win after taking Fienza and attacking Bologna. He saw
them go very unwillingly to that attack. And as to
the King, he learned his mind when he himself, after
taking the duchy of Urbino, attacked Tuscany, and the King
made him desist from that undertaking. Hence the Duke decided
to depend no more upon the arms and the luck

(01:13:32):
of others. For the first thing, he weakened the Orsinian
Kolonesi parties in Rome by gaining to himself all their
adherents who were gentlemen, making them his gentlemen, giving them
good pay, and according to their rank, honoring them with
office and command, in such a way that in a
few months all attachment to the factions was destroyed and

(01:13:53):
turned entirely to the Duke. After this he awaited an
opportunity to crush the Orsini, having scattered the adherents of
the Kolana house. This came to him soon, and he
used it well. For the Orsini, perceiving at length that
the aggrandizement of the Duke in the church was ruined
to them, called a meeting of the Maggion in Perugia.

(01:14:16):
From this sprung the rebellion at Urbino and the tumults
in the Romagna, with endless dangers to the Duke, all
of which he overcame with the help of the French,
having restored his authority not to leave it at risk
by trusting either to the French or other outside forces.
He had recourse to his wiles, and he knew so
well how to conceal his mind that, by the mediation

(01:14:39):
of Senior Pagello, whom the Duke did not fail to
secure with all kinds of attention, giving him money, apparel,
and horses, the Orsini were reconciled so that their simplicity
brought them into his power at Senegalia. Having exterminated the
leaders and turned their partisans into his friends, the Duke

(01:15:00):
aid sufficiently good foundations to his power. Having all the
Romagna and the Duchy of Urbino, and the people now
beginning to appreciate their prosperity, he gained them all over
to himself. And as this point is worthy of notice
and to be imitated by others, I am not willing
to leave it out. When the Duke occupied the Romagna,

(01:15:22):
he found it under the rule of weak masters, who
rather plundered their subjects than ruled them, and gave them
more cause for disunion than for union, so that the
country was full of robbery, quarrels, and every kind of violence,
And so wishing to bring back peace and obedience to authority,
he considered it necessary to give it a good governor.

(01:15:44):
Thereupon he promoted Messer Ramiro Diorco, a swift and cruel man,
to whom he gave the fullest power. This man, in
a short time, restored peace and unity with the greatest success. Afterwards,
the Duke considered them that it was not advisable to
confer such excessive authority, for he had no doubt but

(01:16:05):
that he would become odious. So he set up a
court of judgment in the country under a most excellent president,
wherein all cities had their advocates. And because he knew
that the past severity had caused some hatred against himself,
so to clear himself in the minds of the people
and gain them entirely to himself, he desired to show

(01:16:26):
that if any cruelty had been practiced, it had not
originated with him, but in the natural sterness of the minister.
Under this pretense, he took Ramiro and one morning caused
him to be executed and left on the piazza at Cecina,
with the block and a bloody knife at his side.
The barbarity of this spectacle caused the people to be

(01:16:49):
at once satisfied and dismayed. But let us return whence
we started. I say that the Duke, finding himself now
sufficiently powerful and partly secured from immediate dangers by having
armed himself in his own way, and having in a
great measure crushed those forces in his vicinity that could

(01:17:09):
injure him if he wished to proceed with his conquest,
had next to consider France. For he knew that the king,
who too late was aware of his mistake, would not
support him, and from this time he began to seek
new alliances and to temporize with France and the expedition
which she was making towards the Kingdom of Naples against
the Spaniards who were besieging Gaida. It was his intention

(01:17:33):
to secure himself against them, and this he would have
quickly accomplished had Alexander lived. Such was his line of
action as to present affairs. But as to the future
he had to fear in the first place that a
new successor to the Church might not be friendly to
him and might seek to take from him at which

(01:17:54):
Alexander had given him. So he decided to act in
four ways. Firstly, by exterminating the families of those lords
whom he had despoiled, so as to take away the
pretext from the pope. Secondly, by winning to himself all
the gentlemen of Rome, so as to be able to
curb the Pope with their aid, as has been observed. Thirdly,

(01:18:19):
by converting the college more to himself. Fourthly, by acquiring
so much power before the Pope should die, that he could,
by his own measures resist the first shock of these
four things. At the death of Alexander, he had accomplished three,
for he had killed as many of the dispossessed lords

(01:18:40):
as he could lay hands on, and few had escaped.
He had won over the Roman gentleman, and he had
the most numerous party in the College. And as to
any fresh acquisition, he intended to become master of Tuscany,
for he already possessed Perusia and Piambino, and Pisa was
under his protection. And as he had no longer to

(01:19:02):
study France, for the French were already driven out of
the Kingdom of Naples. By the Spaniards, and in this
way both were compelled to buy his good will. He
pounced down upon Pisa. After this, Lucca and Sienna yielded
at once, partly through hatred and partly through fear of
the Florentines, and the Florentines would have had no remedy

(01:19:24):
had he continued to prosper as he was prospering the
year that Alexander died, for he had acquired so much
power and reputation that he would have stood by himself
and no longer have depended on the luck in the
forces of others, but solely on his own power and ability.
But Alexander died five years after he had first drawn

(01:19:45):
the sword. He left the Duke with the state of
Romagna alone, consolidated with the rest in the air, between
two most powerful, hostile armies, and sick unto death. Yet
there were in the Duke such boldness, and he knew
so well how men are to be won or lost,
and so firm were the foundations which in so short

(01:20:06):
a time he had laid, that if he had not
had those armies on his back, or if he had
been in good health, he would have overcome all difficulties,
and it is seen that his foundations were good. For
the Romagna awaited him for more than a month in Rome.
Although but half alive, he remained secure, and whilst the Ballyoni,

(01:20:28):
the Vittelee, and the Orsini might come to Rome, they
could not affect anything against him. If he could not
have made pope him whom he wished, at least the
one whom he did not wish would not have been elected.
But if he had been in sound health at the
death of Alexander, everything would have been different to him.

Speaker 2 (01:20:51):
On the day that.

Speaker 1 (01:20:53):
Julius the second was elected, he told me that he
had thought of everything that might occur at the death
of his and had provided a remedy for all, except
that he had never anticipated that when the death did happen,
he himself would be on the point to die. When
all the actions of the Duke are recalled, I do

(01:21:13):
not know how to blame him, but rather it appears
to be as I have said, that I ought to
offer him for imitation to all those who, by the
fortune or the arms of others, are raised to government,
because he, having a lofty spirit and far reaching aims,
could not have regulated his conduct. Otherwise and only the

(01:21:34):
shortness of the life of Alexander and his own sickness
frustrated his designs. Therefore, he who considers it necessary to
secure himself in his new principality, to win friends, to
overcome either by force or fraud, to make himself beloved
and feared by the people, to be followed and revered
by the soldiers, to exterminate those who have power or

(01:21:56):
reason to hurt him, to change the old order of
things for nondew to be severe and gracious, magnanimous and liberal,
to destroy a disloyal soldiery, and to create new to
maintain friendship with kings and princes in such a way
that they must help him with zeal and offend with caution.
Cannot find a more lively example than the actions of

(01:22:18):
this man. Only can he be blamed for the election
of Julius the Second, in whom he made a bad choice, because,
as is said, not being able to elect a pope,
to his own mind, he could have hindered any other
from being elected pope, And he ought never to have
consented to the election of any cardinal whom he had
injured or who had caused to fear him. If they

(01:22:40):
became pontiffs for men injure, either from fear or hatred.
Those whom he had injured, amongst others were San Pietro
ad Vincula, Klana, San Giorgio and Ascanio. The rest in
becoming pope had to fear him Ruan, and the Spaniards
again accepted the latter from their relationship and obligations, the

(01:23:04):
former from his influence the Kingdom of France having relations
with him. Therefore, above everything, the Duke ought to have
created a Spaniard pope, and failing him, he ought to
have consented to Rowan and not San Pietro at Vincula.
He who believes that new benefits will cause great personages

(01:23:24):
to forget old injuries is deceived. Therefore the Duke aired
in his choice, and it was the cause of his
ultimate Ruin Chapter eight, concerning those who have obtained a
principality by wickedness, although a prince may rise from a
private station in two ways, neither of which can be

(01:23:47):
entirely attributed to fortune or genius, yet it is manifest
to me that I must not be silent on them,
Although one could be more copiously treated. When I discuss
republics these methods, or when either by some wicked or
nefarious ways, one ascends to the principality, or when by
the favor of his fellow citizens, a private person becomes

(01:24:10):
the prince of his country. And speaking of the first method,
it will be illustrated by two examples, one ancient, the
other modern. And without entering further into the subject, I
consider these two examples will suffice those who may be
compelled to follow them. Agathocles the Sicilian became king of

(01:24:30):
Syracuse not only from a private but from a low
an abject position. This man, the son of a potter,
through all the changes in his fortunes, always led an
infamous life. Nevertheless, he accompanied his infamies with so much
ability of mind and body, that, having devoted himself to
the military profession, he rose through its ranks to be

(01:24:54):
Praetor of Syracuse. Being established in that position, and having
deliberate resolved to make himself prince and deceeized by violence
without obligation to others that which had been conceded to
him by assent. He came to an understanding for this
purpose with Amulcher the Carthaginian, who, with his army was

(01:25:14):
fighting in Sicily. One morning he assembled the people and
the Senate of Syracuse, as if he had to discuss
with them things relating to the republic, and at a
given signal, the soldiers killed all the senators and the
richest of the people. These dead, he seized and held
the prince dam of that city without any civil commotion.

(01:25:36):
And although he was twice routed by the Carthaginians and
ultimately besieged, yet not only was he able to defend
his city, but leaving part of his men for its
defense with the others, he attacked Africa and in a
short time raised the siege of Syracuse. The Carthaginians, reduced
to extreme necessity, were compelled to come to terms with

(01:25:58):
the Gathocles, and, leaving Sicily to him, had to be
content with the possession of Africa. Therefore, he who considers
the actions and the genius of this man will see
nothing or little which can be attributed to fortune. Inasmuch
as he attained pre eminence, as is shown above, not
by the favor of anyone, but step by step in

(01:26:21):
the military profession, which steps were gained with a thousand troubles,
in perils and were afterwards boldly held by him, with
many hazardous dangers. Yet it cannot be called talent to
slay fellow citizens, to deceive France to be without faith,
without mercy, without religion. Such methods may gain empire, but

(01:26:41):
not glory. Still, if the courage of the Gathocles in
entering into and extricating himself from dangers be considered together
with his greatness of mind and enduring and overcoming hardships,
it cannot be seen why he should be esteemed less
than the most notable captain. Nevertheless, his barbarous cruelty and

(01:27:03):
inhumanity with infinite wickedness, do not permit him to be
celebrated among the most excellent men. What he achieved cannot
be attributed either to fortune or genius. In our times,
during the rule of Alexander the sixth, Oliverado de Fermo,
having been left an orphan many years before, was brought

(01:27:24):
up by his maternal uncle Giovanni Fogliani, and in the
early days of his youth sent to fight under Pagolo Vitelee,
that being trained under his discipline, he might attain some
high position in the military profession. After Pagolo died, he
fought under his brother Vitelozzo, and in a very short time,

(01:27:45):
being endowed with wit and a vigorous body and mind,
he became the first man in his profession. But it
appearing a paltry thing to serve under others, he resolved
with the aid of some citizens of Fermo, to whom
the slavery of their country was dearer than its liberty,
and with the help of the Viteleski, to seize Fermo.

(01:28:06):
So he wrote to Giovanni Faudleanni, that having been away
from home for many years, he wished to visit him
in his city, and in some measure to look upon
his patrimony. And although he had not labored to acquire
anything except honor, yet, in order that the citizens should
see he had not spent his time in vain, he
desired to come honorably, so would be accompanied by one

(01:28:28):
hundred horsemen, his friends and retainers, and he entreated Giovanni
to arrange that he should be received honorably by the Fermians,
all of which would be not only to his honor,
but also to that of Giovanni himself, who had brought
him up. Giovanni therefore did not fail in any attentions

(01:28:49):
due to his nephew, and he caused him to be
honorably received by the Fermians, and he lodged him in
his own house. Were having passed some days, and having
arranged what was next necessary for his wicked designs, Olivado
gave a solemn banquet, to which he invited Giovanni Fogliani
and the chiefs of Fermo. When the Vians and all

(01:29:10):
the other entertainments that are usual in such banquets were finished,
Oliverado artfully began certain grave discourses, speaking of the greatness
of Pope Alexander and his son Chasera, and of their enterprises,
to which discourse Giovanni and others answered. But he rose
at once, saying that such matters ought to be discussed
in a more private place, and he betook himself to

(01:29:32):
a chamber, whither Giovanni and the rest of the citizens
went in after him. No sooner were they seated than
soldiers issued from secret places and slaughtered Giovanni and the rest.
After these murders, Oliverado mounted on horseback, rode up and
down the town, and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace,

(01:29:54):
so that in fear the people were forced to obey
him and to form a government of which he made
himself the prince. He killed all the malcontents who were
able to injure him, and strengthened himself with new civil
and military ordinances, in such a way that in the
year during which he held the principality, not only was

(01:30:14):
he secure in the city of Fermo, but he had
become formidable to all his neighbors. And his destruction would
have been as difficult as that of Agathocles if he
had not allowed himself to be overreached by Chaserai Borja,
who took him with the Orsinian Viteli at Senegalia. As
was stated above, thus, one year after he had committed

(01:30:37):
this parricide, he was strangled together with Vitelazzo, whom he
had made his leader in valor and wickedness. Some may
wonder how it can happen that Agathocles and is like,
after infinite treacheries and cruelties, should live for long, secure
in his country, and defend himself from external enemies, and

(01:30:57):
never be conspired against by his own citizen. Since seeing
that many others by means of cruelty, have never been able,
even in peaceful times, to hold the state still lessen
the doubtful times of war. I believe that this follows
from severities being badly or properly used. Those may be
called properly used if of evil. It is possible to

(01:31:20):
speak well that are applied at one blow and are
necessary to one security, and that are not persisted in
afterwards unless they can be turned to the advantage of
the subjects. The badly employed are those which, notwithstanding they
may be few in the commencement, multiply with time rather
than decrease. Those who practice the first system are able,

(01:31:43):
by aid of God or man, to mitigate in some
degree their rule. As Agathocles did, it is impossible for
those who follow the other to maintain themselves. Hence, it
is to be remarked that in seizing a state, the
usurper ought to examine closely into all those injuries which
it is necessary for him to inflict, and to do

(01:32:06):
them all at one's stroke, so as not to have
to repeat them daily. And thus, by not unsettling men,
he will be able to reassure them and win them
to himself by benefits. He who does otherwise either from
timidity or evil advice, is always compelled to keep the
knife in his hand. Neither can he rely on his subjects,
nor can they attach themselves to him, owing to their

(01:32:29):
continued and repeated wrongs. For injuries ought to be done
all at one time, so that being tasted less, they
offend less. Benefits ought to be given little by little,
so that the flavor of them may last longer. And
above all things, a prince ought to live amongst his
people in such a way that no unexpected circumstances, whether

(01:32:52):
of good or evil, shall make him change. Because if
the necessity for this comes in troubled times, you are
too late for harsh measures, and mild ones will not
help you, for they will be considered as forced from you,
and no one will be under any obligation to you
for them. Chapter nine concerning a civil principality, but coming

(01:33:16):
to the other point, where a leading citizen becomes the
prince of this country, not by wickedness or any intolerable violence,
but by the favor of his fellow citizens, this may
be called a civil principality. Nor is genius or fortune
altogether necessary to attain to it, but rather a happy shrewdness.
I say, then, that such a principality is obtained either

(01:33:39):
by the favor of the people or by the favor
of the nobles, because in all cities these two distinct
parties are found. And from this it arises that the
people do not wish to be ruled nor oppressed by
the nobles, and the nobles wish to rule and oppress
the people. And from these two opposite desires there arises
in cities one of three results, either a principality, self government,

(01:34:03):
or anarchy. A principality is created either by the people
or by the nobles, accordingly as one or other of
them has the opportunity. For the nobles, seeing they cannot withstand,
the people, begin to cry up the reputation of one
of themselves, and they make him a prince, so that
under his shadow they can give vent to their ambitions.

(01:34:25):
The people, finding they cannot resist the nobles, also cry
up the reputation of one of themselves and make him
a prince, so as to be defended by his authority.
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 people, because the former

(01:34:46):
finds himself with many around him who consider themselves as equals,
and because of this he can neither rule nor manage
them to his liking. But he who reaches sovereignty by
popular favor finds himself alone and has none around him,
or few who are not prepared to obey him. Besides this,

(01:35:06):
one cannot, by fair dealing and without injury to others,
satisfy the nobles, but you can satisfy the people, for
their object is more righteous than that of the nobles,
the latter wishing to oppress, while the former only desire
not to be oppressed. It is to be added also
that a prince can never secure himself against a hostile

(01:35:27):
people because of there being too many, whilst from the
nobles he can secure himself as they are few in number.
The worst that a prince may expect from a hostile
people is to be abandoned by them. But from hostile
nobles he is not only to fear abandonment, but also
that they will rise against him. For the being in

(01:35:48):
these affairs more far seeing an astute always come forward
in time to save themselves and to obtain favors from him,
whom they expect to prevail. Further, the prince is compelled
to live always with the same people, but he can
do well without the same nobles, being able to make
and unmake them daily, and to give or take away

(01:36:08):
authority when it pleases him. Therefore, to make this point clearer,
I say that the nobles ought to be looked at
mainly in two ways. That is to say, they either
shape their course in such a way as binds them
entirely to your fortune, or they do not. Those who
so bind themselves and are not rapacious ought to be

(01:36:28):
honored and loved. Those who do not bind themselves may
be dealt with in two ways. They may fail to
do this through pusillanimity and a natural want of courage,
in which case you ought to make use of them,
especially of those who are of good counsel. And thus,
whilst in prosperity you honor them, in adversity you do
not have to fear them. But when for their own

(01:36:49):
ambitious ends they shun binding themselves, it is a token
that they are giving more thought to themselves than to you.
And a prince ought to guard against such and to
fear them as and if they were open enemies, because
in adversity they always help to ruin him. Therefore, one
who becomes a prince through the favor of the people
ought to keep them friendly, and this he can easily do,

(01:37:12):
seeing they only ask not to be oppressed by him.
But one who in opposition to the people, becomes a
prince by the favor of the nobles, ought above everything
to seek to win the people over to himself, and
this he may easily do if he takes them under
his protection. Because men, when they receive good from him,

(01:37:34):
of whom they were expecting evil, are bound more closely
to their benefactor. Thus, the people quickly become more devoted
to him than if he had been raised to the
principality by their favors. And the prince can win their
affections in many ways. But as these very according to
the circumstances, one cannot give fixed rules, so I omit them.
But I repeat, it is necessary for a prince to

(01:37:57):
have the people friendly, otherwise he has has no security
in adversity. Navis, Prince of the Spartans, sustained the attack
of all Greece and of a victorious Roman army, and
against them, he defended his country in his government, and
for the overcoming of this peril, it was only necessary

(01:38:18):
for him to make himself secure against a few. But
this would not have been sufficient had the people been hostile.
And do not let anyone impugne this statement with the
trite proverb that he who builds on the people builds
on the mud. For this is true when a private
citizen makes a foundation there and persuades himself that the
people will free him when he is oppressed by his

(01:38:40):
enemies or by the magistrates, wherein he would find himself
very often deceived, as happened to the Grachi in Roman
to Messer Giorgio Scali in Florence. But granted a prince
who has established himself as above, who can command, and
is a man of courage, undismayed in adversity, who does

(01:39:01):
not fail in other qualifications, and who by his resolution
and energy, keeps the whole people encouraged. Such a one
will never find himself deceived in them, and it will
be shown that he has laid his foundations well. These
principalities are liable to danger when they are passing from
the civil to the absolute order of government. For such

(01:39:23):
prince as either rule personally or through magistrates. In the
latter case, their government is weaker and more insecure, because
it rests entirely on the goodwill of those citizens who
are raised to the magistracy, and who, especially in troubled times,
can destroy the government with great ease, either by intrigue
or open defiance. And the prince has not the chance

(01:39:46):
amid tumults to exercise absolute authority, because the citizens and
subjects accustomed to receive orders from magistrates are not of
a mind to obey him amid these confusions, and there
will always be, in doubtful times a scarcity of men
whom he can trust. For such a prince cannot rely

(01:40:07):
upon what he observes in quiet times when citizens have
need of the state, because then everyone agrees with him,
they all promise, and when death is far distant, they
all wish to die for him. But in troubled times,
when the state has need of its citizens, then he
finds but few. And so much the more is this
experiment dangerous inasmuch as it can only be tried once. Therefore,

(01:40:33):
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 him, and then
he will always find them faithful. Chapter ten, concerning the
way in which the strength of all principalities ought to
be measured, It is necessary to consider another point in

(01:40:56):
examining the character of these principalities, That is, whether a
prince has such power that in case of need, he
can support himself with his own resources, or whether he
is always need of the assistance of others. And to
make this quite clear, I say that I consider those
who are able to support themselves by their own resources,

(01:41:17):
who can, either by abundance of men or money, raise
a sufficient army to join battle against anyone who comes
to attack them. And I consider those always to have
need of others, who cannot show themselves against the enemy
in the field, but are forced to defend themselves by
sheltering behind walls. The first case has been discussed, but

(01:41:37):
we will speak of it again should it recur. In
the second case, one can say nothing except to encourage
such princes to provision and fortify their towns, and not
on any account to defend the country. And whoever shall
fortify his town well, and shall have managed the other
concerns of his subjects in the way stated above, and

(01:41:59):
to be often repeated, will never be attacked without great caution,
for men are always adverse to enterprises where difficulties can
be seen, and it will be seen not to be
an easy thing to attack one who has his town
well fortified and is not hated by his people. The
cities of Germany are absolutely free. They own but little

(01:42:20):
country around them, and they yield obedience to the Emperor
when it suits them. Nor do they fear this or
any other power they may have near them, because they
are fortified in such a way that everyone thinks the
taking of them by assault would be tedious and difficult.
Seeing they have proper ditches and walls, they have sufficient artillery,
and they always keep in public depots enough for one

(01:42:42):
year's eating, drinking, and firing, and beyond this, to keep
the people quiet and without loss to the state, they
always have the means of giving work to the community
in those labors that are the life and strength of
the city, and on the pursuit of which the people
are supported. They also hold military exercises and repute, and

(01:43:03):
moreover have many ordinances to uphold them. Therefore, a prince
who has a strong city and had not made himself odious,
will not be attacked, or if anyone should attack, he
will only be driven off with disgrace again, Because that
the affairs of this world are so changeable, it is
almost impossible to keep an army a whole year in

(01:43:24):
the field without being interfered with. And whoever should reply,
If the people have property outside the city and see
it burnt, they will not remain patient, and the long
siege and self interest will make them forget their prince.
To this I answer that a powerful and courageous prince
will overcome all such difficulties by giving it one time

(01:43:45):
hope to his subjects that the evil will not be
for long, at another time fear of the cruelty of
the enemy, then preserving himself adroitly from those subjects who
seem to him to be too bold. Further enemy would naturally,
on his arrival at once burn and ruin the country
at the time when the spirits of the people are

(01:44:06):
still hot and ready for the defense, and therefore so
much the less out the prince to hesitate, because after
a time, when spirits have cooled, the damage is already done.
The ills are incurred, and there is no longer any remedy,
and therefore they are so much the more ready to
unite with their prince, he appearing to be under obligations

(01:44:27):
to them, now that there houses have been burnt and
their possessions ruined in his defense. For it is the
nature of men to be bound by the benefits they
confer as much as by those they receive. Therefore, if
everything is well considered, it will not be difficult for
a wise prince to keep the minds of his citizens

(01:44:48):
steadfast from first to last, when he does not fail
to support and defend them. Chapter eleven, concerning ecclesiastical princes
app It only remains now to speak of ecclesiastical principalities,
touching which all difficulties are prior to getting possession, because

(01:45:10):
they are acquired either by capacity or good fortune, and
they can be held without either, for they are sustained
by the ancient ordinances of religion, which are so all
powerful and of such a character, that the principalities may
be held no matter how their princes behave and live.
These princes alone have states and do not defend them,

(01:45:30):
and they have subjects and do not rule them. And
the states, although unguarded, are not taken from them, and
the subjects, although not ruled, do not care, and they
have neither the desire nor the ability to alienate themselves.
Such principalities only are secure and happy, but being upheld
by powers to which the human mind cannot reach. I

(01:45:54):
shall speak no more of them, because, being exalted and
maintained by God, it would be the action of a
presumptuous and rash man to discuss them. Nevertheless, if anyone
should ask of me, how comes it that the Church
has attained such greatness in temporal power? Seeing that from
Alexander backwards the Italian potentates, not only those who have

(01:46:16):
been called potentates, but every baron and lord, though the smallest,
have valued the temporal power very slightly. Yet now a
king of France trembles before it, and it has been
able to drive him from Italy and to ruin the Venetians.
Although this may be very manifest, it does not appear
to me superfluous to recall it in some measure to memory.

(01:46:40):
Before Charles, King of France, passed into Italy, this country
was under the dominion of the Pope the Venetians. The
King of Naples, the Duke of Milan, and the Florentines.
These potentates had two principal anxieties, the one that no
foreigner should enter Italy under arms, the other that none

(01:47:00):
of themselves should seize more territory. Those about whom there
was the most anxiety were the Pope and the Venetians.
To restrain the Venetians, the union of all the others
was necessary, as it was for the defense of Ferrara
and to keep down the Pope. They made use of
the barons of Rome. Being divided into two factions or

(01:47:23):
Sini and Colonesi, had always a pretext for disorder, and
standing with arms in their hands under the eyes of
the pontiff kept the pontificate weak and powerless. And although
there might arise sometimes a courageous pope, such as Sixtus,
yet neither fortune nor wisdom could rid him of these annoyances.

(01:47:44):
And the short life of a pope is also a
cause of weakness, for in the ten years, which is
the average life of a pope, he can with difficulty
lower one of the factions. And if so to speak,
one people should almost destroy the Colonesi, another would hostile
to the Orsini, who would support their opponents, and yet
would not have time to ruin the Orsini. This was

(01:48:07):
the reason why the temporal powers of the pope were
little esteemed in Italy. Alexander the sixth the rose afterwards,
who of all the pontiffs that have ever been, showed
how a pope with both money and arms was able
to prevail. And through the instrumentality of the Duke Valentino,
and by reason of the entry of the French, he

(01:48:28):
brought about all those things which I have discussed above
in the actions of the Duke. And although his intention
was not to aggrandize the church but the Duke, nevertheless
what he did contributed to the greatness of the church, which,
after his death and the ruin of the Duke, became
the heir to all his labors. Pope Julius came afterwards

(01:48:50):
and found the church strong, possessing all the Romagna. The
barons of Rome reduced to impotence, and through the chastisements
of Alexander the faction wiped out. He also found the
way open to accumulate money in a manner such as
had never been practiced before Alexander's time. Such things Julius
not only followed but improved upon, and he intended to

(01:49:13):
gain Bologna, to ruin the Venetians, and to drive the
French out of Italy. All of these enterprises prospered with him,
and so much the more to his credit, inasmuch as
he did everything to strengthen the Church and not any
private person. He kept also the Orsinian Coolonesi factions within

(01:49:34):
the bounds in which he found them, and although there
was among them some mind to make disturbance, nevertheless he
held two things firm, the one the greatness of the Church,
with which he terrified them, and the other not allowing
them to have their own cardinals, who caused the disorders
among them. For whenever these factions have their cardinals, they

(01:49:54):
do not remain quiet for long, because cardinals foster the
factions in Roman outs, and the barons are compelled to
support them, and thus from the ambitions of prelates arise
disorders and tumults among the barons. For these reasons, his
holiness Pope Leo found the pontificate most powerful, and it

(01:50:16):
is to be hoped that if others made it great
in arms, he will make it still greater and more
venerated by his goodness and infinite other virtues. Chapter twelve,
How many kinds of soldiery there are? And concerning mercenaries.
Having discoursed particularly on the characteristics of such principalities as

(01:50:39):
in the beginning, I propose to discuss, and having considered
in some degree the causes of their being good or bad,
and having shown the methods by which many have sought
to acquire them and to hold them, it now remains
for me to discuss generally the means of offense and
defense which belong to each of them. We have seen
above how necessary it is for a prince to have

(01:51:01):
his foundations well laid, Otherwise it follows of necessity he
will go to ruin. The chief foundations of all states knew,
as well as old or composite, are good laws in
good arms. And as there cannot be good laws where
the state is not well armed, it follows that where
they are well armed, they have good laws. I shall

(01:51:22):
leave the laws out of the discussion, and shall speak
of the arms. I say therefore, that the arms with
which a prince defends his state are either his own,
or they are mercenaries, auxiliaries, or mixed mercenaries and auxiliaries.
Are useless and dangerous, and if one holds his state
based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe.

(01:51:45):
For they are disunited, ambitious and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant
before friends, cowardly before enemies. They have neither the fear
of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is deferred
only so long as the attack is for in peace
one is robbed by them, and in war by the enemy.
The fact is they have no other attraction or reason

(01:52:08):
for keeping the field than a trifle of stipend, which
is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.
They are ready enough to be your soldiers whilst you
do not make war, but if war comes, they take
themselves off or run from the foe, which I should
have little trouble to prove. For the ruin of Italy
has been caused by nothing else than by resting all

(01:52:29):
her hopes for many years on mercenaries. And although they
formerly made some display and appeared valiant amongst themselves, yet
when the foreigners came, they showed what they were. Thus
it was that Charles, King of France, was allowed to
seize Italy with chalk in hand, and he who told
us that our sins were the cause of it told

(01:52:50):
the truth. But they were not the sins he imagined,
but those which I have related. And as they were
the sins of princes, it is the princes who have
also suffered the penalty. I wish to demonstrate further the
infelicity of these arms. The mercenary captains are either capable

(01:53:11):
men or they are not. If they are, you cannot
trust them, because they always aspire to their own greatness,
either by oppressing you, who are their master, or others
contrary to your intentions. But if the captain is not skillful,
you are ruined in the usual way. And if it
be urged that whoever is armed will act in the

(01:53:31):
same way, whether mercenary or not, I reply that when
arms have to be resorted to, either by a prince
or a republic, then the prince ought to go in
person and perform the duty of a captain. The republic
has to send its citizens, And when one is sent
who does not turn out satisfactorily, it ought to recall him,
and when one is worthy, to hold him by the

(01:53:52):
laws so that he does not leave the command. And
experience has shown princes and republics single head handed making
the greatest progress, and mercenaries doing nothing except damage. And
it is more difficult to bring a republic armed with
its own arms under the sway of one of its
citizens than it is to bring one armed with foreign arms.

(01:54:15):
Roman Spartans stood for many ages armed and free. The
Switzers are completely armed and quite free of ancient mercenaries.
For example, there are the Carthaginians, who were oppressed by
their mercenary soldiers after the first war with the Romans.
Although the Carthaginians had their own citizens for captains, after

(01:54:39):
the death of the Paminandes, Philip of Macedon was made
captain of their soldiers by the Thebans, and after victory
he took away their liberty. Duke Filippo being dead, the
Milanese enlisted Francesco's Fortza against the Venetians, and he, having
overcome the enemy at Caravajo, allied himself with them to

(01:54:59):
go crush the Milanese. His masters his father Sforza, having
been engaged by Queen Johanna of Naples, left her unprotected,
so that she was forced to throw herself into the
arms of the King of Aragon in order to save
her kingdom. And if the Venetians and Florentines formerly extended

(01:55:20):
their dominions by these arms, and yet their captains did
not make themselves princes, but have defended them, I replied
that the Florentines in this case have been favored by chance.
For of the able captains of whom they might have
stood in fear, some have not conquered, some have been opposed,
and others have turned their ambitions elsewhere. One who did

(01:55:41):
not conquer was Giovanni Acuto. And since he did not conquer,
his fidelity cannot be proved. But everyone will acknowledge that
had he conquered, the Florentines would have stood at his discretion.
Sforza had the Braksesky always against him, so they watched
each other. Francesco turned his ambition to Lombardy Brachio against

(01:56:04):
the Church and the Kingdom of Naples. But let us
come to that which happened a short while ago. The
Florentines appointed as their captain Pagilo Vitelli, a most prudent
man who from a private position had risen to the
greatest renown. If this man had taken Pisa, nobody can

(01:56:25):
deny that it would have been proper for the Florentines
to keep in with him, for if he became the
soldier of their enemies, they had no means of resisting,
and if they held to him, they must obey him.
The Venetians, if their achievements are considered, will be seen
to have acted safely and gloriously, so long as they
sent to war their own men, when with armed gentlemen

(01:56:47):
and plebeians, they did valiantly. This was before they turned
to enterprises on land. But when they began to fight
on land, they forsook this virtue and followed the custom
of Italy. And in the beginning of their expansion on land,
through not having much territory and because of their great reputation,

(01:57:07):
they had not much to fear from their captains. But
when they expanded as under Carmignola, they had a taste
of this mistake, for having found him a most valiant man,
they beat the Duke of Milan under his leadership, and
on the other hand, knowing how lukewarm he was in
the war, they feared they would no longer conquer under him,

(01:57:28):
and for this reason they were not willing, nor were
they able, to let him go, And so not to
lose again that which they had acquired. They were compelled
in order to secure themselves to murder him. They had
afterwards for their captains Bartolomeo de Bergamo, Roberto de san Severino,

(01:57:50):
the Count of Petiliano, and the like, under whom they
had to dread loss and not gain. As happened afterwards
at Vila, were in one battle they lost that which
an eight hundred years they had acquired, with so much trouble.
Because from such arms conquests come but slowly, long delayed,
and inconsiderable, but the loss is sudden and portentous. And

(01:58:13):
as with these examples, I have reached Italy, which has
been ruled for many years by mercenaries, I wished to
discuss them more seriously, in order that, having seen their
rise in progress, one may be better prepared to counteract them.
You must understand that the Empire has recently come to
be repudiated in Italy, that the Pope has acquired more

(01:58:35):
temporal power, and that Italy has been divided up into
more states. For the reason that many of the great
cities took up arms against their nobles, who formerly favored
by the Emperor were oppressing them whilst the Church was
favoring them, so as to gain authority in temporal power.
In many others, their citizens became princes. From this it

(01:58:57):
came to pass that Italy fell partly into the hands
of the Church and of republics, and the Church, consisting
of priests, and the Republic of citizens, unaccustomed to arms,
both commenced to enlist foreigners. The first who gave renown
to this soldiery was Albarigo Deconio, the Romagnian. From the

(01:59:18):
school of this man sprang, among others Bracho and Schorza,
who in their time were the arbiters of Italy. After
these came all the other captains who till now have
directed the arms of Italy. And the end of all
their valor has been that she has been overrun by Charles,
robbed by Lewis, ravaged by Ferdinand, and insulted by the Switzers.

(01:59:42):
The principle that has guided them has been first to
lower the credit of infantry so that they might increase
their own. They did this because, subsisting on their pay
and without territory, they were unable to support many soldiers,
and a few infantry did not give them any authority,
so they were led to employ cavalry with a moderate force,

(02:00:03):
of which they were maintained and honored, and affairs were
brought to such a pass that in an army of
twenty thousand soldiers, there were not to be found two
thousand foot soldiers they had. Besides this, used every arc
to lessen fatigue in danger to themselves and their soldiers,
not killing in the fray, but taking prisoners and liberating

(02:00:24):
without ransom. They did not attack towns at night, nor
did the garrisons of the towns attack encampments at night.
They did not surround the camp either with stockade or ditch,
nor did they campaign in the winter. All these things
were permitted by their military rules, and devised by them
to avoid, as I have said, both fatigue and dangers.

(02:00:47):
Thus they have brought Italy to slavery and contempt. Chapter
thirteen concerning auxiliaries, mixed soldiery and one's own auxiliaries, which
are the other useless arm are employed when a prince
is called in with his forces to aid and defend,
as was done by Pope Julius in the most recent times,

(02:01:10):
for he, having in the enterprise against Ferrara, had poor
proof of his mercenaries turned to auxiliaries and stipulated with Ferdinand,
King of Spain, for his assistance with men in arms.
These arms may be useful and good in themselves, but
for him who calls them, and they are always disadvantageous,

(02:01:32):
for losing one is undone, and winning one is their captive.
And although ancient histories may be full of examples, I
do not wish to leave this recent one of Pope
Julius the Second, the peril of which cannot fail to
be perceived. For he, wishing to get Ferrara, threw himself
entirely into the hands of the foreigner. But his good

(02:01:55):
fortune brought about a third event, so that he did
not reap the fruit of his rash choice. Because, having
his auxiliaries routed at Ravenna, and the Switzers having risen
and driven out the conquerors, against all expectation both his
and others, it so came to pass that he did
not become prisoner to his enemies, they having fled, nor

(02:02:16):
to his auxiliaries. He having conquered by other arms than theirs,
the Florentines, being entirely without arms, sent ten thousand frenchmen
to take Pisa, whereby they ran more danger than at
any other time of their troubles. The Emperor of Constantinople,
to oppose his neighbors, sent ten thousand Turks into Greece, who,

(02:02:39):
on the war being finished, were not willing to quit.
This was the beginning of the servitude of Greece to
the infidels. Therefore, let him who has no desire to conquer,
make use of these arms, for they are much more
hazardous than mercenaries, because with them the ruin is ready made.
They are all united, all yield obedience to war. But

(02:03:00):
with mercenaries, when they have conquered, more time and better
opportunities are needed to injure you. They are not all
of one community, they are found and paid by you,
and a third party, which you have made their head,
is not able all at once to assume enough authority
to injure you. In conclusion. In mercenaries, Dostardy is most

(02:03:23):
dangerous in auxiliaries. Valor, the wise prince, therefore, has always
avoided these arms and turned to his own, and has
been willing rather to lose with them than to conquer
with the others, not deeming that a real victory which
is gained with the arms of others. I shall never
hesitate to cite chaseray Borja and his actions. This Duke

(02:03:47):
entered the Romagna with auxiliaries, taking their only French soldiers,
and with them he captured Imola and Forli. But afterwards
such forces, not appearing to him reliable, he turned to mercenary,
discerning less danger in them, and enlisted the Orsinian Vitelle,
whom presently on handling, and finding them doubtful, unfaithful and dangerous,

(02:04:10):
he destroyed and turned to his own men. 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 Duke when he had the French,
when he had the Orsinian Vitelle, and when he relied
on his own soldiers, on whose fidelity he could always
count and found it ever increasing. He was never esteemed

(02:04:33):
more highly than when everyone saw that he was complete
master of his own forces. I was not intending to
go beyond Italian in recent examples, but I am unwilling
to leave out Hiero the syracusin he being one of
those I have named above. This man, as I have said,
made head of the army by the Syracusans soon found

(02:04:55):
out that a mercenary soldiery constituted like our Italian condo
te was of no use, and it appearing to him
that he could neither keep them nor let them go,
he had them all cut to pieces, and afterwards made
war with his own forces, and not with aliens. I
wish also to recall to memory and instance from the

(02:05:15):
Old Testament applicable to this subject. David offered himself to
Sault to fight with Goliath the phellistin champion, and to
give him courage. Saul armed him with his own weapons,
which David rejected as soon as he had them on
his back, saying he could make no use of them,
and that he wished to meet the enemy with his
sling and his knife. In conclusion, the arms of others

(02:05:40):
either fall from your back, or they weigh you down,
or they bind you fast. Charles the seventh, the father
of King Louis the eleventh, having by good fortune and
valor liberated France from the English, recognized the necessity of
being armed with forces of his own, and he established
in his kingdom ordinances concerning men at arms in infantry. Afterwards,

(02:06:04):
his son, King Louis, abolished the infantry and began to
enlist the switzers, which mistake followed by others, is as
is now seen, a source of peril to that kingdom,
because having raised the reputation of the switzers, he has
entirely diminished the value of his own arms. For he
has destroyed the infantry altogether, and his men at arms

(02:06:26):
he has subordinated to others, for being as they are
so accustomed to fight along with switzers, it does not
appear that they can now conquer without them. Hence it
arises that the French cannot stand against the switzers, and
without the switzers they do not come off well against others.

(02:06:47):
The armies of the French have thus become mixed, partly
mercenary and partly national, both of which arms together are
much better than mercenaries alone or auxiliaries alone, but much
inferior to war one's own forces. And this example proves it,
for the Kingdom of France would be unconquerable if the
Ordinance of Charles had been enlarged or maintained. But the

(02:07:12):
scanty wisdom of man, on entering into an affair which
looks well at first, cannot discern the poison that is
hidden in it, as I have set above of hectic fevers. Therefore,
if he who rules a principality cannot recognize evils until
they are upon him, he is not truly wise. And
this insight is given to few. And if the first

(02:07:34):
disaster to the Roman Empire should be examined, it will
be found to have commenced only with the enlisting of
the Goths, because from that time the vigor of the
Roman Empire began to decline, and all that valor which
had raised it passed away to others. I conclude therefore,
that no principality is secure without having its own forces.

(02:07:57):
On the contrary, it is entirely dependent and on good fortune,
not having the valor which an adversity would defend it.
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 strength.
And one's own forces are those which are composed either

(02:08:19):
of subjects, citizens, or dependents. All others are mercenaries or auxiliaries.
And the way to make ready one's own forces will
be easily found if the rules suggested by me shall
be reflected upon, and if one will consider how Philip,
the father of Alexander the Great, and many republics and
princes have armed and organized themselves to which rules I

(02:08:42):
entirely commit myself. Chapter fourteen, that which concerns a prince
on the subject of the art of war. A prince
ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select
anything else for his study than war and its rules
and discipline, For this is the sole art that belongs

(02:09:03):
to him. Warules and it is of such force that
it not only upholds those who were born princes, but
it often enables men to rise from a private station
to that rank. And on the contrary, it is seen
that when princes have fought more of ease than of arms,
they have lost their states. And the first cause of
your losing it is to neglect this art. And what

(02:09:25):
enables you to acquire a state is to be master
of the art. Francesco's Fortza, through being marshal from a
private person, became Duke of Milan, and the sons, through
avoiding the hardships and troubles of arms from dukes, became
private persons. For among other evils, which being unarmed brings you.

(02:09:46):
It causes you to be despised. And this is one
of those ignominies against which a prince ought to guard himself,
as is shown later on, because there is nothing proportionate
between the armed and the unarmed, and it it is
not reasonable that he who is armed should yield obedience
willingly to him who was unarmed, or that the unarmed
man should be secure among armed servants, because there being

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in the one disdain and in the other's suspicion, it
is not possible for them to work well together. And
therefore a prince who does not understand the art of war,
over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be
respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them.
He ought never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts

(02:10:33):
the subject of war, and in peace he should addict
himself more to its exercise than in war. This he
can do in two ways, the one by action, the
other by study. As regards action, he ought above all
things to keep his men well organized and drilled, to
follow incessantly the chase by which he accustoms his body

(02:10:54):
to hardships, and learns something of the nature of localities,
and gets to find out how the mountains rouse, how
the valleys open, out, how the plains lie, and to
understand the nature of rivers and marshes, and in all
this to take the greatest care. Which knowledge is useful
in two ways. Firstly, he learns to know his country,

(02:11:15):
and is better able to undertake its defense afterwards, by
means of the knowledge and observation of that locality he
understands with these any other which it may be necessary
for him to study hereafter, Because the hills, valleys, and plains,
and rivers and marshes that are, for instance, in Tuscany
have a certain resemblance to those of other countries, so

(02:11:37):
that with a knowledge of the aspect of one country,
one can easily arrive at a knowledge of others. And
the prince that lacks this skill lacks the essential which
it is desirable that a captain should possess, for it
teaches him to surprise his enemy, to select quarters, to
lead armies, to array, the battle, to besiege towns to

(02:11:59):
a stage. Philippemon, Prince of the Achaeans, among other praises
which writers have bestowed on him, is commended because in
time of peace he never had anything in his mind
but the rules of war, And when he was in
the country with friends, he often stopped in reason with them.
If the enemy should be upon that hill, and we

(02:12:20):
should find ourselves here with our army, with whom would
be the advantage, how should one best advance to meet him,
keeping the ranks? If we should wish to retreat, how
ought we to pursue? And he would set forth to
them as he went all the chances that could befall
an army. He would listen to their opinion and state

(02:12:42):
his confirming it with reasons, so that by these continual
discussions there could never arise, in time of war any
unexpected circumstances that he could not deal with. But to
exercise the intellect, the prince should read histories and study
there the actions of the life illustrious men, to see
how they have borne themselves in war, to examine the

(02:13:04):
causes of their victories in defeat, so as to avoid
the latter and imitate the former. And above all due
as an illustrious man did, who took as an exemplar,
one who had been praised and famous before him, and
whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his mind,
as it is said, Alexander the Great imitated Achilles Caesar

(02:13:26):
Alexander Scipio Cyrus. And whoever reads the Life of Cyrus
written by Xenophon will recognize afterwards in the Life of
Scipio how that imitation was his glory, and how in chastity, affability, humanity,
and liberality Scipio conformed to those things which have been
written of Cyrus by Xenophon. A wise prince ought to

(02:13:49):
observe some such rules, and never, in peaceful times stand idle,
but increase his resources with industry in such a way
that they may be available to him in adversity, so
that of fortune chances it may find him prepared to
resist her blows. Chapter fifteen, Concerning things for which men

(02:14:10):
and especially princes are praised or blamed. It remains now
to see what ought to be the rules of conduct
for a prince towards subject and friends. And as I
know that many have written on this point, I expect
I shall be considered presumptuous in mentioning it again, especially
as in discussing it I shall depart from the methods

(02:14:32):
of other people. But it being my intention to write
a thing which shall be useful to him who apprehends it.
It appears to me more appropriate to follow up the
real truth of the matter than the imagination of it.
For many have pictured republics and principalities which in fact
have never been known or seen. Because how one lives
is so far distant from how one ought to live

(02:14:54):
that he who neglects what is done for what ought
to be done sooner affects his ruin than preservation. For
a man who wishes to act entirely up to his
professions of virtues soon meets with what destroys him among
so much that is evil. Hence, it is necessary for
a prince wishing to hold his own to know how

(02:15:16):
to do wrong, and to make use of it or
not according to necessity. Therefore, putting on one side imaginary
things concerning a prince, and discussing those which are real,
I say that all men, when they are spoken of,
and chiefly princes, for being more highly placed, are remarkable
for some of those qualities which bring them either blame

(02:15:36):
or praise. And thus it is that one is reputed
liberal another miserly using a Tuscan term, because an avaricious
person in our language is still he who desires to
possess by robbery, whilst we call one miserly who deprives
himself too much of the use of his own. One
is reputed generous, one rapacious, one cruel, one compassionate, one faithless,

(02:16:01):
another faithful, one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and brave,
one affable, another haughty, one lascivious, another chaste, one sincere,
another cunning, one hard, another easy, one grave, another frivolous,
one religious, another unbelieving, and the like. And I know
that everyone will confess that it would be most praiseworthy

(02:16:24):
in a prince to exhibit all the above qualities that
are considered good. But because they can neither be entirely
possessed nor observed, for human conditions do not permit it.
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 state, and also to
keep himself, if it be possible, from those which would

(02:16:46):
not lose him it. But this not being possible, he may,
with less hesitation, abandon himself to them. And again he
need not make himself uneasy at incurring a reproach for
those vices without which the state can only be saved
with difficulty. For if everything is considered carefully, it will
be found that something which looks like virtue, if followed,

(02:17:09):
would be as ruin, whilst something else which looks like vice,
yet followed, brings him security and prosperity. Chapter sixteen, concerning
liberality and meanness. Commencing then with the first of the
above named characteristics, I say that it would be well

(02:17:30):
to be reputed liberal. Nevertheless, liberality exercised in a way
that does not bring you the reputation for it injures you.
For if one exercises it honestly and as it should
be exercised, it may not become known, and you will
not avoid the reproach of its opposite. Therefore, anyone wishing

(02:17:51):
to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged
to avoid no attribute of magnificence, So that a prince
thus inclined will consume in such acce all his property,
and will be compelled in the end, if he wished
to maintain the name of liberal, to unduly weigh down
his people and tax them, and do everything he can
to get money. This will soon make him odious to

(02:18:13):
his subjects, and becoming poor, he will be little valued
by anyone. Thus, with his liberality having offended many and
rewarded few, he is affected by the very first trouble
and imperiled by whatever may be the first danger. Recognizing
this himself and wishing to draw back from it, he
runs at once into the reproach of being miserly. Therefore,

(02:18:36):
a prince not being able to exercise this virtue of
liberality in such a way that it is recognized, except
to his cost. If he is wise, he ought not
to fear the reputation of being mean, for in time
he will come to be more considered than if liberal,
Seeing that with his economy, his revenues are enough that
he can defend himself against all attacks, and is able

(02:18:58):
to engage in enter prizes without burdening his people. Thus
it comes to pass that he exercises liberality towards ulfrom
whom he does not take, who are numberless, and meanness
towards those to whom he does not give or few.
We have not seen great things done in our time
except by those who have been considered mean. The rest

(02:19:21):
have failed. Pope Julius the second was assisted in reaching
the papacy by a reputation for liberality. Yet he did
not strive afterwards to keep it up when he made
war on the King of France, and he made many
wars without imposing any extraordinary tax on his subjects, for
he supplied his additional expenses out of his long thriftiness.

(02:19:45):
The present King of Spain would not have undertaken or
conquered in so many enterprises if he had been reputed liberal.
A prince therefore, provided that he has not to rob
his subjects, that he can defend himself, that he it
does not become poor and abject, that he is not
forced to become rapacious, ought to hold of little account

(02:20:06):
of reputation for being mean, for it is one of
those vices which will enable him to govern. And if
anyone should say Caesar obtained empire by liberality, and many
others have reached the highest positions by having been liberal
and by being considered so, I answer, either you are
a prince in fact, or in a way to become one.

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In the first case, this liberality is dangerous. In the second,
it is very necessary to be considered liberal. And Caesar
was one of those who wished to become pre eminent
in Rome. But if he had survived after becoming so,
and had not moderated his expenses, he would have destroyed
his government. And if anyone should reply, many have been

(02:20:50):
princes and have done great things with armies who have
been considered very liberal. I reply, either a prince spends
that which is his own or his subject, or else
that of others. In the first case, he ought to
be sparing. In the second, he ought not to neglect
any opportunity for liberality. And to the prince who goes

(02:21:12):
forth with his army supporting it by pillage, sack and extortion,
handling that which belongs to others, this liberality is necessary,
otherwise he would not be followed by soldiers. And of
that which is neither yours nor your subjects, you can
be a ready giver, as were Cyrus, Caesar and Alexander,

(02:21:32):
because it does not take away your reputation if you
squander that of others, but adds to it. It is
only squandering your own that injures you. And there is
nothing waste so rapidly as liberality. For even whilst you
exercise that, you lose the power to do so. And
so become either poor or despised, or else in avoiding poverty,

(02:21:53):
rapacious and hated, and a prince should guard himself above
all things. Again, being despised and hated and liberality leads
you to both. Therefore, it is wiser to have a
reputation for meanness, which brings reproach without hatred, than to
be compelled, through seeking a reputation for liberality, to incur

(02:22:15):
a name for rapacity, which begets reproach with hatred. Chapter seventeen,
concerning cruelty and clemency, and whether it is better to
be loved than feared. Coming now to the other qualities
mentioned above, I say that every prince ought to desire
to be considered clement and not cruel. Nevertheless, he ought

(02:22:39):
to take care not to misuse this clemency. Chaser a
Borgia was considered cruel, notwithstanding his cruelty, reconciled the Romagna,
unified it, and restored it to peace and loyalty. And
if this be rightly considered, he will be seen to
have been much more merciful than the Florentine pace people, who,

(02:23:01):
to avoid a reputation for cruelty, permitted Pistoia to be destroyed. Therefore,
a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united
and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty,
because with a few examples, he will be more merciful
than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise,
from which follow murders or robberies, for these are wont

(02:23:24):
to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate
with a prince offend the individual only. And of all princes,
it is impossible for the new prince to avoid the
imputation of cruelty, owing to new states being full of dangers. Hence, Virgil,
through the mouth of Dido, excuses the inhumanity of her reign,

(02:23:46):
owing to its being new, saying, nevertheless, he ought to
be slow to believe and to act, nor should he
himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner, with
prudence and human vanity, so that too much confidence may
not make him incautious, and too much distrust render him intolerable.

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Upon this, the question arises whether it be better to
be loved than feared, or feared than loved. It may
be answered that one should wish to be both, but
because it is difficult to unite them in one person.
It is much safer to be feared than loved, when
of the two either must be dispensed with, Because this

(02:24:28):
is to be asserted in general of men, that they
are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as
you succeed, they are yours entirely. They will offer you
their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above,
when the need is far distant, But when it approaches,
they turn against you. And that prince, who relying entirely

(02:24:51):
on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined. Because
friendships that are obtained by payments and not by greatness
or non nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but
they are not secured, and in time of need, cannot
be relied upon. And men have less scruple in offending
one who is beloved than one who is feared. For

(02:25:11):
love is preserved by the link of obligation, which, owing
to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity
for their advantage. But fear preserves you by a dread
of punishment, which never fails. Nevertheless, a prince ought to
inspire fear in such a way that if he does
not win love, he avoids hatred, because he can endure

(02:25:34):
very well being feared whilst he is not hated, which
will always be as long as he abstains from the
property of his citizens and subjects, and from their women.
But when it is necessary for him to proceed against
the life of someone, he must do it on proper
justification and for manifest cause. But above all things, he
must keep his hands off the property of others, because

(02:25:57):
men more quickly forget the death of their life father
than the loss of their patrimony. Besides, pretexts for taking
away the property are never wanting, for he who has
once begun to live by robbery will always find pretexts
for seizing what belongs to others. But reasons for taking life,
on the contrary, are more difficult to find in sooner lapse.

(02:26:20):
But when a prince is with his army and has
under control a multitude of soldiers, then it is quite
necessary for him to disregard the reputation of cruelty, for
without it he would never hold his army united or
disposed to its duties. Among the wonderful deeds of Hannibal,
this one is enumerated that, having led an enormous army

(02:26:43):
composed of many various races of men, to fight in
foreign lands, no dissensions arose either among them or against
the Prince, whether in his bad or in his good fortune.
This arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty, which,
with his boundlessnes val made him revered in terrible in
the sight of his soldiers. But without that cruelty, his

(02:27:06):
other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect, and
shortsighted writers admire his deeds from one point of view,
and from another condemned the principal cause of them. That
it is true, as other virtues would not have been
sufficient for him, may be proved by the case of Scipio,
that most excellent man, not only of his own times,

(02:27:27):
but within the memory of man against whom nevertheless his
army rebelled in Spain. This arose from nothing but is
too great forbearance, which gave his soldiers more license than
is consistent with military discipline. For this he was upbraided
in the Senate by Fabius Maximus and called the corruptor

(02:27:47):
of the Roman soldiery. The Locrians were laid waste by
a legat of Scipio. Yet they were not avenged by him,
nor was the insolence of the legate punished, owing entirely
to his easy heath nature, insomuch that someone in the Senate,
wishing to excuse him, said, there were many men who
knew much better how not to err than to correct

(02:28:09):
the errors of others. This disposition, if he had been
continued in the command, would have destroyed in time the
fame and glory of Scipio. But he being under the
control of the Senate, this injurious characteristic not only concealed itself,
but contributed to his glory. Returning to the question of

(02:28:30):
being feared or loved, I come to the conclusion that
men loving according to their own will, and fearing according
to that of the prince. A wise prince should establish
himself on that which is in his own control, and
not in that of others. He must endeavor only to
avoid hatred. As is noted Chapter eighteen concerning the way

(02:28:53):
in which princes should keep faith, everyone admits how praiseworthy
it is and a prince to keep faith and to
live with integrity and not with craft. Nevertheless, our experience

(02:29:13):
has been that those princes who have done great things,
have held good faith of little account, and have known
how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and
in the end have overcome those who have relied on
their word. You must know there are two ways of contesting,
the one by the law, the other by force. The
first method is proper to men, the second to beasts.

(02:29:35):
But because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is
necessary to have recourse to the second. Therefore, it is
necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself
of the beast and the man. This has been figuratively
taught to princes by ancient writers, who describe how Achilles
and many other princes of old were given to the

(02:29:57):
centaur tyrant to nurse, who brought them up in his discipline,
Which means solely that as they had for a teacher,
one who was half beast and half man, so it
is necessary for a prince to know how to make
use of both natures, and that one without the other
is not durable. A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to

(02:30:17):
adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion,
because the lion cannot defend himself against snares, and the
fox cannot defend himself against wolves. Therefore it is necessary
to be a fox to discover the snares, and a
lion to terrify the wolves. Those who rely simply on
the lion do not understand what they are about. Therefore,

(02:30:41):
a wise lord cannot, nor ought he to keep faith
when such observance may be turned against him, and when
the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer.
If men were entirely good, this precept would not hold.
But because they are bad and will not keep faith
with you, you two are not bound to observe it
with them, nor will there ever be wanting to apprince

(02:31:05):
legitimate reasons to excuse this non observance of this endless
Modern examples could be given showing how many treaties and
engagements have been made void and of no effect through
the faithlessness of princes. And he who has known best
how to employ the fox has succeeded best. But it
is necessary to know well how to disguise this characteristic

(02:31:28):
and to be a great pretender and dissembler. And men
are so simple and so subject to present necessities, that
he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who
will allow himself to be deceived. One recent example I
cannot pass over in silence. Alexander the sixth did nothing
else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise,

(02:31:51):
and he always found victims. For there never was a
man who had greater power in asserting, or who with
greater oades would affirm a thing, yet would observe but
it less. Nevertheless, his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes,
because he well understood this side of mankind. Therefore, it
is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good

(02:32:12):
qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to
appear to have them. And I shall dare to say
this also, that to have them and always to observe
them is injurious, and that to appear to have them
is useful. To appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and
to be so, but with a mind so framed that

(02:32:33):
should you require not to be so, you may be
able and know how to change to the opposite. And
you have to understand this, that a prince, especially a
new one, cannot observe all those things for which men
are esteemed being often forced in order to maintain the state,
to act contrary to fidelity, friendship, humanity, and religion. Therefore,

(02:32:57):
it is necessary for him to have a mind ready
to turn it self accordingly as the winds and variations
of fortune force it. Yet, as I have said above,
not to diverge from the good if he can avoid
doing so, but if compelled, then to know how to
set about it. For this reason, a prince ought to
take care that he never lets anything slip from his

(02:33:17):
lips that is not replete with the above named five qualities,
that he may appear to him who sees and hears
him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There is
nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality.
Inasmuch as men judge generally more by the eye than
by the hand. Because it belongs to everybody to see you,

(02:33:40):
to few to come in touch with you. Everyone sees
what you appear to be, few really know what you are,
and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion
of the many, who have the majesty of the state
to defend them. And in the actions of all men,
and especially of princes, which it is not prudent to
challenge one judges by the result. For that reason, let

(02:34:04):
a prince have the credit of conquering and holding his state.
The means will always be considered honest, and he will
be praised by everybody, because the vulgar are always taken
by what a thing seems to be and by what
comes of it. And in the world there are only
the vulgar, for the few find a place. There are
only when the many have no ground to rest on.

(02:34:25):
One prince of the present time, whom it is not
well to name, never preaches anything else but peace and
good faith, and to both he is most hostile, and
either if he had kept it, would have deprived him
of reputation in kingdom many a time Chapter nineteen. That
one should avoid being despised and hated. Now, concerning the

(02:34:49):
characteristics of which mention is made above, I have spoken
of the more important ones. The others I wish to
discuss briefly under this generality, that the prince must conc
as has been in part said before, how to avoid
those things which will make him hated or contemptible. And
as often as he shall have succeeded, he will have
fulfilled his part and he need not fear any danger

(02:35:12):
in other reproaches. It makes him hated above all things,
as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be
a violator of the property in women of his subjects,
from both of which he must abstain, and when neither
their property nor their honor is touched, the majority of
men live content, and he is only to contend with

(02:35:34):
the ambition of a few, whom he con curb with ease.
In many ways, it makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate,
mean spirited, irresolute, from all of which a prince should
guard himself as from Iraq. And he should endeavor to
show in his actions greatness, courage, gravity and fortitude. And

(02:35:56):
in his private dealings with his subjects, let him show
that his judgments are irrevocable, and maintain himself in such
reputation that no one can hope either to deceive him
or to get round him. That prince is highly esteemed
who conveys this impression of himself, And he who is
highly esteemed is not easily conspired against, for provided it

(02:36:18):
is well known that he is an excellent man and
revered by his people. He can only be attacked with difficulty.
For this reason, a prince ought to have two fears,
one from within on account of his subjects, the other
from without, on account of external powers. From the latter
he is defended by being well armed and having good allies.

(02:36:39):
And if he is well armed, he will have good friends,
and affairs will always remain quiet within when they are
quiet without, unless they should have been already disturbed by conspiracy,
and even should affairs outside be disturbed, if he has
carried out his preparations and has lived as I have said,
as long as he does not despair, he will resist
every ad, as I said Knobbes the spartan dead. But

(02:37:04):
concerning his subjects, when affairs outside are disturbed, he is
only to fear that they will conspire secretly, from which
a prince can easily secure himself by avoiding being hated
and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him,
which it is most necessary for him to accomplish. As
I said above at length, and one of the most

(02:37:26):
efficacious remedies that a prince can have against conspiracies is
not to be hated and despised by the people, For
he who conspires against a prince always expects to please
them by his removal. But when the conspirator can only
look forward to offending them, he will not have the
courage to take such a course. For the difficulties that

(02:37:46):
confront a conspirator are infinite, and as experience shows, many
have been the conspiracies, but few have been successful, because
he who conspires cannot act alone, nor can he take
a companion except from those whom he believes to be malcontents.
And as soon as you have opened your mind to
a malcontent, you have given him the material with which

(02:38:07):
to content himself. For by denouncing you he can look
for every advantage. So that, seeing the gain from this
course to be assured, and seeing the other to be
doubtful and full of dangers, he must be a very
rare friend or a thoroughly obstinate enemy of the Prince
to keep faith with you, and to reduce the matter

(02:38:30):
into a small compass. I say that on the side
of the conspirator there is nothing but fear, jealousy, prospect
of punishment to terrify him. But on the side of
the prince there is the majesty of the principality. The laws,
the protection of friends in the state to defend him,
so that, adding to all these things the popular goodwill,

(02:38:50):
it is impossible that anyone should be so rash as
to conspire. For whereas in general the conspirator has to
fear before the execution of his in this case he
has also to fear the sequel to the crime, because
on account of it he has the people for an enemy,
and thus cannot hope for any escape. Endless examples could

(02:39:12):
be given on this subject, but I will be content
with one brought to pass within the memory of our fathers.
Messer Annabel bent of Obli, who was prince in Bologna,
grandfather of the President Annabael, having been murdered by the
canchi who had conspired against him. Not one of his
family survived, but Messer Giovanni, who was in childhood. Immediately

(02:39:35):
after his assassination, the people rose and murdered all the canchee.
This sprung from the popular goodwill which the house of
bentiv Obli enjoyed in those days in Bologna, which was
so great that although none remained thereafter the death of Annabel,
who was able to rule the state. The Boloonnais having
information that there was one of the Bentivogli family in Florence,

(02:39:58):
who up to that time had been concerned, visited the
son of a blacksmith sent to Florence for him, and
gave him the government of their city, and it was
ruled by him until Messer Giovanni came in due course
to the government. For this reason, I consider that a
prince ought to reckon conspiracies of little account when his

(02:40:18):
people hold him in esteem, but when it is hostile
to him and bears hatred towards him, he ought to
fear everything in everybody. And well ordered states and wise
princes have taken every care not to drive the nobles
to desperation, and to keep the people satisfied and contented,
for this is one of the most important objects a

(02:40:39):
prince can have. Among the best ordered in governed kingdoms
of our times is France, and in it are found
many good institutions on which depend the liberty and security
of the king. Of these, the first is the parliament
and its authority, Because he who founded the kingdom, knowing
the ambition of the nobility and their boldness, considered that

(02:41:01):
a bit to their mouths would be necessary to hold
them in and on the other side. Knowing the hatred
of the people founded in fear against the nobles, he
wished to protect them. Yet he was not anxious for
this to be the particular care of the king. Therefore,
to take away the reproach which he would be liable

(02:41:21):
to from the nobles for favoring the people, and from
the people for favoring the nobles, he set up an arbiter,
who should be one who could beat down the great
and favor the lesser without reproach to the king. Neither
could you have a better or a more prudent arrangement,
or a greater source of security to the king and kingdom.

(02:41:42):
From this one can draw another important conclusion, that princes
ought to leave affairs of reproach to the management of others,
and keep those of grace in their own hands. And further,
I consider that a prince ought to cherish the nobles,
but not so as to make himself hated by the people.
It may appear, perhaps to some who have examined the

(02:42:05):
lives and deaths of the Roman emperors, that many of
them would be an example, contrary to my opinion, Seeing
that some of them lived nobly and showed great qualities
of soul. Nevertheless, they have lost their empire or have
been killed by subjects who have conspired against them. Wishing therefore,
to answer these objections, I will recall the characters of

(02:42:26):
some of the emperors, and will show that the causes
of their ruin were not different to those alleged by me.
At the same time, I will only submit for consideration
those things that are noteworthy to him who studies the
affairs of those times. It seems to me sufficient to
take all those emperors who succeeded to the empire, from
Marcus the philosopher down to Maximinus. They were Marcus and

(02:42:50):
his son Commdus, Pertinax, Julian, Severus and his son Antoninus Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander,
and Maximmon. There is first to note that, whereas in
other principalities the ambition of the nobles and the insolence
of the people only have to be contended with, the

(02:43:10):
Roman emperors had a third difficulty in having to put
up with the cruelty and avarice of their soldiers, a
matter so beset with difficulties that it was the ruin
of many for it was a hard thing to give
satisfaction both to soldiers and people, Because the people loved peace,
and for this reason they loved the unaspiring prince, whilst

(02:43:30):
the soldiers loved the warlike prince, who was bold, cruel,
and rapacious, which qualities they were quite willing he should
exercise upon the people, so that they could get double
pay and give vent to their own greed in cruelty. Hence,
it arose that those emperors were always overthrown who, either
by birth or training, had no great authority, And most

(02:43:53):
of them, especially those who came new to the principality,
recognizing the difficulty of these two humors, were inclined to
give satisfaction to the soldiers, caring little about injuring the people,
which course was necessary, because as princes cannot help being
hated by someone, they ought in the first place to

(02:44:15):
avoid being hated by everyone, and when they cannot compass this,
they ought to endeavor with the utmost diligence to avoid
the hatred of the most powerful. Therefore, those emperors who
through inexperience had need of special favor, adhered more readily
to the soldiers than to the people, a course which
turned out advantageous to them or not accordingly, as the

(02:44:37):
prince knew how to maintain authority over them. From these causes,
it arose that Marcus, Pertinax, and Alexander, being all men
of modest life, lovers of justice, enemies to cruelty, humane
and benignant, came to a sad end. Except Marcus, he
alone lived and died honored, because he had succeeded to

(02:44:57):
the throne by hereditary title, and owed nothing either to
the soldiers or the people, And afterwards, being possessed of
many virtues which made him respected, he always kept both
orders in their places whilst he lived, and was neither
hated nor despised. But Pertinax was created emperor against the

(02:45:19):
wishes of the soldiers, being accustomed to live licentiously under commodists,
could not endure the honest life to which Pertinax wished
to reduce them. Thus having given cause for hatred, to
which hatred there was added contempt for his old age.
He was overthrown at the very beginning of his administration.

(02:45:39):
And here it should be noted that hatred is acquired
as much by good works as by bad ones. Therefore,
as I said before, a prince wishing to keep his
state is very often forced to do evil. For when
that body is corrupt, whom you think you of need
of to maintain yourself. It may be either the people,
or the soldiers, or the nobles. You have to submit
to its humors and to go ratify them, and then

(02:46:01):
good works will do you harm. But let us come
to Alexander, who was a man of such great goodness that,
among the other praises which are accorded him as this,
that in the fourteen years he held the empire, no
one was ever put to death by him unjudged. Nevertheless,
being considered effeminine and a man who allowed himself to

(02:46:21):
be governed by his mother, he became despised. The army
conspired against him and murdered him. Turning now to the
opposite characters of Commodus Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, and Maximinus, you
will find them all cruel and rapacious men, who, to
satisfy their soldiers, did not hesitate to commit every kind

(02:46:43):
of iniquity against the people. And all except Severus came
to a bad end. But in Severus there was so
much valor that keeping the soldiers friendly. Although the people
were oppressed by him. He reigned successfully, for his valor
made him so much admired in the sight of him
the soldiers and people, that the latter were kept in

(02:47:04):
a way astonished in awed, and the former respectful and satisfied.
And because the actions of this man, as a new
prince were great, I wished to show briefly that he
knew well how to counterfeit the fox and the lion,
which natures. As I said above, it is necessary for
a prince to imitate. Knowing the sloth of the Emperor Julian,

(02:47:26):
he persuaded the army in Slavonia, of which he was captain,
that it would be right to go to Rome and
avenge the death of Pertinax, who had been killed by
the Praetorian soldiers. And under this pretext, without appearing to
aspire to the throne, he moved the army on Rome
and reached Italy before it was known that he had started.

(02:47:47):
On his arrival at Rome, the Senate, through fear, elected
him emperor and killed Julian. After this there remained for Severus,
who wished to make himself master of the whole empire.
To Iois, two difficulties won in Asia, where Niger, head
of the Asiatic Army, had caused himself to be proclaimed emperor,

(02:48:09):
the other in the West, where Albinus was, who also
aspired to the throne, And as he considered it dangerous
to declare himself hostile to both, he decided to attack
Niger and to deceive Albinus. To the latter. He wrote that,
being elected emperor by the Senate, he was willing to
share the dignity with him and sent him the title

(02:48:31):
of Caesar, and moreover, that the Senate had made Albinus
his colleague, which things were accepted by Albinus as true.
But after Severus had conquered and killed Niger and settled
Oriental affairs, he returned to Rome and complained to the
Senate that Albinus, little recognizing the benefits that he had

(02:48:51):
received from him, had by treachery, sought to murder him,
and for this ingratitude he was compelled to punish him. Afterwards,
he said, he sought him out in France and took
from him his government in life. He who will therefore
carefully examine the actions of this man, will find him
a most valiant lion and a most cunning fox. He

(02:49:12):
will find him feared and respected by everyone, and not
hated by the army. And it need not be wondered
at that he, a new man, was able to hold
the empire so well because his supreme renown always protected
him from that hatred which the people might have conceived
against him for his violence. But his son Antoninus was

(02:49:32):
a most eminent man, and had very excellent qualities, which
made him admirable in the sight of the people, inacceptable
to the soldiers, for he was a warlike man, most
enduring of fatigue, a despiser of all delicate food and
other luxuries, which caused him to be beloved by the armies. Nevertheless,
his ferocity and cruelties were so great and so unheard of, that,

(02:49:57):
after endless single murders he killed a large number of
the people of Rome and all those of Alexandria. He
became hated by the whole world, and also feared by
those he had around him, to such an extent that
he was murdered in the midst of his army by
a centurion. And here it must be noted that such

(02:50:17):
like deaths, which are deliberately inflicted with a resolved in
desperate courage cannot be avoided by princes, because anyone who
does not fear to die can inflict them. But a
prince may fear them the less because they are very rare.
He is only to be careful not to do any
grave injury to those whom he employs or has around
him in the service of the state. Antoninus had not

(02:50:40):
taken this care, but had contomiliously killed a brother of
that centurion, whom also he daily threatened, yet retained in
his bodyguard, which, as it turned out, was a rash
thing to do, and prove the emperor's ruin. But let
us come to Commodus, to whom it should have been
very easy to hold the end empire, for being the

(02:51:01):
son of Marcus, he had inherited it, and he had
only to follow in the footsteps of his father to
please his people and soldiers. But being by nature cruel
and brutal, he gave himself up to amusing the soldiers
in corrupting them so that he might indulge his rapacity
upon the people. On the other hand, not maintaining his dignity,

(02:51:22):
often descending to the theater to compete with gladiators, and
doing other vile things. Little worthy of the imperial majesty.
He fell into contempt with the soldiers, and being hated
by one party and despised by the other, he was
conspired against and was killed. It remains to discuss the

(02:51:43):
character of Maximinus. He was a very warlike man, and
the armies, being disgusted with the effeminacy of Alexander, of
whom I have already spoken, killed him and elected Maximinus
to the throne. This he did not possess for law,
for two things made him hated and despised. The one

(02:52:03):
his having kept sheep and thrace, which brought him into contempt,
it being well known to all and considered a great
indignity by everyone. And the other his having, at the
accession to his dominions, deferred going to Rome and taking
possession of the imperial seat. He had also gained a
reputation for the utmost ferocity by having, through his prefects

(02:52:24):
in Roman elsewhere in the Empire, practiced many cruelties, so
that the whole world was moved to anger at the
meanness of his birth and to fear at his barbarity.
First Africa rebelled, then the Senate, with all the people
of Rome and all Italy conspired against him, to which
maybe added his own army. This latter, besieging Aquileia, and

(02:52:48):
meeting with difficulties in taking it, were disgusted with his cruelties, and,
fearing him less, when they found so many against him,
murdered him. I do not wish to discuss Helly again Abolis,
Macrinus or Julian, who, being thoroughly contemptible, were quickly wiped out.
But I will bring this discourse to a conclusion by

(02:53:09):
saying that princes in our times have this difficulty of
giving inordinate satisfaction to their soldiers in a far less degree,
because notwithstanding one has to give them some indulgence, that
is soon done. None of these princes have armies that
are veterans in the governance and administration of provinces, as
were they armies of the Roman Empire. And whereas it

(02:53:32):
was then more necessary to give satisfaction to the soldiers
than to the people, it is now more necessary to
all princes, except the Turk and the Suldan, to satisfy
the people rather the soldiers, because the people are the
more powerful. From the above, I have accepted the Turk,
who always keeps round him twelve thousand infantry in fifteen

(02:53:54):
thousand cavalry, on which depend the security and strength of
the kingdom. And it is necessary that, putting aside every
consideration for the people, he should keep them as friends.
The kingdom of the Suldan is similar, being entirely in
the hands of soldiers. It follows again that without regard
to the people, he must keep them as friends. But

(02:54:17):
you must note that the state of the Suldan is
unlike all other principalities for the reason that it is
like the Christian Pontificate, which cannot be called either an
hereditary or a newly formed principality, because the sons of
the old prince are not the heirs, but he who
is elected to that position by those who have authority,
and the sons remain only noblemen. And this being in

(02:54:41):
ancient custom, it cannot be called a new principality, because
there are none of those difficulties in it that are
met with in new ones. For although the prince is knew,
the constitution of the state is old, and it is
framed so as to receive him as if he were
its hereditary lord. But returning to them, the subject of
our discourse. I say that whoever will consider it, will

(02:55:04):
acknowledge that either hatred or contempt has been fatal to
the above named emperors, and it will be recognized also
how it happened that a number of them, acting in
one way and a number in another, only one in
each way came to a happy end, and the rest
to unhappy ones. Because it would have been useless and
dangerous for Pertinax and Alexander, being new princes, to imitate Marcus,

(02:55:27):
who was heir to the principality. And likewise it would
have been utterly destructive to Caracalla, Commodus and Maximinus to
have imitated Severus, they not having sufficient valor to enable
them to tread in his footsteps. Therefore, a prince new
to the principality cannot imitate the actions of Marcus, nor again,

(02:55:49):
is it necessary to follow those of Severus. But he
ought to take from Severus those parts which are necessary
to found his state, and from Marcus those which are
proper and glorious to keep a stone that may already
be stable and firm Chapter twenty. Are fortresses and many
other things to which princes often resort, advantageous or hurtful.

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Some princes, so as to hold securely the state, have
disarmed their subjects. Others have kept their subject towns distracted
by factions. Others have fostered enmities against themselves. Others have
laid themselves out to gain over those whom they distrusted
in the beginning of their governments. Some have built fortresses,
some have overthrown and destroyed them. And although one cannot

(02:56:37):
give a final judgment on all of these things unless
one possesses the particulars of those states in which a
decision has to be made, Nevertheless, I will speak as
comprehensively as the matter of itself, will admit there never
was a new prince who has disarmed as subjects. Rather,
when he has found them disarmed, he has always armed them,

(02:56:58):
Because by arming them those arms become yours. Those men
who were distrusted become faithful, and those who were faithful
or kept so, and your subjects become your adherents. And
whereas all subjects cannot be armed, yet when those whom
you do arm are benefited, the others can be handled
more freely. And this difference in their treatment, which they

(02:57:20):
quite understand, makes the former your dependence, and the latter,
considering it to be necessary that those who have the
most danger in service should have the most reward, excuse you.
But when you disarm them, you at once offend them
by showing that you distrust them, either for cowardice or
for want of loyalty. And either of these opinions breeds

(02:57:41):
hatred against you. And because you cannot remain unarmed, it
follows that you turn to mercenaries, which are of the
character already shown. Even if they should be good, they
would not be sufficient to defend you against powerful enemies
and distrusted subjects. Therefore, as as I have said, a
new prince and a new principality has always distributed arms.

(02:58:06):
Histories are full of examples. But when a prince acquires
a new state, which he adds as a province to
his old one, then it is necessary to disarm the
men of that state, except those who have been his
adherents in acquiring it, And these, again, with time and opportunity,
should be rendered soft and effeminate, And matters should be

(02:58:27):
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 you. Our forefathers and
those who were reckoned wise were accustomed to say that
it was necessary to hold Pistolia by factions in Pisa
by fortresses, and with this idea they fostered quarrels in
some of their tributary towns so as to keep possession

(02:58:50):
of them the more easily. This may have been well
enough in those times when Italy was in a way balanced,
but I do not believe that it can be accepted
as a precess for today, because I do not believe
that factions can never be of use. Rather, it is
certain that when the enemy comes upon you in divided cities,
you are quickly lost, because the weakest party will always

(02:59:12):
assist the outside forces, and the other will not be
able to resist. The Venetians, moved, as I believe, by
the above reasons, fostered the Guelf and Ghibbelin factions in
their tributary cities, And although they never allowed them to
come to bloodshed, yet they nursed these disputes amongst them,
so that the citizens distracted by their differences should not

(02:59:35):
unite against them, which, as we saw, did not afterwards
turn out as expected, because after the routed Vila, one
party at once took courage and seize the state. Such
methods argue therefore weakness in the prince, because these factions
will never be permitted in a vigorous principality. Such methods

(02:59:57):
for enabling one the more easily to manage subjects only
useful in times of peace. But if war comes, this
policy proves fallacious. Without doubt, princes become great when they
overcome the difficulties and obstacles by which they are confronted,
and therefore, fortune, especially when she desires to make a
new prince great, who has a greater necessity to earn

(03:00:20):
renown than an hereditary one, causes enemies to arise and
form designs against him, in order that he may have
the opportunity of overcoming them, and by them to mount higher,
as by a ladder which his enemies have raised. For
this reason, many consider that a wise prince, when he
has the opportunity, ought with craft to foster some animosity

(03:00:42):
against himself, so that, having crushed it, his renown may
rise higher. Princes, especially new ones, have found more fidelity
and assistance than those men who, in the beginning of
their rule were distrusted than among those who in the
beginning were trusted. Pandulpho Petrucci, Prince of Siena, ruled his

(03:01:03):
state more by those who had been distrusted than by others.
But on this question one cannot speak generally, for it
veries so much with the individual. I will only say
this that those men who, at the commencement of a
princedam have been hostile, if they are of a description
to need assistance to support themselves, can always be gained

(03:01:24):
over with the greatest ease, and they will be tightly
held to serve the Prince with fidelity, inasmuch as they
know it to be very necessary for them to cancel
by deeds the bad impression which he had formed of them.
And thus the Prince always extracts more profit from them
than from those who serving him in too much security,

(03:01:45):
may neglect his affairs. And since the matter demands it,
I must not fail to warn a prince who, by
means of secret favors, has acquired a new state, that
he must well consider the reasons which induced those to
favor him who did so, And if it be not
a natural affection towards him, but only discontent with their government,

(03:02:05):
then he will only keep them friendly with great trouble
and difficulty, for it will be impossible to satisfy them.
And weighing well the reasons for this, and those examples
which can be taken from ancient and modern affairs, we
shall find that it is easier for the prince to
make friends of those men who were contented under the
former government, and are therefore his enemies, than of those who,

(03:02:28):
being discontented with it, were favorable to him and encouraged
him to seize it. It has been accustomed with princes,
in order to hold their states more securely, to build
fortresses that may serve as a bridle and bit to
those who might design to work against them, and as
a place of refuge from a first attack. I praise

(03:02:50):
this system because it has been made use of formerly,
notwithstanding that Messer Niccolo Vitelei in our times has been
seen to demolish two forts tresses Incida di Castello, so
that he might keep that state. Guido Obaldo, Duke of Urbino,
on returning to his dominion, whence he had been driven
by chesare Borgia, raised to the foundations all the fortresses

(03:03:13):
in that province, and considered that without them it would
be more difficult to lose it. The Bentivogli, returning to Bologna,
came to a similar decision. Fortresses, therefore, are useful or
not according to circumstances. If they do you good in
one way, they injure you in another. And this question

(03:03:33):
can be reasoned. Thus, the prince who has more to
fear from the people than from foreigners, ought to build fortresses.
But he who has more to fear from foreigners than
from the people, ought to leave them alone. The Castle
of Milan, built by Francesco's Fortza, has made and will
make more trouble for the House of Sportza than any

(03:03:53):
other disorder in the state. For this reason, the best
possible fortresses not to be hated by the people, because
although you may hold the fortresses, yet they will not
save you if the people hate you, for there will
never be wanting foreigners to assist of people who have
taken arms against you. It has not been seen in

(03:04:14):
our times that such fortresses have been of use to
Winny prince, unless to the Countess of Forli, when the
Count Girolamo, her consort, was killed, for by that means
she was able to withstand the popular attack and wait
for assistance from Milan and thus recover her state. And
the posture of affairs was such at that time that
the foreigners could not assist the people. But fortresses were

(03:04:37):
of little value to her afterwards, when cheseray borgaw attacked her,
and when the people her enemy, were allied with foreigners. Therefore,
it would have been safer for her both then and before,
not to have been hated by the people than to
have had the fortresses. All these things considered, then I

(03:04:57):
shall praise him who builds fortresses, as as well as
him who does not, and I shall blame however, trusting
in them, cares little about being hated by the people.
Chapter twenty one, How a prince should conduct himself so
as to gain renown. Nothing makes a prince so much

(03:05:18):
esteemed as great enterprises, and setting a fine example, we
have in our time Ferdinand of Aragon, the present King
of Spain. He can almost be called a new prince,
because he has risen by fame and glory from being
an insignificant king to be the foremost king in Christendom.
And if you will consider his deeds, you will find

(03:05:40):
them all great, in some of them extraordinary. In the
beginning of his reign. He attacked Granada, and this enterprise
was the foundation of his dominions. He did this quietly
at first, and without any fear of hindrance, for he
held the minds of the barons of Castile occupied in
thinking of the war and not anticipating any innovations. Thus

(03:06:02):
they did not perceive that by these means he was
acquiring power and authority over them. He was able, with
the money of the church and of the people, to
sustain his armies, and by that long war delay the
foundation for the military skill which has since distinguished him. Further,
always using religion as a plea so as to undertake

(03:06:24):
greater schemes, he devoted himself with pious cruelty to driving
out and clearing his kingdom of the moors. Nor could
there be a more admirable example, nor one more rare.
Under this same cloak, he hassailed Africa, he came down
on Italy, he has finally attacked France. And thus his
achievements and designs have always been great, and have kept

(03:06:45):
the minds of his people in suspense and admiration and
occupied with the issue of them, And his actions have
arisen in such a way one out of the other,
that men have never been given time to work steadily
against him. Again, it much assists a prince to set
unusual examples in internal affairs, similar to those which are

(03:07:07):
related of Messer Bernabo di Milano, who, when he had
the opportunity by anyone in civil life, doing some extraordinary thing,
either good or bad, would take some method of rewarding
or punishing him, which would be much spoken about. And
a prince ought, above all things, always endeavor in every
action to gain for himself the reputation of being a

(03:07:30):
great and remarkable man. A prince is also respected when
he is either a true friend or a downright enemy,
that is to say, when without any reservation, he declares
himself in favor of one party against the other, which
course will always be more advantageous than standing neutral, because
if two of your powerful neighbors come to blows, they

(03:07:52):
are of such a character that if one of them conquers,
you have either to fear him or not. In either case,
it will always be more advantageous for you to declare
yourself and to make war strenuously, because in the first case,
if you do not declare yourself, you will invariably fall
a prey to the conqueror, to the pleasure and satisfaction

(03:08:13):
of him who has been conquered. And you will have
no reasons to offer, nor anything to protect or to
shelter you, because he who conquers does not want doubtful
friends who will not aid him in the time of trial,
and he who loses will not harbor you, because you
did not willingly sword in hand court his fate. Antiochus

(03:08:34):
went into Greece, being sent for by the Eetolians to
drive out the Romans. He sent envoys to the Achaeans,
who were friends of the Romans, exhorting them to remain neutral,
and on the other hand, the Romans urged them to
take up arms. This question came to be discussed in
the council of the Achaeans, or the legate of Antiochus

(03:08:56):
urged them to stand neutral. To this, the Roman leggot answered,
as for that which has been said, that it is
better and more advantageous for your state not to interfere
in our war. Nothing can be more erroneous, because by
not interfering you will be left without favor or consideration
the girden of the conqueror. Thus it will always happen

(03:09:19):
that he who is not your friend will demand your neutrality,
whilst he who is your friend will entreat you to
declare yourself with arms and irresolute Princes, to avoid present dangers,
generally follow the neutral path and are generally ruined. But
when a prince declares himself gallantly in favor of one side,

(03:09:40):
if the party with whom he allies himself conquers, although
the victor may be powerful and may have him at
his mercy, yet he is indebted to him, and there
is established a bond of amity. And men are never
so shameless as to become a monument of ingratitude by
oppressing you. Victories, after all, are never so so complete
that the victor must not show some regard, especially to justice.

(03:10:06):
But if he with whom you ally yourself loses, you
may be sheltered by him, and whilst he is able,
he may aid you, and you become companions on a
fortune that may rise again. In the second case, when
those who fight are of such a character that you
have no anxiety as to who may conquer, so much,
the more is it greater prudence to be allied, because

(03:10:27):
you assist at the destruction of one by the aid
of another, who, if he had been wise, would have
saved him in conquering. As it is impossible that he
should not do with your assistance, he remains at your discretion.
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 others,

(03:10:50):
unless necessity compels him, as is said above, because if
he conquers you or at his discretion, and princes ought
to avoid as much as possible being at the agression
of anyone. The Venetians joined with France against the Duke
of Milan, and this alliance, which caused their ruin, could
have been avoided. But when it cannot be avoided, as

(03:11:12):
happened to the Florentines, when the Pope and Spain sent
armies to attack Lombardy, then in such a case, for
the above reasons, the prince ought to favor one of
the parties. Never let any government imagine that it can
choose perfectly safe courses. Rather, let it expect to have
to take very doubtful ones, because it is found in

(03:11:33):
ordinary affairs that one never seeks to avoid one trouble
without running into another. But prudence consists in knowing how
to distinguish the character of troubles and for choice to
take the lesser evil. A prince ought also to show
himself a patron of ability, and to honor the proficient
in every art. At the same time, he should encourage

(03:11:56):
his citizens to practice their callings peaceably, both in commerce
and as agriculture, and in every other following, 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 trait for fear of taxes. But
the prince ought to offer rewards to whoever wishes to
do these things and designs in any way to honor

(03:12:18):
his city or state. Further, he ought to entertain the
people with festivals and spectacles at convenience seasons of the year.
And as every city is divided into guilds or into societies,
he ought to hold such bodies in esteem and associate
with them sometimes, and show himself an example of courtesy
and liberality, nevertheless, always maintaining the majesty of his rank.

(03:12:42):
For this he must never consent to abate in anything.
Chapter twenty two concerning the secretaries of princes. The choice
of servants is of no little importance to a prince,
and they are good or not according to the discrimination
of the prince. And the first opinion which one forms

(03:13:05):
of a prince and of his understanding, is by observing
the men he has around him. And when they are
capable and faithful, he may always be considered wise, because
he has known how to recognize the capable and to
keep them faithful. But when they are otherwise, one cannot
form a good opinion of him, for the prime error
which he made was in choosing them. There were none

(03:13:29):
who knew. Messer Antonio de Vanafro is the servant of
Pandolpho Petrucci, Prince of Siena. Who would not consider Pandulpho
to be a very clever man in having Vanafro for
his servant. Because there are three classes of intellects, one
which comprehends by itself, another which appreciates what others comprehended,

(03:13:50):
and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by
the showing of others. The first is the most excellent,
the second is good, the third is useless. Therefore, it
follows necessarily that if Pandulpho was not in the first rank,
he was in the second. For whenever one has judgment
to know good and bad when it is said and done,

(03:14:11):
although he himself may not have the initiative, yet he
can recognize the good and the bad in his servant,
and the one he can praise in the other correct
Thus the servant cannot hope to deceive him, and is
kept honest. But to enable a prince to form an
opinion of his servant, there is one test which never fails.
When you see the servant thinking more of his own

(03:14:33):
interests than of yours, and seeking inwardly his own profit
in everything, such a man will never make a good servant,
nor will you ever be able to trust him, because
he who has the state of another in his hands,
ought never to think of himself, but always of his prince,
and never pay any attention to matters in which the
prince is not concerned. On the other hand, to keep

(03:14:56):
his servant honest, the prince ought to study him, honoring him,
enriching him, doing him kindnesses, sharing with him the honors
and cares, and at the same time let him see
that he cannot stand alone, so that many honors may
not make him desire more, many riches make him wish
for more, and that many cares may make him dread chances.

(03:15:17):
When therefore, servants and princes towards servants are thus disposed,
they can trust each other. But when it is otherwise,
the end will always be disastrous for either one or
the other. Chapter twenty three. How flatterers should be avoided.
I do not wish to leave out an important branch

(03:15:39):
of this subject, for it is a danger from which
princes are with difficulty preserved unless they are very careful
and discriminating. It is that of flatterers, of whom courts
are full, because men are so self complacent in their
own affairs, and in a way so deceived in them,
that they are preserved with difficulty from this past. And

(03:16:01):
if they wish to defend themselves, they run the danger
of falling into contempt. Because there is no other way
of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that
to tell you the truth does not offend you, but
when everyone may tell you the truth, respect for you abates. Therefore,
a wise prince ought to hold a third course by

(03:16:23):
choosing the wise men in his state, and giving to
them only the liberty of speaking the truth to him,
and then only of those things of which he inquires,
and of none others. But he ought to question them
upon everything, and listen to their opinions, and afterwards form
his own conclusions. With these counselors separately and collectively. He

(03:16:43):
ought to carry himself in such a way that each
of them should know that the more freely he shall speak,
the more he shall be preferred. Outside of these, he
should listen to no one, pursue the thing resolved on,
and be steadfast in his resolutions. He who does otherwise
is either overthrown by flatterers, or is so often changed

(03:17:04):
by varying opinions that he falls into contempt. I wish
on this subject to adduce a modern example. Frauluca, the
man of affairs to Maximilian, the present Emperor, speaking of
his majesty, said he consulted with no one, yet never
got his own way in anything. This arose because of

(03:17:26):
his following a practice the opposite to the above. For
the emperor is a secret of man. He does not
communicate his designs to anyone, nor does he receive opinions
on them, but as in carrying them into effect, they
become revealed and known. They are at once obstructed by
those men whom he has around him, and he, being pliant,

(03:17:47):
is diverted from them. Hence it follows that those things
he does one day, he undoes the next, and no
one ever understands what he wishes or intends to do,
and no one can rely on his resolutions. A prince
therefore ought always to take counsel, but only when he wishes,
and not when others wish. He ought rather to discourage

(03:18:09):
everyone from offering advice unless he asks it. But however,
he ought to be a constant inquirer and afterwards a
patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired. Also,
on learning that anyone, on any consideration has not told
him the truth, he should let his anger be felt.
And if there are some who think that a prince

(03:18:30):
who conveys an impression of his wisdom is not so
through his own ability, but through the good advisers that
he has around him, beyond doubt, they are deceived, because
this is an axiom which never fails. That a prince
who is not wise himself will never take good advice,
unless by chance, he has yielded his affairs entirely to
one person who happens to be a very prudent man.

(03:18:53):
In this case, indeed, he may be well governed, but
it would not be for long, because such a governor
would but in a short time, take away his state
from him. But if a prince who is not inexperienced
should take counsel from more than one, he will never
get united councils, nor will he know how to unite them.
Each of the councilors will think of his own interests,

(03:19:16):
and the prince will not know how to control them
or to see through them. And they are not to
be found otherwise, because men will always prove untrue to
you unless they are kept honest by constraint. Therefore, it
must be inferred that good counsels, whensoever they come, are
born of the wisdom of the prince, and not the

(03:19:37):
wisdom of the prince from good councils. Chapter twenty four.
Why the Princes of Italy have lost their states. The
previous suggestions, carefully observed, will enable a new prince to
appear well established and render him at once more secure
and fixed in the state than if he had been

(03:19:59):
long seated there For the actions of a new prince
are more narrowly observed than those of an hereditary one,
and when they are seen to be able, they gain
more men and bind far tighter than ancient blood. Because
men are attracted more by the present than by the past,
and when they find the present good, they enjoy it
and seek no further. They will also make the utmost

(03:20:20):
defense of a prince if he fails them not in
other things. Thus it will be a double glory for
him to have established a new principality and adorned and
strengthened it with good laws, good arms, good allies, and
with a good example. So will it be a double
disgrace to him born a prince shall lose his state
by want of wisdom. And if those seignors are considered

(03:20:44):
who have lost their states in Italy in our times,
such as the King of Naples, the Duke of Milan,
and others, there will be found in them, firstly, one
common defect in regard to arms, from the causes which
have been disgusted at length. In the next place, some
one of them will be seen either to have had
the people hostile, or if he has had the people friendly,

(03:21:05):
he has not known how to secure the nobles. In
the absence of these defect, states that have power enough
to keep an army in the field cannot be lost.
Philip of Macedon, not the father of Alexander the Great,
but he who was conquered by Titus Quintius, had not
much territory compared to the greatness of the Romans and

(03:21:27):
of Greece who attacked him. Yet, being a warlike man
who knew how to attract the people and secure the nobles,
he sustained the war against his enemies for many years.
And if in the end he lost the dominion of
some cities, nevertheless he retained the kingdom. Therefore, do not
let our princes accuse fortune for the loss of their

(03:21:48):
principalities after so many years possession, but rather their own sloth,
because in quiet times they never thought there could be
a change. It is a common defect in man not
to make any provision in the calm against the tempest,
And when afterwards the bad times came, they thought of
flight and not of defending themselves. And they hope that
the people, disgusted with the insolence of the conquerors would

(03:22:11):
recall them. This course when others fail may be good,
but it is very bad to have neglected all other
expedients for that, since you would never wish to fall
because you trusted to be able to find someone later
on to restore you. This again, either does not happen,
or if it does, it will not be for your security,

(03:22:32):
because that deliverance is of no avail which does not
depend upon yourself. Those only are reliable, certain, and durable
that depend on yourself and your valor Chapter twenty five.
What fortune can affect in human affairs and how to
withstand her? It is not unknown to me how many

(03:22:54):
men have had and still have 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 them.
And because of this they would have us believe that
it is not necessary to labor much in affairs, but
to let chance govern them. This opinion has been more

(03:23:15):
credited in our times because of the great changes in
affairs which have been seen and may still be seen
every day, beyond all human conjecture. Sometimes pondering over this,
I am in some degree inclined to their opinion, nevertheless,
not to extinguish our free will. I hold it to

(03:23:35):
be true that Fortune is the arbiter of one half
of our actions, but that she still leaves us to
direct the other half, or perhaps a little less. I
compare her to one of those raging rivers, which, when
in flood, overflows the plains, sweeping away trees and buildings,
bearing away the soil from place to place. Everything flies

(03:23:56):
before it, all yield to its violence, without being able
to any way to withstand it. And yet though its
nature be such, it does not follow therefore, that men,
when the weather becomes fair, shall not make provision both
with defenses and barriers, in such a manner that, rising again,
the waters may pass away by canal, and their force

(03:24:18):
be neither so unrestrained nor so dangerous. So it happens
with Fortune, who shows her power where valor has not
prepared to resist her. And thither she turns her forces
where she knows that barriers and defenses have not been
raised to constrain her. And if you will consider Italy,
which is the seat of these changes, and which has

(03:24:39):
given to them their impulse, you will see it to
be an open country without barriers and without any defense.
For if it had been defended by proper valor, as
are Germany, Spain and France, either this invasion would not
have made the great changes it has made, or it
would not have come at all. And this I consider

(03:25:00):
enough to say concerning resistance to fortune in general, But
confining myself more to the particular, I say that a
prince may be seen happy today and ruined tomorrow, without
having shown any change of disposition or character. This I
believe arises firstly from causes that have already been discussed

(03:25:21):
at length, namely, that the prince who relies entirely on
fortune is lost when it changes. I believe also that
he will be successful who directs his actions according to
the spirit of the times, and that he whose actions
do not accord with the times will not be successful.
Because men are seen in affairs that lead to the

(03:25:43):
end which every man has before him, namely glory, and
riches to get there by various methods, one with caution,
another with haste, one by force, another by skill, one
by patience, another by its opposite, and each one succeeds
in reaching the goal by a different method. One can
also see if two cautious men, the one attain his end,

(03:26:05):
the other fail. And similarly two men, by different observances
are equally successful, the one being cautious the other impetuous.
All this arises from nothing else than whether or not
they can form in their methods to the spirit of
the times. This follows from what I have said, that
two men working differently bring about the same effect, and

(03:26:26):
of two working similarly, one attains his object and the
other does not. Changes in a state also issue from this.
For if to one who governs himself with caution in patience,
times and affairs converge in such a way that his
administration is successful, his fortune is made. But if times
and affairs change, he is ruined if he does not

(03:26:48):
change his course of action. But a man is not
often found sufficiently circumspect to know how to accommodate himself
to the change, both because he cannot deviate from what
nature incliness to do, and also because having always prospered
by acting in one way, he cannot be persuaded that
it is well to leave it. And therefore the cautious man,

(03:27:10):
when it is time to turn adventurous, does not know
how to do it. Hence he is ruined. But had
he changed his conduct with the time's fortune would not
have changed. Pope Julius the second went to work impetuously
in all his affairs, and found the times and circumstances
conformed so well to that line of action that he

(03:27:30):
always met with success. Consider his first enterprise against Bologna
Messer Giovanni Bentivogli, being still alive. The Venetians were not
agreeable to it, nor was the King of Spain, and
he had the enterprise still under discussion with the King
of France. Nevertheless, he personally entered upon the expedition with

(03:27:52):
his accustomed boldness and energy, a move which made Spain
and the Venetians stand irresolute and passive, the latter from fear,
the former from desire to recover the Kingdom of Naples.
On the other hand, he drew after him the King
of France, because that king, having observed the movement and
desiring to make the Pope his friends so as to

(03:28:15):
humble the Venetians, found it impossible to refuse him. Therefore, Julius,
with his impetuous action, accomplished what no other pontiff with
simple human wisdom could have done. For if he had
waited in Rome until he could get away with his
plans arranged in everything fixed, as any other pontiff would
have done, he would never have succeeded, because the King

(03:28:38):
of France would have made a thousand excuses, and the
others would have raised a thousand fears. I will leave
his other actions alone, as they were all alike, and
they all succeeded, for the shortness of his life did
not let him experience the contrary. But if circumstances had
arisen which required him to go cautiously, his ruin would followed,

(03:29:01):
because he would never have deviated from those ways to
which nature inclined him. I conclude therefore, that fortune, being
changeful and mankind steadfast in their ways, so long as
the two are in agreement, men are successful, but unsuccessful
when they fall out. For my part, one consider that
it is better to be adventurous than cautious, because fortune

(03:29:24):
is a woman, and if you wish to keep her under,
it is necessary to beat an ill user. And it
is seen that she allows herself to be mastered by
the adventurous, rather than by those who go to work
more coldly. She is therefore always woman like a lover
of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent,

(03:29:44):
and with more audacity. Commander, Chapter twenty six, an exhortation
to liberate Italy from the Barbarians. Having carefully considered the
subject of the above discord, and wondering within myself whether
the present times were propitious to a new prince, and

(03:30:05):
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 honor to him and good
to the people of this country, it appears to me
that so many things concur to favor a new Prince,
that I never knew a time more fit than the present.
And if, as I said, it was necessary that the

(03:30:27):
people of Israel should be captives so as to make
manifest the ability of Moses, that the Persians should be
oppressed by the Meeds so as to discover the greatness
of the soul of Cyrus, and that the Athenians should
be dispersed to illustrate the capabilities of theseus, then at
the present time, in order to discover the virtue of
an Italian spirit, it was necessary that Italy should be

(03:30:50):
reduced to the extremity that she is now in that
she should be more enslaved than the Hebrews, more oppressed
than the Persians, more scattered than the Athenians, without head,
without order, beaten, despoiled, torn overrun, and to have endured
every kind of desolation. Although lately some spark may have

(03:31:11):
been shown by one which made us think he was
ordained by God for our redemption, nevertheless, it was afterwards seen,
in the height of his career that fortune rejected him,
so that Italy left us without life. Waits for him
who shall yet heal her wounds and put an end
to the ravaging and plundering of Lombardy, to the swindling
and taxing of the kingdom and of Tuscany, and cleanse

(03:31:34):
those swords that for long have festered. It is seen
how she entreats God to send someone who shall deliver
her from these wrongs in barbarous insolencies. It is seen
also that she is ready and willing to follow a banner,
if only someone will raise it. Nor is there to
be seen at present one in whom she can place

(03:31:55):
more hope than in your illustrious house, with its valor
and fortune favored by God, and by the Church of
which it is now the chief, and which could be
made the head of this redemption. This will not be
difficult if you will recall to yourself the actions and
lives of the men I have named. And although they
were great and wonderful men, yet they were men, and

(03:32:18):
each one of them had no more opportunity than the
present offers, for their enterprises were neither more just nor
easier than this. Nor was God more their friend than
he is yours. With us, there is great justice, because
that war is just, which is necessary, and arms are
hallowed when there is no other hope. But in them.

(03:32:39):
Here there is the greatest willingness. And where the willingness
is great, the difficulties cannot be great if you will
only follow those men to whom I have directed your attention.
Further than this, how extraordinarily the ways of God have
been manifested beyond example, the sea is divided, a cloud
is led, the way the rock has poured forth water,

(03:33:01):
it has rained manna. Everything has contributed to your greatness.
You ought to do the rest. God is not willing
to do everything, and thus take away our free will
and that share of glory which belongs to us. And
it is not to be wondered that if none of
the above named Italians have been able to accomplish all

(03:33:21):
that is expected from your illustrious house, and if in
so many revolutions in Italy, and in so many campaigns,
it has always appeared as if military virtue were exhausted.
This has happened because the old order of things was
not good, and none of us have known how to
find a new one. And nothing honors a man more

(03:33:41):
than to establish new laws and new ordinances when he
himself was newly risen. Such things, when they are well
founded and dignified, will make him revered and admired. And
in Italy there are not wanting opportunities to bring such
into use in every form. Here there is great valorie
in the limbs, whilst it fails in the head. Look

(03:34:03):
attentively at the duels and the hand to hand combats.
How superior the Italians are in strength, dexterity and subtlety.
But when it comes to armies they do not bear comparison.
And this springs entirely from the insufficiency of the leaders.
Since those who are capable are not obedient, and each
one seems to himself to know, there having never been

(03:34:26):
any one so distinguished above the rest, either by valor
or fortune, that others would yield to him. Hence it
is that, for so long a time, and during so
much fighting in the past twenty years, whenever there has
been an army Holy Italian, it has always given a
poor account of itself. The first witness to this is
Ael Taro. Afterwards, Alesandria, Capua, Genoa, Vila, Bologna, Nestri. If therefore,

(03:34:55):
your illustrious house wishes to follow these remarkable men who
have redeemed their country, it is necessary, before all things,
as a true foundation for every enterprise, to be provided
with your own forces, Because there can be no more faithful, truer,
or better soldiers. And although singly they are good altogether,

(03:35:16):
they will be much better when they find themselves commanded
by their Prince, honored by him, and maintained at his expense. Therefore,
it is necessary to be prepared with such arms so
that you can be defended against foreigners by Italian valor.
And although Swiss and Spanish infantry may be considered very formidable,

(03:35:38):
nevertheless there is a defect in both, by reason of
which a third order would not only be able to
oppose them, but might be relied upon to overthrow them.
For the Spaniards cannot resist cavalry, and the Switzers are
afraid of infantry whenever they encounter them in close combat.
Owing to this, as has been and may again be,

(03:36:00):
the Spaniards are unable to resist French cavalry, and the
Switzers are overthrown by Spanish infantry. And although a complete
proof of this latter cannot be shown, nevertheless there was
some evidence of it at the Battle of Ravenna, when
the Spanish infantry were confronted by German battalions who follow
the same tactics as the Swiss. When the Spaniards, by

(03:36:23):
agility of body and with the aid of their shields,
got in under the pikes of the Germans and stood
out of danger able to attack, while the Germans stood helpless,
and if the cavalry had not dashed up, all would
have been over with them. It is possible, therefore, knowing
the defects of both these infantries, to invent a new

(03:36:44):
one which will resist cavalry and not be afraid of infantry.
This need not create a new order of arms, but
a variation upon the old. And these are the kind
of improvements which confer reputation and power upon a new prince.
This opportunity therefore ought not to be allowed to pass.

(03:37:04):
For letting Italy at last see her liberator appear, Nor
can one express the love with which he would be
received in all those provinces which have suffered so much
from these foreign scourings. With what thirst for revenge? With
what stubborn faith? With what devotion? With what tears? What
door would be closed to him? Who would refuse obedience

(03:37:28):
to him? What envy would hinder him? What Italian would
refuse him homage to all of us? This barbarous dominion stinks.
Let therefore, your illustrious house take up this charge with
that courage and hope with which all just enterprises are undertaken,

(03:37:49):
so that under its standard our native country may be ennobled,
and under its auspices may be verified, that saying of
petrarch virtuo contro al fuor.

Speaker 2 (03:38:01):
Brendo alarme e fiel combat corto guillantico valore ni yalichno encormorto.

Speaker 1 (03:38:12):
Virtue against fury, shall advance the fight, and in ih
combat soon shall put to flight, for the old Roman
valor is not dead, nor in thh Italian's breasts extinguished.
Edward Dacre, sixteen forty. Description of the methods adopted by

(03:38:35):
the Duke Valentino when murdering Videlazzo, the Telei Olivarado de Fermo,
the Senior Pagillo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini by
Niccolo Machiavelli. The Duke Valentino had returned from Lombardy, where
he had been to clear himself with the King of

(03:38:55):
France from the calumnies which had been raised against him
by the Florentines concerning the rebellion of Arezzo and other
towns in the Valdiciana, and had arrived at Imola, whence
he intended with his army to enter upon the campaign
against Giovanni Bentivogli, the tyrant of Bologna, for he intended
to bring that city under his domination and to make

(03:39:17):
it the head of his Romagnian duchy. These matters coming
to the knowledge of the Vitelli and Orsini, and their following,
it appeared to them that the Duke would become too powerful,
and it was feared that having seized Bologna, he would
seek to destroy them in order that he might become
supreme in Italy. Upon this a meeting was called at

(03:39:39):
Maggion and the district of Perugia, to which came the
Cardinal Pagillo and the Duke di Gravina Orsini Vitelozzo, the
Telei Oliverado di Fermo, Gianpagolo Baalioni, the Tyrant of Peruga,
and Messer Antonio de Vinafro, sent by Pandulfo Petrucci, the
Prince of Siena. Here were discussed the power and courage

(03:40:01):
of the Duke, and the necessity of curbing his ambitions,
which might otherwise bring danger to the rest of being ruined.
And they decided not to abandon the Bentivobli, but to
strive to win over the Florentines. And they sent their
men to one place and another, promising to one party
assistance and to another encouragement to unite with them against

(03:40:22):
the common enemy. This meeting was at once reported throughout
all Italy, and those who were discontented under the Duke,
among whom were the people of Urbino, took hope of
effecting a revolution. Thus it arose that men's minds being
thus unsettled, it was decided by certain men of Urbino

(03:40:43):
to seize the fortress of San Leo, which was held
of the Duke, and which they captured by the following means.
The castlan was fortifying the rock and causing timber to
be taken there. So the conspirators watched, and when certain
beams which were being carried to the row, were upon
the bridge so that it was prevented from being drawn

(03:41:03):
up by those inside, they took the opportunity of leaping
upon the bridge and thence into the fortress. Upon this
capture being effected, the whole state rebelledon recalled the old Duke,
being encouraged in this not so much by the capture
of the fort as by the diet at Maggion, from
whom they expected to get assistants. Those who heard of

(03:41:26):
the rebellion at Urbino thought they would not lose the opportunity,
and at once assembled their men so as to take
any town, should any remain in the hands of the
Duke in that state. And they sent again to Florence
to beg that republic to join with them in destroying
the common firebrand, showing that the risk was lessened, and
that they ought not to wait for another opportunity. But

(03:41:49):
the Florentines, from hatred for sundry reasons of the Vitellian Orsini,
not only would not ally themselves, but sent Nicolo Machiavelli,
their secretary, to offer shelter and assistance to the Duke
against his enemies. The Duke was found full of fear
at Imolah, because, against everybody's expectation, his soldiers had at

(03:42:12):
once gone over to the enemy, and he found himself
disarmed in war at his door. But recovering courage from
the offers of the Florentines, he decided to temporize before
fighting with the few soldiers that remained to him, and
to negotiate for a reconciliation and also to get assistance.
This latter he obtained in two ways, by sending to

(03:42:34):
the King of France for men, and by enlisting men
at arms and others, whom he turned into cavalry of assort,
to all he gave money. Notwithstanding this, his enemies drew
near to him and approached Fossenbron, where they encountered some
men of the Duke, and with the aid of the
Orsinian Bettelee routed them. When this happened, the Duke resolved

(03:42:57):
at once to see if he could not close the
trouble with offers of reconciliation, 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 it, as it was enough for him
to have the title of prince, whilst others might have
the principality. And the Duke succeeded so well in this

(03:43:21):
that they sent Senior Pagilo to him to negotiate for
a reconciliation, and they brought their army to a standstill.
But the Duke did not stop his preparations, and took
every care to provide himself with cavalry and infantry, and
that such preparations might not be apparent to the others.
He sent his troops in separate parties to every part

(03:43:43):
of the Romagna. In the meanwhile, there came also to
him five hundred French lancers, and although he found himself
sufficiently strong to take vengeance on his enemies in open war,
he considered that it would be safer and more advantageous
to outwheat them, and for this reason he did not
stop the work of reconciliation, and that this might be affected,

(03:44:05):
the Duke concluded a peace with them, in which he
confirmed their former covenants. He gave them four thousand ducats
at once. He promised not to injure the bed of Obli,
and he formed an alliance with Giovanni, and moreover, he
would not force them to come personally into his presence
unless it pleased them to do so. On the other hand,
they promised to restore to him the Duchy of Urbino

(03:44:28):
and other places seized by them, to serve him in
all his expeditions, and not to make war against to
rally themselves with anyone without his permission. This reconciliation being completed,
Guido Ubaldo, the Duke of Urbino, again fled to Venice,
having first destroyed all the fortresses in his state, because

(03:44:49):
trusting in the people, he did not wish that the fortresses,
which he did not think he could defend, should be
held by the enemy, since by these means a check
would be kept upon his own friends. But the Duke Valentino,
having completed this convention and dispersed his men throughout the
Romagna set out for Imola at the end of November

(03:45:10):
together with his French men at arms. Thence he went
to Cecina, where he stayed some time to negotiate with
the envoys of the Vittelan Orsini, who had assembled with
their men in the Duchy of Urbino, as to the
enterprise in which they should now take part, But nothing
being concluded, Oliverado de Fermo was sent to propose that
if the Duke wished to undertake an expedition against Tuscany,

(03:45:35):
they were ready. If he did not wish it, then
they would besiege Sinegalia. To this, the Duke replied that
he did not wish to enter into war with Tuscany
and thus become hostile to the Florentines, but that he
was very willing to proceed against Sinegalia. It happened that
not long afterwards the town surrendered, but the fortress would

(03:45:57):
not yield to them, because the Castelan would not give
it up to anyone but the Duke in person. Therefore,
they exhorted him to come there. This appeared a good
opportunity to the Duke, as being invited by them and
not going of his own will, he would awaken no suspicions,
and the more to reassure them, he allowed all the

(03:46:19):
French men at arms who were with him in Lombardy
to depart, except the hundred lancers under Mons d candale'es,
his brother in law. He left Cecina about the middle
of December and went to Fano, and with the utmost
cunning and cleverness, he persuaded the Vitelli in Orsini to
wait for him at Senegalia, pointing out to them that

(03:46:41):
any lack of compliance would cast a doubt upon the
sincerity and permanency of the reconciliation, and that he was
a man who wished to make use of the arms
and counsels of his friends. But Vidalazzo remained very stubborn,
for the death of his brother warned him that he
should not offend a prince in Atha afterwards trust him. Nevertheless,

(03:47:02):
persuaded by pagil Orsini, whom the Duke had corrupted with
gifts and promises, he agreed to wait upon this. The
Duke before his departure from Fano, which was to be
on December thirtieth, fifteen, O two, communicated his designs to
eight of his most trusted followers, among whom were Don
Michele and the Monsignor di Yuna, who was afterwards cardinal.

(03:47:26):
And he ordered that as soon as Videlazzo, Pagilo Orsini,
the Duke di Gravina and Oliverado, should arrive, his followers
in pairs, should take them one by one in trusting
certain men to certain pairs, who should entertain them until
they reached Sinegalia, nor should they be permitted to leave

(03:47:46):
until they came to the Duke's quarters, where they should
be seized. The Duke afterwards ordered all his horsemen and infantry,
of which there were more than two thousand cavalry and
ten thousand footmen, to assemble by day break at the Metauro,
a river five miles distant from Fano, and await him there.

(03:48:06):
He found himself therefore, on the last day of December
at the Metturo with his men, and having sent a
cavalcade of about two hundred horsemen before him, he then
moved forward the infantry, whom he accompanied with the rest
of the men at arms. Fano and Sinegalia are two
cities of La Marcus, situated on the shore of the

(03:48:27):
Adriatic Sea, fifteen miles distant from each other, so that
he who goes towards Sinegalia has the mountains on his
right hand, the bases of which are touched by the sea.
In some places. The city of Sinegalia is distant from
the foot of the mountains a little more than above shot,
and from the shore about a mile. On the side

(03:48:48):
opposite to the city runs a little river which bathes
that part of the walls looking towards Fano, facing the
high road. Thus, he who draws near to Sinegalia comes
from good space by road along the mountains and reaches
the river which passes by Sinegalia. If he turns to
his left hand along the bank of it and goes

(03:49:10):
for the distance of a basshat, he arrives at a
bridge which crosses the river. He is then almost abreast
of the gate that leads into Sinegalia, not by a
straight line, but transversely. Before this gate there stands a
collection of houses with a square to which the bank
of the river forms one side. The thettelean Orsini, having

(03:49:32):
received orders to wait for the Duke and to honor
him in person, send away their men to several castles
distant from Sinegalia about six miles, so that room could
be made for the men of the Duke, and they
left in Sinegalia only Oliverado in his band, which consisted
of one thousand infantry and one hundred and fifty horsemen,

(03:49:52):
who were quartered in the suburb mentioned above. Matters having
been thus arranged, the Duke Valentino left for Sinegalia, and
when the leaders of the cavalry reached the bridge, they
did not pass over, but having opened it, one portion
wheeled towards the river, and the other towards the country,
and away was left in the middle, through which the

(03:50:13):
infantry passed without stopping into the town. Vidalazzo Pagilo and
the Duke di Gravina on mules accompanied by a few horsemen.
When towards the Duke, Videloso, unarmed in wearing a cape
line with green, appeared very dejected, as if conscious of
his approaching death, a circumstance which, in view of the

(03:50:34):
ability of the man and his former fortune, caused some amazement,
and it is said that when he parted from his
men before setting out for Sinegalia to meet the Duke,
he acted as if it were his last parting from them.
He recommended his house and its fortunes to his captains,
and advised his nephews that it was not the fortune

(03:50:55):
of their house, but the virtues of their fathers that
should be kept in mind. These three therefore came before
the Duke and saluted him respectfully, and were received by
him with good will. They were at once placed between
those who were commissioned to look after them. But the Duke,
noticing that Oliverado, who had remained with his band in Senegalia,

(03:51:18):
was missing, for Oliverrado was waiting in the square before
his quarters near the river, keeping his men in order
and drilling them, signaled with his eye to Don Michele,
to whom the care of Oliverrado had been committed, that
he should take measures that Oliverrado should not escape. Therefore,
Don michel rode off and joined Oliverrado, telling him that

(03:51:40):
it was not right to keep his men out of
their quarters, because these might be taken up by the
men of the Duke, and he advised him to send
them at once to their quarters and to come himself
to meet the Duke. And Oliverrado, having taken. This advice
came before the Duke, who, when he saw him, called

(03:52:00):
to him, and Oliverado, having made his obeisance, joined the others.
So the whole party entered Senegalia, dismounted at the Duke's quarters,
and went with him into a secret chamber, where the
Duke made them prisoners. He then mounted on horseback and
issued orders that the men of Oliverado and the Orsini

(03:52:20):
should be stripped of their arms. Those of Oliverado, being
at hand, were quickly settled, but those of the Orsinian Vittelli,
being at a distance and having a presentiment of the
destruction of their masters, had time to prepare themselves, and
bearing in mind the valor and discipline of the Orsinian
and Battalian houses, they stood together against the hostile forces

(03:52:43):
of the country and saved themselves. But the Duke's soldiers,
not being content with having pillaged the men of Oliverado,
began to sack Senegalia, and if the Duke had not
repressed this outrage by killing some of them, they would
have completely sacked it. Night, having come on the tumult.
Being silenced, the Duke prepared to kill Videlazzo and Oliverado

(03:53:07):
he led them into a room and caused them to
be strangled. Neither of them used words in keeping with
their past lives. Videlozzo prayed that he might ask of
the Pope full pardon for his sins. Olivarado cringed and
laid the blame for all injuries against the Duke on Vitelozzo,
Pagolo and the Duke di Gravina Orsini were kept alive

(03:53:29):
until the Duke heard from Rome that the Pope had
taken the Cardinal Orsino, the Archbishop of Florence and messer
to Capo de Santa Croce, after which news, on January eighteenth,
fifteen o two, in the castle of Pieve, they also
were strangled in the same way. The Life of Castruccio

(03:53:49):
Castracani of Lucca, written by Niccolo Macchiavelli and sent to
his friends Zenobi Buanbelmonti and Luigi Alamanni.

Speaker 2 (03:54:03):
Castruccio Castracaniuno duyoto quatro tratino juno tre duyoto.

Speaker 1 (03:54:09):
It appears, dearest Zenobi and Luigi, a wonderful thing to
those who have considered the matter that all men, or
the larger number of them, who have performed great deeds
in the world and excelled all others in their day.
Have had their birth and beginning in baseness and obscurity,
or have been aggrieved by fortune in some outrageous way.

(03:54:30):
They have either been exposed to the mercy of wild beasts,
or they have had so many apparentage that in shame
they have given themselves out to be sons of Jove
or of some other deity. It would be wearisome to
relate who these persons may have been, because they are
well known to everybody, and as such tales would not
be particularly edifying to those who read them. They are omitted.

(03:54:54):
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 in little to wisdom,
because she begins to show her hand when wisdom can
really take no part in their career. Thus, all success
must be attributed to her. Castruccio Castracani of Lucca was
one of those men who did great deeds if he

(03:55:17):
is measured by the times in which he lived in
the city in which he was born. But like many others,
he was neither fortunate nor distinguished in his birth, as
the course of this history will show, it appeared to
be desirable to recall his memory, because I have discerned
in him such indications of valor and fortune as should

(03:55:37):
make him a great exemplar to men. I think also
that I ought to call your attention to his actions,
because you, of all men I know, delight most in
noble deeds. The family of Castracani was formerly numbered among
the noble families of Lucca, but in the days of
which I speak, it had somewhat fallen an estate, as

(03:55:57):
so often happens in this world. To this family was
born as San Antonio, who became a priest of the
Order of San Michele of Lucca, and for this reason
was honored with the title of Meserantonio. He had an
only sister, who had been married to Buena Corso's Senemi,
but Buonacorso dying, she became a widow, and, not wishing

(03:56:20):
to marry again, when to live with her brother. Meserantonio
had a vineyard behind the house where he resided, and
as it was bounded on all sides by gardens, any
person could have access to it without difficulty. One morning,
shortly after sunrise, Madonna Dianora, as the sister of Meserantonio

(03:56:41):
was called, had occasion to go into the vineyard as
usual to gather herbs for seasoning the dinner, and hearing
a slight rustling among the leaves of a vine, she
turned her eyes in that direction and heard something resembling
the cry of an infant, whereupon she went towards it
and saw the hands and face of a baby who
was lying enveloped in the leaves, and who seemed to

(03:57:03):
be crying for its mother. Partly wondering and partly fearing,
yet full of compassion, she lifted it up and carried
it to the house, where she washed it and clothed
it with clean linen, as his customary, and showed it
to Meserantonio when he returned home. When he heard what
had happened and saw the child, he was not less

(03:57:24):
surprised or compassionate than his sister. They discussed between themselves
what should be done, and seeing that he was priest
and that she had no children, they finally determined to
bring it up. They had a nurse for it, and
it was reared and loved as if it were their
own child. They baptized it and gave it the name

(03:57:45):
of Castruccio, after their father. As the years passed, Castrucco
grew very handsome and gave evidence of wit and discretion,
and learned with a quickness beyond his years those lessons
which Meserantonio imparted to him. Messer Antonio intended to make
a priest of him, and in time would have inducted

(03:58:06):
him into his canonry and other benefices, and all his
instruction was given with this object. But Antonio discovered that
the character of Castruccio was quite unfitted for the priesthood.
As soon as Castruccio reached the age of fourteen, he
began to take less notice of the chiding of Meserantonio
and Madonna Dianora, and no longer to fear them, he

(03:58:28):
left off reading ecclesiastical books and turned to playing with arms,
delighting in nothing so much as in learning their uses,
and in running, leaping, and wrestling with other boys. In
all exercises he far excelled his companion's encourage and bodily strength.
And if at any time he did turn to books,
only those pleased him, which told of wars and the

(03:58:50):
mighty deeds of men, Meserantonio beheld all this with vexation
and sorrow. There lived in the city of luc a
gentleman of the Ginagie family named Messer Francesco, whose profession
was arms, and who enriches bodily, strength and valor, excelled
all other men in Lucca. He had often fought under

(03:59:13):
the command of the Visconti of Milan, and as a ghibeline,
was the valued leader of that party in Lucca. This
gentleman resided in Luca, and was accustomed to assemble with
others most mornings and evenings under the balcony of the Podesta,
which is at the top of the Square of San Michele,
the finest square in Lucca. And he had often seen

(03:59:35):
Castrucco taking part with other children of the street in
those games of which I have spoken. Noticing that Castruccio
far excelled the other boys, and that he appeared to
exercise a royal authority over them, and that they loved
and obeyed him, Messer Francesco became greatly desirous of learning
who he was. Being informed of the circumstances of the

(03:59:58):
bringing up of Castrucco, he he felt a greater desire
to have him near to him. Therefore, he called him
one day and asked him whether he would more willingly
live in the house of a gentleman, or he would
learn to ride horses and use arms, or in the
house of a priest or he would learn nothing but
masses and the services of the church. Messer Francesco could

(04:00:20):
see that it pleased Castrucco greatly to hear horses in
arms spoken of, even though he stood silent, blushing modestly,
but being encouraged by Messer Francesco to speak, he answered
that if his master were agreeable, nothing would please him
more than to give up his priestly studies and take
up those of a soldier. This replied delighted Messer Francesco,

(04:00:42):
and in a very short time he obtained the consent
of Meserantonio, who was driven to yield by his knowledge
of the nature of the lad and the fear that
he would not be able to hold him much longer.
Thus Castruccio passed from the house of Meserantonio the Priest
to the house of mess Sir Francesco Guinaji, the Soldier,
and it was astonishing to find that in a very

(04:01:04):
short time, he manifested all that virtue in bearing which
we are accustomed to associate with a true gentleman. In
the first place, he became an accomplished horseman, and could
manage with these the most fiery charger, and in all
justs and tournaments. Although still a youth, he was observed
beyond all others, and he excelled in all exercises of

(04:01:26):
strength and dexterity. But what enhanced so much the charm
of these accomplishments was the delightful modesty, which enabled him
to avoid offense in either act or word to others.
For he was deferential to the great men, modest with
his equals, and courteous to his inferiors. These gifts made
him beloved not only by all the Ginagi family, but

(04:01:49):
by all Luca. When Castrucco had reached his eighteenth year,
the Ghibbelins were driven from Pavia by the Guelphs, and
Messer Francesco was sent by the Visconti to assist the Ghibelines,
and with him when Castruccio in charge of his forces.
Castruccio gave ample proof of his prudence and courage in

(04:02:10):
this expedition acquiring greater reputation than any other captain, and
his name and fame were known not only in Pavia,
but throughout all Lombardy. Castruccio, having returned to Luca in
far higher estimation than he left, it, did not omit
to use all the means in his power to gain
as many friends as he could, neglecting none of those

(04:02:33):
arts which are necessary for that purpose. About this time,
Messer Francesco died, leaving his son thirteen years of age,
named Pagolo, and having appointed Castrucco to be his son's
tutor and administrator of his estate. Before he died, Francesco
called Castruccio to him and prayed him to show Pagolo

(04:02:54):
that goodwill Wichi Francesco had always shown to him, and
to render to the son the gratitude which which he
had not been able to repay to the father. Upon
the death of Francesco, Castruccio became the governor and tutor
of Pagello, which increased enormously his power and position, and
created a certain amount of envy against him and Lucca

(04:03:15):
in place of the former universal goodwill. For many men
suspected him of harboring tyrannical intentions. Among these, the leading
man was Giorgio Deglio Pizzi, the head of the Guelf party.
This man hoped, after the death of Messer Francesco, to
become the chief man in Lucca, but it seemed to

(04:03:35):
him that Castrucco, with the great abilities which he already showed,
and holding the position of governor, deprived him of his opportunity. Therefore,
he began to sow those seeds which should rob Castruccio
of his eminence. Castruccio at first treated this with scorn,
but afterwards he grew alarmed, thinking that Messer Giorgio might

(04:03:56):
be able to bring him into disgrace with the deputy
of King Roberto of Naples and have him driven out
of Lucca. The lord of Pisa at that time was
Uguccion of the Fagiuola of Arezzo, who, being in the
first place, elected their captain, afterwards became their lord. There
resided in Paris some exiled Ghibelings from Lucca, with whom

(04:04:19):
Castrucco held communications, with the object of affecting their restoration.
By the help of Uguccion. Kastrucco also brought into his
plan's friends from Lucca, who would not endure the authority
of the Opeesi. Having fixed upon a plan to be followed,
Castruccio cautiously fortified the tower of the Este, filling it

(04:04:41):
with supplies and munitions of war, in order that it
might stand a siege for a few days in case
of need. When the night came, which had been agreed
upon with Uguccion, who had occupied the plain between the
mountains and Pisa with many men, the signal was given,
and without being observed, yuguous Xcion approached the gate of
San Piero and set fire to the Portcullis. Castruccio raised

(04:05:06):
a great uproar within the city, calling the people to arms,
and forcing open the gate from his side. Uguccion entered
with his men, poured through the town and killed Messer
Georgio with all his family and many of his friends
and supporters. The governor was driven out and the government
reformed according to the wishes of Uguccion, to the detriment

(04:05:29):
of the city, because it was found that more than
one hundred families were exiled at that time. Of those
who fled, part went to Florence and part to Pistoja,
which city was the headquarters of the Guelf party, and
for this reason it became most hostile to Uguccion and
the Lucchesi. As it now appeared to the Florentines and

(04:05:51):
others of the Guelf Party that the Ghibelins absorbed too
much power in Tuscany, they determined to restore the exiled
Guelphs to Lucca. They assembled a large army in the
Valdeen Evil and seized Montecatini. From thence they marched to
Monte Carlo in order to secure the free passage in
du Luca. Upon this Uguccion assembled his Pisan and Luchesi forces,

(04:06:16):
and with a number of German cavalry, which he drew
out of Lombardy, he moved against the quarters of the Florentines, who,
upon the appearance of the enemy, withdrew from Monte Carlo
and posted themselves between Montecatini and Pescia. Uguccion now took
up a position near to Monte Carlo and within about
two miles of the enemy, and slight skirmishes between the

(04:06:40):
horse of both parties were of daily occurrence. Owing to
the illness of Uguccione, the Pisans and Lucchesi delayed coming
to battle with the enemy. Uguccion, finding himself growing worse,
went to Monte Carlo to be cured and left the
command of the army in the hands of Castruccia. This

(04:07:01):
change brought about the ruin of the Guelphs, who, thinking
that the hostile army, having lost its captain, had lost
its head, grew over confident. Castruccio observed this and allowed
some days to pass in order to encourage this belief.
He also showed signs of fear and did not allow
any of the munitions of the camp to be used.

(04:07:23):
On the other side, the Gwelps grew more insolent the
more they saw these evidences of fear, and every day
they drew out in the order of battle in front
of the army of Castrucco. Presently, deeming that the enemy
was sufficiently emboldened and having mastered their tactics, he decided
to join battle with them. First, he spoke a few

(04:07:46):
words of encouragement to his soldiers and pointed out to
them the certainty of victory if they would but obey
his commands. Castruccio had noticed how the enemy had placed
all his best troops in the center of the line
of battle, and his less reliable men on the wings
of the army, whereupon he did exactly the opposite, putting

(04:08:06):
his most valiant men on the flanks, while those on
whom he could not so strongly rely he moved to
the center. Observing this order of battle, he drew out
of his lines and quickly came in sight of the
hostile army, who, as usual, had come in their insolence
to defy him. He then commanded his center squadrons to

(04:08:28):
march slowly, whilst he moved rapidly forward those on the wings. Thus,
when they came into contact with the enemy, only the
wings of the two armies became engaged, whilst the center
battalions remained out of action. For these two portions of
the line of battle were separated from each other by
a long interval, and thus unable to reach each other.

(04:08:51):
By this expedient, the more valiant part of Castruccio's men
were opposed to the weaker part of the enemy's troops,
and the most efficient men of the enemy were disengaged,
and thus the Florentines were unable to fight with those
who were a raided opposite to them, or to give
any assistance to their own flanks. So, without much difficulty,

(04:09:12):
Castruccio put the enemy to flight on both flanks, and
the center battalions took to flight when they found themselves
exposed to attack, without having a chance of displaying their valor.
The defeat was complete, and the loss in men very heavy,
there being more than ten thousand men killed, with many
officers and knights of the Guelf party in Tuscany, and

(04:09:33):
also many princes who had come to help them, among
whom were Piero, the brother of King Roberto, and Carlo,
his nephew, and Filippo, the Lord of Tarento. On the
part of Castrucco, the loss did not amount to more
than three hundred men, among whom was Francesco, the son
of Uguccion, who, being young in rash, was killed in

(04:09:55):
the first onset. This victory so greatly increased reputation of
Castruccio that Uguccion conceived some jealousy and suspicion of him,
because it appeared to Uguccion that this victory had given
him no increase of power, but rather than diminished it.
Being of this mind, he only waited for an opportunity

(04:10:17):
to give effect to it. This occurred on the death
of pi Agnolo mckayley, a man of great repute and
abilities in Lucca, the murderer of whom fled to the
house of Castrucco for refuge. On the sergeants of the
captain going to arrest the murderer, they were driven off
by Castruccio, and the murderer escaped. This affair coming to

(04:10:40):
the knowledge of Uguccion, who was then at Pisa, it
appeared to him a proper opportunity to punish Castrucco. He
therefore sent for his son Nery, who was the governor
of Lucca, and commissioned him to take Castrucco prisoner at
a banquet and put him to death. Castruccio, fearing no evil,

(04:11:00):
went to the governor in a friendly way, was entertained
at supper and then thrown into prison. But Nery, fearing
to put him to death lest the people should be incensed,
kept him alive in order to hear further from his
father concerning his intentions. Ugon cursed the hesitation and cowardice

(04:11:21):
of his son, and at once set out from Pisa
to Luca with four hundred horsemen to finish the business
in his own way, 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 lord.
Before Uguccion reached Luca, he heard of the occurrences at Pisa,

(04:11:42):
but it did not appear wise to him to turn back,
lest the Lucesi, with the example of Pisa before them,
should close their gates against him. But the Leucesi, having
heard of what had happened at Pisa, availed themselves of
this opportunity to demand the liberation of Castrucco. Notwithstanding that
Ugucion had arrived in their city. They first began to

(04:12:05):
speak of it in private circles, afterwards openly in the
squares and streets. Then they raised a tumult, and with
arms in their hands, went to Ugucion and demanded that
Kastrucco should be set at liberty. Ugucion, fearing that worse
might happen, released him from prison, whereupon Kastrucco gathered his

(04:12:26):
friends around him and with the help of the people,
attacked Uguccion, who, finding he had no resource, but in flight,
rode away with his friends to Lombardy to the lords
of Scale, where he died in poverty. But Kastruccio, from
being a prisoner, became almost a prince in Lucca, and
he carried himself so discreetly with his friends and the

(04:12:48):
people that they appointed him captain of their army for
one year. Having obtained this, and wishing to gain renown
in war, he planned the recovery of the many towns
which had rebelled that after the departure of Uguccion, and
with the help of the Pisans with whom he had
concluded a treaty, he marched to Cerezana to capture this place.

(04:13:10):
He constructed a fort against it, which is called today Zarazinello.
In the course of two months, Castruccio captured the town.
With the reputation gained at that siege, he rapidly seized Masa,
Carrara and La Venza, and in a short time had
overrun the whole of Lunigiana. In order to close the

(04:13:31):
pass which leads from Lombardy to Lunigiana, he besieged Pontremoli
and wrested it from the hands of Messerana Stejo Pallavicini,
who was the lord of it. After this victory, he
returned to Lucca and was welcomed by the whole people,
and now Castruccio, deeming it imprudent any longer to defer

(04:13:52):
making himself a prince, got himself created the Lord of
Lucca by the help of Pazzino del Poggio, Puckxinello Delporti,
Francesco Bacchin Sacchi, and Seco Ginagi, all of whom he
had corrupted, and he was afterwards solemnly and deliberately elected
prince by the people. At this time, Frederic of Bavaria,

(04:14:13):
the king of the Romans, came into Italy to assume
the imperial crown, and Castrucco, in order that he might
make friends with him, met him at the head of
five hundred horsemen. Castruccio had left as his deputy in
Lucca Pagilo Ginaji, who was held in high estimation because
of the people's love for the memory of his father.

(04:14:36):
Kastruccio was received in great honor by Frederic, and many
privileges were conferred upon him, and he was appointed the
Emperor's lieutenant in Tuscany. At this time The Pisans were
in great fear of Gato della Gerardesca, whom they had
driven out of Pisa, and they had recourse for assistance
to Frederic. Frederick created Castruccio the lord of Pisa, and

(04:15:00):
the Pissans, in dread of the Guelph Party, and particularly
of the Florentines, were constrained to accept him as their lord. Frederick,
having appointed a governor in Rome to watch his Italian affairs,
return to Germany. All the Tuscan and Lombardian Ghibelines who
followed the imperial lead had recourse to Castruccio for help

(04:15:24):
and counsel, and all promised him the governorship of his
country if enabled to recover it with his assistants. Among
these exiles were Matteo Ghidi, Nardo Scullari, Leapo Uberti, Gerrazzo Nardi,
and Piero buan Corsi, all exile Florentines and Ghibelines. Castrucco

(04:15:45):
had the secret intention of becoming the master of all
Tuscany by the aid of these men and of his
own forces, and in order to gain greater weight in affairs,
he entered into a league with Messer Matteo Visconti, the
Prince of Milan, and organised for him the forces of
his city in the country districts. As Luca had five gates,

(04:16:06):
he divided his own country districts into five parts, which
he supplied with arms and enrolled the men under captains
and ensigns, so that he could quickly bring into the
field twenty thousand soldiers, without those whom he could summon
to his assistants from Pisa, while he surrounded himself with
these forces and allies. It happened at Messermteo this Conti

(04:16:28):
was attacked by the Guelfs of Pishenza, who had driven
out the Ghibelins with the assistance of a Florentine army
and the king Ruberto. Mesermteo called upon Castruccio to invade
the Florentines in their own territories, so that, being attacked
at home, they should be compelled to draw their army
out of Lombardy in order to defend themselves. Castrucco invaded

(04:16:52):
the Valdarno and seized Fusechio and San Miniato, inflicting immense
damage upon the country, whereupon the Florentines recalled their army,
which had scarcely reached Tuscany when Castrucco was forced by
other necessities to return to Lucca. There resided in the
city of Lucca the Poggio family, who were so powerful

(04:17:15):
that they could not only elevate Castruccio but even advance
him to the dignity of prince. And in appearing to them,
they had not received such rewards for their services as
they deserved. They incited other families to rebel and to
drive Castruccio out of Lucca. They found their opportunity one morning,
and arming themselves, they set upon the lieutenant whom Castruccio

(04:17:38):
had left to maintain order, and killed him. They endeavored
to raise the people in revolt, but Stefano di Poggio,
a peaceable old man who had taken no hand in
the rebellion, intervened and compelled them, by his authority to
lay down their arms, and he offered to be their
mediator with Castrucco to obtain from him what they desired. Therefore,

(04:18:00):
they laid down their arms with no greater intelligence than
they had taken them up. Castruccio, having heard the news
of what had happened at Lucca, at once put Pagiologinaji
in command of the army, and with a troop of cavalrys,
set out for home. Contrary to his expectations, he found
the rebellion at an end, Yet he posted his men

(04:18:23):
in the most advantageous places throughout the city. As it
appeared to Stefano that Castruccio ought to be very much
obliged to him, he sought him out, and, without saying
anything on his own behalf, for he did not recognize
any need for doing so, he begged Kastruccio to pardon
the other members of his family, by reason of their youth,

(04:18:44):
their former friendships, and the obligations which Castruccio was under
to their house. To this, Castruccio graciously responded and begged
Stefano to reassure himself, 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 inception.

(04:19:04):
He encouraged Stephano to bring his family to him, saying
that he thanked God for having given him the opportunity
of showing his clemency and liberality. Upon the word of
Stefano and Castrucco, they surrendered, and with Stefano, were immediately
thrown into prison and put to death. Meanwhile, the Florentines

(04:19:25):
had recovered San Miniato, whereupon it seemed advisable to Castruccio
to make peace, as it did not appear to him
that he was sufficiently secure at Luca to leave him.
He approached the Florentines with the proposal of a truce,
which they readily entertained, for they were weary of the
war and desirous of getting rid of the expenses of it.

(04:19:48):
A treaty was concluded with them for two years, by
which both parties agreed to keep the conquests they had made. Castrucco,
thus released from this trouble, turned his attemp to affairs
in Lucca, and, in order that he should not again
be subject to the perils from which he had just escaped, he,
under various pretenses and reasons, first wiped out all those

(04:20:10):
who by their ambition might aspire to the principality, not
sparing one of them, but depriving them of country and property,
and those whom he had in his hands of life,
also stating that he had found by experience that none
of them were to be trusted. Then, for his further security,
he raised a fortress in Lucca with the stones of

(04:20:31):
the towers of those whom he had killed or hunted
out of the state. Whilst Castruccio made peace with the
Florentines and strengthened his position in Lucca, he neglected no opportunity,
short of open war, of increasing his importance elsewhere. It
appeared to him that if he could get possession of Pistolia,

(04:20:52):
he would have one foot in Florence, which was his
great desire. He therefore, in various ways made friends with
the mountaineers and worked matters so in Pistoia that both
parties confided their secrets to him. Pistoia was divided, as
it always had been, into the Bianchi and Neri parties.

(04:21:13):
The head of the Bianchi was Basciano di passant and
of the Nerri Gacapo Diggia. Each of these men held
secret communications with Castruccio, and each desired to drive the
other out of the city, and after many threatenings, they
came to blows. Gacapo fortified himself at the Florentine gate,

(04:21:34):
Bastiano at that of the Lucchese side of the city.
Both trusted more in Castruccio than in the Florentines, because
they believed that Castruccio was far more ready and willing
to fight than the Florentines, and they both sent to
him for assistance. He gave promises to both, saying to
Bastiano that he would come in person and to Gacapo

(04:21:55):
that he would send his pupil, Pagologinaji. At the pointed time,
he sent forward Pagolo by way of Pisa, and went
himself direct to Pistoia. At midnight, both of them met
outside the city and both were admitted as friends. Thus
the two leaders entered, and at a signal given by Castruccio,

(04:22:16):
one killed Gacapo Digia and the other Bastiano di passant
and both took prisoners or killed the partisans of either faction.
Without further opposition, Pistoja passed into the hands of Castruccio, who,
having forced the Signoria to leave the palace, compelled the
people to yield obedience to him, making them many promises

(04:22:37):
and remitting their old debts. The countryside flocked to the
city to see the new prince, and all were filled
with hope and quickly settled down, influenced in a great
measure by his great valor. About this time, great disturbances
arose in Rome owing to the dearness of living, which
was caused by the absence of the pontiff at Avignon.

(04:23:01):
The German governor, Enrico was much blamed for what happened,
murders and tumults following each other daily without his being
able to put an end to them. This caused Enrico
much anxiety lest the Romans should call in Roberto, the
King of Naples, who would drive the Germans out of
the city and bring back the Pope. Having no nearer

(04:23:23):
friend to whom he could apply for help than Castrucco,
he sent to him, begging him not only to give
him assistance, but also to come in person to Rome.
Castruccio considered that he ought not to hesitate to render
the Emperor this service, because he believed that he himself
would not be safe if at any time the Emperor
ceased to hold Rome. Leaving Pagolo Ginaji and command at Lucca,

(04:23:48):
Castrucco set out for Rome with six hundred horsemen, where
he was received by Enrico with the greatest distinction. In
a short time. The presence of Castrucco obtained so much
respect for the emperor that, without bloodshed or violence, good
order was restored, chiefly by reason of Castruccio having sent
by sea from the country round Pisa large quantities of corn,

(04:24:11):
and thus removed the source of the trouble. When he
had chastised some of the Roman leaders and admonished others,
voluntary obedience was rendered to Enrico. Castruccio received many honors
and was made a Roman senator. This dignity was assumed
with the greatest pomp, Castruccio being clothed in a brocaded toga,

(04:24:34):
which had the following words embroidered on its front, I
am what God wills, whilst on the back was what
God desires shall be. During this time, the Florentines, who
were much enraged that Castruccio should have seized Bestoia during
the truce, considered how they could tempt the city to rebel,

(04:24:55):
to do which they thought would not be difficult in
his absence. Among the exiled Pastoians in Florence were Baldo
Seci and Jacapo Baldini, both men of leading and ready
to face danger. These men kept up communications with their
friends in Pistoia, and with the aid of the Florentines,

(04:25:16):
entered the city by night, and after driving out some
of Castrucco's officials and partisans and killing others, they restored
the city to its freedom. The news of this greatly
angered Castrucco, and taking leave of Enrico, he pressed on
in great haste to Pistoia. When the Florentines heard of
his return, knowing that he would lose no time, they

(04:25:39):
decided to intercept him with their forces in the valden Evil,
under the belief that by doing so they would cut
off his road to Pistoja. Assembling a great army of
the supporters of the Guelph cause, the Florentines entered the
Pistoian territories. On the other hand, Castruccio reached Monte Carlo

(04:26:00):
with his army, and having heard where the Florentines lay,
he decided not to encounter it in the plains of Pistoia,
nor to await it in the plains of Pescia, but
as far as he possibly could, to attack it boldly
in the pass of Saravaye. He believed that if he
succeeded in this design, victory was assured. Although he was

(04:26:20):
informed that the Florentines had thirty thousand men whilst he
had only twelve thousand. Although he had every confidence in
his own abilities in the valor of his troops, yet
he hesitated to attack his enemy in the open, lest
he should be overwhelmed by numbers. Saravaya is a castle
between Peshia and Pistoia, situated on a hill which blocks

(04:26:43):
the Valden Evil, not in the exact pass, but about
a bowshot beyond. The pass itself is in places narrow
and steep, whilst in general it ascends gently but is
still narrow, especially at the summit where the waters divide,
so that twenty men side by side could hold it.
The lord of Seabaye was Manfred, a German, who, before

(04:27:06):
Castrucco became lord of Pistoia, had been allowed to remain
in possession of the castle, it being common to the
Lucaesi and the Pistoians and unclaimed by either, neither of
them wishing to displace Manfred, as long as he kept
his promise of neutrality and came under obligations to no
one For these reasons, and also because the castle was

(04:27:27):
well fortified, he had always been able to maintain his position.
It was here that Castruccio had determined to fall upon
his enemy, for here his few men would have the advantage,
and there was no fear lest seeing the large masses
of the hostile force before they became engaged. They should
not stand. As soon as this trouble with Florence arose,

(04:27:50):
Castruccio saw the immense advantage which possession of this castle
would give him, and having an intimate friendship with a
resident in the castle, 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
Florentines and the castle, and put to death. Castruccio, having

(04:28:11):
prepared everything, had now to encourage the Florentines to persist
in their desire to carry the seat of war away
from Pistoia into the Valdeen Evil. Therefore he did not
move his army from Monte Carlo. Thus the Florentines hurried
on until they reached their encampment under Sarabaye, intending to
cross the hill on the following morning. In the meantime,

(04:28:35):
Castrucco had seized the castle at night, had also moved
his army from Monte Carlo, and, marching from Nance at midnight,
in dead silence, had reached the foot of Serabaye. Thus
he and the Florentines commenced the ascent of the hill
at the same time. In the morning, Castruccio sent forward
his infantry by the main road, and a troop of

(04:28:55):
four hundred horsemen by a path on the left towards
the castle. The Florentines sent forward four hundred cavalry ahead
of their army, which was following, never expecting to find
Castrucco in possession of the hill, nor were they aware
of his having seized the castle. Thus it happened that
the Florentine horsemen mounting the hill were completely taken by

(04:29:18):
surprise when they discovered the infantry of Castruccio, and so
close were they upon it, they had scarcely time to
pull down their visors. It was a case of unready
soldiers being attacked by ready and they were assailed with
such vigor that with difficulty they could hold their own,
although some few of them got through. When the noise

(04:29:39):
of the fighting reached the Florentine camp below, it was
filled with confusion. The cavalry and infantry became inextricably mixed.
The captains were unable to get their men either backward
or forward owing to the narrowness of the pass, and
amid all this tumult, no one knew what ought to
be done or what could be done. In a short time,

(04:30:02):
the cavalry who were engaged with the enemy's infantry were
scattered or killed, without having made any effective defense. Because
of their unfortunate position, Although in sheer desperation they had
offered a stout resistance, retreat had been impossible with the
mountains on both flanks, whilst in front were their enemies
and in the rear their friends. When Castruccio saw that

(04:30:26):
his men were unable to strike a decisive blow at
the enemy and put them to flight, he sent one
thousand infantrymen round by the castle with orders to join
the four hundred horsemen he had previously dispatched there, and
commanded the whole force to fall upon the flank of
the enemy. These orders they carried out with such fury

(04:30:46):
that the Florentines could not sustain the attack, but gave way,
and were soon in full retreat, conquered more by their
unfortunate position than by the valor of their enemy. Those
in the rear turned towards Besodrees Doja and spread through
the plains, each man seeking only his own safety. The
defeat was complete and very sanguinary. Many captains were taken prisoners,

(04:31:12):
among whom were Bandini de Rossi, Francesco Brunleeski, and Giovanni
della Tosa, all Florentine noblemen, with many Tuscans and Neapolitans,
who fought on the Florentine side, having been sent by
King Roberto to assist the Gwelps. Immediately the Pastoians heard
of this defeat, they drove out the friends of the

(04:31:33):
Guelphs and surrendered to Castrucco. He was not content with
occupying Prato and all the castles on the plains on
both sides of the Arno, but marched his army into
the plain of Peretola, about two miles from Florence. Here
he remained many days, dividing the spoils and celebrating his

(04:31:54):
victory with feasts and games, holding horse races and foot
races for men and women. He also struck medals. In
commemoration of the defeat of the Florentines. He endeavored to
corrupt some of the citizens of Florence, who were to
open the city gates at night, but the conspiracy was
discovered and the participators in had taken and beheaded, among

(04:32:18):
whom were Timaso Lupachi and Lambertucco Frescobaldi. This defeat caused
the Florentines great anxiety and despairing of preserving their liberty,
they sent envoys to King Roberto of Naples, offering him
the dominion of their city, and he, knowing of what
immense importance the maintenance of the Guelph cause was to him,

(04:32:39):
accepted it. He agreed with the Florentines to receive from
them a yearly tribute of two hundred thousand florins, and
he sent his son Carlo to Florence with four thousand horsemen.
Shortly after this, the Florentines were relieved in some degree
of the pressure of Castruccio's army, owing to his being
compelled to leave his positions before Florence and march on

(04:33:02):
Pisa in order to suppress a conspiracy that had been
raised against him by Benedetto Lanfranchi, one of the first
men in Pisa, who could not endure that his fatherland
should be under the dominion of the Lucchesi. He had
formed this conspiracy intending to seize the citadel, kill the
partisans of Castrucco, and drive out the garrison. As however,

(04:33:26):
in a conspiracy, paucity of numbers is essential to secrecy,
so for its execution if few are not sufficient, and
in seeking more adherents to his conspiracy, Lanfranchi encountered a
person who revealed the design to Castrucco. This betrayal cannot
be passed by without severe reproach to Bona Fascio Serci

(04:33:46):
and Giovanni Guidi, two Florentine exiles who were suffering their
banishment in Pisa. Thereupon, Castrucco seized Benedetto and put him
to death, and beheaded many other noble citizens, and drove
their families into exile. It now appeared to Castruccio that
both Pisa and Pistoia were thoroughly disaffected. He employed much

(04:34:09):
thought and energy upon securing his position there, and this
gave the Florentines their opportunity to reorganize their army and
to await the coming of Carlo, the son of the
King of Naples. When Carlo arrived, they decided to lose
no more time and assembled a great army of more
than thirty thousand infantry in ten thousand cavalry, Having called

(04:34:30):
to their aid every guelph there was in Italy, they
consulted whether they should attack Pistoia or Pisa first, and
decided that it would be better to march on the latter,
a course, owing to the recent conspiracy, more likely to
succeed and of more advantage to them, because they believed
that the surrender of Pistoia would follow the acquisition of Pisa.

(04:34:54):
In the early part of May thirteen twenty eight, the
Florentines put in motion this army in quickly occupy pied Lastra, Signa,
Montalupo and Impoli, passing from thence on to San Miniato.
When Castruccio heard of the enormous army which the Florentines
were sending against him, he was in no degree alarmed,

(04:35:14):
believing that the time had now arrived when fortune would
deliver the Empire of Tuscany into his hands, for he
had no reason to think that his enemy would make
a better fight or had better prospects of success than
at Pisa or Serabae. He assembled twenty thousand foot soldiers
in four thousand horsemen, and with this army went to Fusecchio,

(04:35:36):
whilst he sent Pagologinaji to Pisa with five thousand infantry.
Fusechio has a stronger position than any other town in
the Pisan district, owing to its situation between the rivers
Arno and Gusciana and its slight elevation above the surrounding plain. Moreover,
the enemy could not hinder its being vittled unless they

(04:35:59):
divided their fore nor could they approach it either from
the direction of Luca or Pisa, nor could they get
through to Pisa or attack Castrucco's forces, accept at a disadvantage.
In one case, they would find themselves placed between his
two armies, the one under his own command and the
other under Pagillo, And in the other case they would

(04:36:20):
have to cross the Arno to get to close quarters
with the enemy and undertaking of great hazard. In order
to tempt the Florentines to take this latter course, Castruccio
withdrew his men from the banks of the river and
placed them under the walls of Fusecio, leaving a wide
expanse of land between them and the river. The Florentines,

(04:36:43):
having occupied Sanniniato, held a council of war to decide
whether they should attack Pisa or the army of Castruccio,
And having weighed the difficulties of both courses, they decided
upon the ladder. The river Arno was at that time
low enough to be affordable, yet the water reached to
the shoulders of the infantrymen and to the saddles of

(04:37:05):
the horsemen. On the morning of June tenth, thirteen twenty eight,
the Florentines commenced the battle by ordering forward a number
of cavalry and ten thousand infantry. Castruccio, whose plot of
action was fixed and who well knew what to do,
at once, attacked the Florentines with five thousand infantry and

(04:37:25):
three thousand horsemen, not allowing them to issue from the
river before he charged them. He also sent one thousand
light infantry up the river bank and the same number
down the Arno. The infantry of the Florentines were so
much impeded by their arms in the water, that they
were not able to mount the banks of the river,
whilst the cavalry had made the passage of the river

(04:37:47):
more difficult for the others by reason of the few
who had crossed, having broken up the bed of the river,
and this being deep with mud. Many of the horses
rolled over with their riders, and many of them had
stuck so fast asked that they could not move. When
the Florentine captain saw the difficulties their men were meeting,
they withdrew them and moved higher up the river, hoping

(04:38:10):
to find the river bed less treacherous and the banks
more adapted for landing. These men were met at the
bank by the forces which Castrucco had already sent forward, who,
being light armed with bucklers and javelins in their hands,
let fly with tremendous shouts into the faces and bodies
of the cavalry. The horses, alarmed by the noise and

(04:38:32):
the wounds, would not move forward, and trampled each other
in great confusion. The fight between the men of Castrucco
when those of the enemy who succeeded in crossing, was
sharp and terrible. Both sides fought with the utmost desperation,
and neither would yield. The soldiers of Castruccio fought to
drive the others back into the river, whilst the Florentines

(04:38:55):
strove to get a footing on land in order to
make room for the others pressing forward. If they could
but get out of the water, would be able to fight.
And in this obstinate conflict they were urged on by
their captains. Castrucco shouted to his men that these were
the same enemies whom they had before conquered at Sarabaye,
whilst the Florentines reproached each other, that the many should

(04:39:18):
be overcome by the few. At length, Castruccio, seeing how
long the battle had lasted and that both his men
and the enemy were utterly exhausted, and that both sides
had many killed and wounded, pushed forward another body of
infantry to take up a position at the rear of
those who were fighting. He then commanded these latter to

(04:39:38):
open their ranks as if they intended to retreat, and
one part of them to turn to the right and
another to the left. This cleared a space of which
the Florentines at once took advantage and thus gained possession
of a portion of the battlefield. But when these tired
soldiers found themselves at close quarters with Castrucco's reserves, they

(04:40:00):
could not stand against them, and at once fell back
into the river. The cavalry of either side had not
as yet gained any decisive advantage over the other, because Castrucco,
knowing his inferiority in this arm had commanded his leaders
only to stand on the defensive against the attacks of
their adversaries, as he hoped that when he had overcome

(04:40:22):
the infantry, he would be able to make short work
of the cavalry. This fell out as he had hoped 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 enemy. This they did with lance and javelin,
and joined by their own cavalry, fell upon the enemy

(04:40:43):
with the greatest fury and soon put him to flight.
The Florentine captains, having seen the difficulty their cavalry had
met with in crossing the river, had attempted to make
their infantry cross lower down the river in order to
attack the flanks of Castrucicho's army. But here also the
banks were steep and already lined by the men of Castruccio,

(04:41:07):
and this movement was quite useless. Thus, the Florentines were
so completely defeated at all points that scarcely a third
of them escaped, and Castruccio was again covered with glory.
Many captains were taken prisoners, and Carlo, the son of
King Ruberto, with michel Agnolo Falconi and Todeo Degli Albizi,

(04:41:29):
the Florentine commissioners, fled to Empoli. If the spoils were great,
the slaughter was infinitely greater, as might be expected in
such a battle of the Florentines. There fell twenty thousand,
two hundred and thirty one men, whilst Castrucco lost one thousand,
five hundred and seventy men. But fortune, growing envious of

(04:41:52):
the glory of Castruccio, took away his life just at
the time when she should have preserved it, and thus
ruined all those plans which for so long a time
he had worked to carry into effect, and in the
successful prosecution of which nothing but death could have stopped him.
Castrucco was in the thick of the battle, the whole
of the day, and when the end of it came.

(04:42:13):
Although fatigued and overheated, he stood at the gate of
Fusechio to welcome his men on their return from victory,
and personally thanked them. He was also on the watch
for any attempt of the enemy to retrieve the fortunes
of the day, 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 it.

(04:42:35):
Here Castruccio stood exposed to a wind which often rises
at midday on the banks of the Arno, and which
is often very unhealthy. From this he took a chill,
of which he thought nothing, as he was accustomed to
such troubles, but it was the cause of his death.
On the following night, he was attacked with high fever,
which increased so rapidly that the doctor saw it must

(04:42:58):
prove fatal. Castruccio therefore called Pagiloginagy to him and addressed
him as follows. 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 promised. I should have labored less, and I should
have left thee, if a smaller state, at least with

(04:43:20):
fewer enemies in perils, because I should have been content
with the governorships of Lucca and Pisa. I should neither
have subjugated the Pastoians, nor outraged the Florentines with so
many injuries. But I would have made both these peoples
my friends. And I should have lived, if no longer,
at least more peacefully, and have left you a state,

(04:43:43):
without a doubt, smaller, but one more secure and established
on a surer foundation. But fortune, who insists upon having
the arbitrament of human affairs, did not endow me with
sufficient judgment to recognize this from the first, nor the
time to surmount it. Thou hast heard, for many have
told THEE, and I have never concealed it. How I

(04:44:05):
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 him
and loved as though I had been born of his blood.
How under his governance I learned to be valiant and
capable of availing myself of all that fortune of which
thou hast been witness When thy good father came to die,

(04:44:27):
he committed THEE in all his possessions, to my care.
And I have brought THEE up with that love and
increased thy estate with that care which I was bound
to show. And in order that thou shouldst not only
possess the estate which thy father left, but also that
which my fortune and abilities have gained, I have never married,
so that the love of children should never deflect my

(04:44:49):
mind from that gratitude which I owe to the children
of thy father. Thus I leave THEE a vast estate
of which I am well content, but I am deeply
concerned inasmuch as I leave at THEE unsettled and insecure.
Thou hast the city of Lucca on thy hands, which
will never rest contented under thy government. Thou hast also Pisa,

(04:45:13):
where the men are of nature changeable and unreliable, who,
although they may be sometimes held in subjection, yet they
will ever disdain to serve under a Luchesi. Pistoia is
also disloyal to THEE, she being eaten up with factions
and deeply incensed against thy family by reason of the
wrongs recently inflicted upon them. Thou hast for neighbors the

(04:45:36):
offended Florentines, injured by us in a thousand ways, but
not utterly destroyed, who will hail the news of my
death with more delight than they with the acquisition of
all Tuscany. In the Emperor and in the princes of Milan,
thou canst place no reliance, for they are far distant, slow,
and their help is very long in coming. Therefore thou

(04:45:59):
hast no hope in anything but in thine own abilities,
and in the memory of my valor, and in the
prestige which this latest victory has brought THEE, which, as
thou knowest how to use it with prudence, will assist
THEE to come to terms with the Florentines, who, as
they are suffering under this great defeat, should be inclined
to listen to THEE. And whereas I have sought to

(04:46:21):
make them my enemies, because I believe that war with
them would conduce to my power and glory, thou hast
every inducement to make friends of them, because their alliance
will bring the advantages in security. It is of the
greatest important in this world that a man should know
himself and the measure of his own strength and means.
And he who knows that he is not a genius

(04:46:44):
for fighting, must learn how to govern by the arts
of peace. And it will be well for THEE to
rule my conduct by my counsel, and to learn in
this way to enjoy what my life, work and dangers
have gained. And in this thou wilt easily succeed, when
thou hast learned to believe them what I have told
THEE is true, and thou wilt be doubly indebted to

(04:47:04):
me in that I have left THEE this realm and
have taught THEE how to keep it. After this, there
came to Castruccio those citizens of Pisa, Pistoia and Luca,
who had been fighting at his side, and whilst recommending
Pagillo to them and making them swear obedience to him
as his successor, he died. He left a happy memory

(04:47:26):
to those who had known him, and no prince of
those times was ever loved with such devotion as he was.
His obsequis were celebrated with every sign of mourning, and
he was buried in San Francesco at Luca. Fortune was
not so friendly to Pagolo Ginagi, as she had been
to Castruccio, for he had not the abilities. Not long

(04:47:50):
after the death of Castruccio, Pagilo lost Pisa, and then Pistoia,
and only with difficulty held on to Luca. This latter
city continue in the family of Gynagy until the time
of the great grandson of Pagillo. From what has been
related here, it will be seen that Castruccio was a

(04:48:10):
man of exceptional abilities, not only measured by men of
his own time, but also by those of an earlier date.
In stature, he was above the ordinary height and perfectly proportioned.
He was of a gracious presence, and he welcomed men
with such vanity that those who spoke with him rarely

(04:48:30):
left and displeased. His hair was inclined to be red,
and he wore it cut short above the ears, and
whether it rained or snowed, he always went without a hat.
He was delightful among friends, but terrible to his enemies,
just to his subjects, ready to play false with the unfaithful,
and willing to overcome by fraud those whom he desired

(04:48:53):
to subdue, because he was wont to say that it
was the victory that brought the glory, not the methods
of achieving it. No one was bolder in facing danger,
none more prudent in extricating himself. He was accustomed to
say that men ought to attempt everything and fear nothing,
that God is a lover of strong men, because one

(04:49:15):
always sees that the weaker chastised by the strong. He
was also wonderfully sharp or biting, though courteous in his answers.
And as he did not look for any indulgence in
this way of speaking from others, so he was not
angered with others did not show it to him. It
has often happened that he has listened quietly when others

(04:49:36):
have spoken sharply to him, as on the following occasions.
He had caused a ducat to be given for a partridge,
and was taken to task for doing so by a friend,
to whom Castrucco had said, you would not have given
more than a penny. That is true, answered the friend, then,

(04:49:56):
said Castrucco to him, a ducat is much less to me,
Having about him a flatterer on whom he had spat
to show that he scorned him. The flatterer said to
him fishermen are willing to let the waters of the
sea saturate them in order that they may take a
few little fishes. And I allow myself to be wetted
by spittle that I may catch a whale. And this

(04:50:17):
was not only heard by Kastruccio with patience, but rewarded
when told by a priest that it was wicked for
him to live so sumptuously, Castruccio said, if that be
a vice, then you should not fare so splendidly at
the feasts of our saints. Passing through a street, he
saw a young man as he came out of a
house of ill fame, blush at being seen by Castrucco,

(04:50:40):
and said to him, thou shouldst not be ashamed when
thou comest out, but when thou goest into such places.
A friend gave him a very curiously tied not to undo,
and was told a fool. Do you think that I
wished to untie a thing which gave so much trouble
to fasten? Castrucco said, to one who professed to be
a philosopher, you are like the dogs who always run

(04:51:03):
after those who will give them the best to eat.
And was answered we are rather like the doctors who
go to the houses of those who have the greatest
need of them. Going by water from Pisa to Lakehorn,
Castruccio was much disturbed by a dangerous storm that sprang up,
and was reproached for cowardice by one of those with him,
who said that he did not fear anything. Castruccio answered

(04:51:27):
that he did not wonder at that, since every man
valued his soul for what is was worth. Being asked
by one what he ought to do to gain estimation,
he said, when thou goest to a bank, would take
care that thou dost not seat one piece of wood
upon another. To a person who was boasting that he
had read many things, Castruccio said, he knows better than

(04:51:49):
to boast of remembering many things. Someone bragged that he
could drink much without becoming intoxicated. Castruccio replied, an ox
does the same. Castruccio was acquainted with a girl with
whom he had intimate relations, and being blamed by a
friend who told him that it was undignified for him

(04:52:11):
to be taken in by a woman. He said, she
has not taken me in, I have taken her. Being
also blamed for eating very dainty foods, he answered, thou
dost not spend as much as I do, And, being
told that it was true, he continued, then thou art
more avaricious than I am. Bluttnous. Being invited by Todayo Bernardi,

(04:52:33):
a very rich and splendid citizen of Lucca, to supper,
he went to the house and was shown by Todayo
into a chamber hung with silk and paved with fine
stones representing flowers in foliage of the most beautiful coloring.
Castruccio gathered some saliva in his mouth and spat it
out upon Todeo, and, seeing him much disturbed by this,

(04:52:54):
said to him, I knew not where to spit in
order to offend the less as how Caesar died, he said,
God willing, I will die as he did. Being one
night in the house of one of his gentlemen, where
many ladies were assembled, he was reproved by one of
his friends for dancing and amusing himself with them, more

(04:53:15):
than was usual in one of his station. So he said,
he who was considered wise by day, will not be
considered a fool at night. A person came to demand
a favor of Castrucco, and thinking he was not listening
to his plea, threw himself on his knees to the ground, and,
being sharply reproved by Castrucco, said, thou art the reason

(04:53:35):
of my actingness, for thou hast thy ears in thy feet.
Whereupon he obtained double the favor he had asked. Castrucco
used to say that the way to hell was an
easy one, seeing that it was in a downward direction,
and you traveled blindfolded. Being asked to favor by one
who used many superfluous words, he said to him, when

(04:53:57):
you have another request to make, send someone else to
make it. Having been wearied by a similar man with
a long oration, who wound up by saying, perhaps I
have fatigued you by speaking so long, Castrucco said, you
have not, because I have not listened to a word
you said. He used to say of one who had
been a beautiful child, and who afterwards became a fine man,

(04:54:20):
that he was dangerous because he first took the husbands
from the wives, and now he took the wives from
their husbands. To an envious man who laughed, he said,
do you laugh because you are successful or because another
is unfortunate. Whilst he was still in the charge of
Messer Francesco Ginaji, one of his companions said to him,

(04:54:42):
what shall I give you if you will let me
give you a blow on the nose. Castruccho answered, I helmet.
Having put to death a citizen of Luca, who had
been instrumental in raising him to power, and being told
that he had done wrong to kill one of his
old friends, he answered that people deceived themselves. He had

(04:55:03):
only killed a new enemy. Castruccio praised greatly those men
who intended to take a wife and then did not
do so, saying that they were like men who said
they would go to sea and then refused when the
time came, he said that it had always struck him
with surprise that whilst men, in buying an earthen or
glass vace would sound at first to learn if it

(04:55:23):
were good, yet in choosing a wife they were content
with only looking at her. He was once asked in
what manner he would wish to be buried when he died,
and answered with the face turned downwards, for I know
when I am gone, this country will be turned upside down.
On being asked if it had ever occurred to him
to become a friar in order to save his soul.

(04:55:46):
He answered that it had not, because it appeared strange
to him that for a Lazzaroni should go to Paradise
and Ugucci on della Faggiuola to the inferno. He was
once asked when should a man eat to preserve his health,
and reply, if the man be rich, let him eat
when he is hungry. If he be poor, then when
he can. Seeing one of his gentlemen make a member

(04:56:08):
of his family lace him up, he said to him,
I pray God that you will let him feed you. Also,
seeing that someone had written upon his house in Latin,
the words may God preserve this house from the wicked,
he said the owner must never go in. Passing through
one of the streets, he saw a small house with
a very large door and remarked that house will fly

(04:56:32):
through the door. He was having a discussion with the
ambassador of the King of Naples concerning the property of
some banished nobles, when a dispute arose between them, and
the ambassador asked him if he had no fear of
the king, is this King of yours a bad man
or a good one? Asked Castrucco, and was told that

(04:56:52):
he was a good one, whereupon he said, why should
you suggest that I should be afraid of a good man.
He could recount many other stories of his sayings, both
witty and weighty, but I think that the above will
be sufficient testimony to his high qualities. He lived forty
four years and was in every way a prince, And

(04:57:14):
as he was surrounded by many evidences of his good fortune,
so he also desired to have near him some memorials
of his bad fortune. Therefore, the manacles with which he
was chained in prison are to be seen to this
day fixed up in the tower of his residence, where
they were placed by him, to testify forever to his
days of adversity. As in his life he was inferior

(04:57:37):
neither to Philip of Macedon, the father of Alexander, nor
to Scipio of Rome. So he died in the same
year of his age as they did, and he would
doubtless have excelled both of them, had fortune decreed that
he should be born not in Lucca but in Macedonia
or Rome. Finess about the author Kolo Macchiavelli fourteen sixty

(04:58:02):
nine to fifteen twenty seven was an Italian diplomat, historian, philosopher,
and writer, widely regarded as one of the founding figures
of modern political science. Born in Florence during the height
of the Renaissance, he served as a senior official in
the Florentine Republic, where he observed firsthand the intrigue and

(04:58:24):
instability of Italian politics. After being exiled from public life
in fifteen twelve, Machiavelli turned to writing in solitude. He
composed The Prince, a bold reflection on leadership and statecraft,
based on his deep study of classical history in his
own diplomatic experience. His other major works, including Discourses on

(04:58:49):
Livy in the Art of War, further established him as
a thinker of remarkable depth and pragmatism. Machiavelli's name has
since become sinaiymous with political cunning and strategic realism, yet
his true legacy is far richer. He was a humanist
who sought to understand the mechanisms of power, the limits

(04:59:10):
of virtue, and the enduring complexity of the human spirit.
Pigeon Publishing House presented The Prince author Niccolo Machiavelli, thank
you for listening to this audio book. We hope you

(04:59:31):
enjoyed it.

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