The prince (Niccolò Machiavelli) | Full Audiobook

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THE PRINCE

The ends justifies the means.


The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Pigeon Publishing House presents the Prince author Niccolo Macchiavelli. Niccolo
Macchiavelli born at Florence on May third, fourteen sixty nine.
From fourteen ninety four to fifteen twelve held an official
post at Florence, which included diplomatic missions to various European courts.

(00:22):
Imprisoned in Florence fifteen twelve, later exiled and returned to
San Casciano. Died at Florence on June twenty second, fifteen
twenty seven. Introduction. Niccolo Macchiavelli was born at Florence on
May third, fourteen sixty nine. He was the second son
of Bernardo di Niccolo Macchiavelli, a lawyer of some repute,

(00:43):
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. His
youth was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as an
Italian power under the guidance of Lorenzo de Medici Illinois Magnifico.

(01:07):
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 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,

(01:29):
when they were once more driven out. This was the
period of Machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence, 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

(01:50):
there is little recorded of the youth of Machiavelli, 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

(02:11):
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 Medicean rule during the life
of Lorenzo appeared to have impressed Machiavelli strongly, for he
frequently recurs to it in his writings, and it is

(02:33):
to Lorenzo's grandson that he dedicates De Prince. Machiavelli, in
his History of Florence, gives us a picture of the
young men among whom his youth was past. He writes,
they were freer than their forefathers in dress and living,
and spent more in other kinds of excesses, consuming their

(02:54):
time and money in idolests, gaming, and women. Their chief
aim was to appear well dressed and to speak with
wit in ac caucuteness, whilst he who could wound others
the most cleverly was thought the wisest. In a letter
to 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,

(03:14):
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.
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.

(03:36):
Take pains to study letters and music, for you see
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 and honor to yourself, do
write and study, because others will help you if you
help yourself Office eight twenty five to forty three, fourteen
ninety four to fifteen twelve. The second period of Machiavelli's

(03:58):
life was spent in the service of the free pree
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 in Peace.
Here we are on firm ground when dealing with the

(04:18):
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 his time gives a fair indication of his activities
and supplies the sources from which he drew the experiences

(04:39):
in characters which illustrate the prince. His first mission was
in fourteen ninety nine to Catharinas Fortza, my lady of
forli of the Prince, from whose conduct and fate he
drew the moral that it is far better to ruin
the 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

(04:59):
vital imports 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 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

(05:20):
Pope Alexander the sixth, which leads Machiavelli to refer those
who urge that such promises should be kept to what
he 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 chaesare Borgia,
the Duke Valentino, and these characters fill a large space
of the Prince. Machiavelli never hesitates to cite the actions

(05:43):
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 chaesare Borgia's conduct. Insomuch, the Chaserrat is acclaimed by
some critics as the hero of the Prince, Yet in
the Prince the Duke is, in point of fact, cited
as atone type of the man who rises on the
fortune of others and falls with them, who takes every

(06:04):
course that might be expected from a prudent man, but
the course which will save him, who was 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 the Third in fifteen o three,
Machiavelli was sent to Rome to watch the election of

(06:24):
his successor, and there he saw chaes ray Borgo cheated
into allowing the choice of the college to fall on
Giuliano del Rovere. 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
new favors will cause great personages to forget old injuries
deceives himself. Julius did not rest until he had ruined

(06:46):
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,
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,

(07:06):
and concludes that it is the bold, rather than the
cautious man, that will win and hold them both. It
is impossible 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

(07:30):
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
been ruined. The Emperor Maximilian was one of the most

(07:52):
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, in Sins
seven to eight, reveals the secret of his many failures
when he describes him as a secretive man without force
of character, 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

(08:16):
filled with events arising out of the League of Cambrai,
made in fifteen o eight between the three great European
powers already mentioned 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

(08:36):
they were by the feud which broke out between the
Pope and the French, 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 Swis, 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 should be restored. The return of

(08:59):
the Medici to Floras 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 eight forty
three to fifty eight fifteen twelve to twenty seven. On
the return of the Medici, Machiavelli, who for a few

(09:21):
weeks had vainly helped to retain his office under the
new Masters of Florence, was dismissed by decree dated November seventh,
fifteen twelve. Shortly after this, he was accused of complicity
in an abortive conspiracy against the Medici, imprisoned and put
to the question by torture, the new Medici and Pope
Leo the tenth procured his release, and he retired to

(09:42):
his small property at San Casciano, near Florence, where he
devoted himself to literature. In a letter to Francesco Vettarei
dated December thirteenth, fifteen thirteen, he has left a very
interesting description of his life at this period, which elucidates
his methods and his motives. In writing to Prince, describing
his daily occupations with his family and neighbors, he writes,

(10:03):
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, 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, and

(10:26):
for four hours I feel no weariness. I forget every trouble.
Poverty does not dismay, death 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,
and have composed a small work on principalities. Or I
pour myself out as fully as I can in meditation

(10:48):
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
should be welcome. Therefore I dedicate it to his magnificence.
Giuliano Filipo Casavecchio has seen it. He will be able

(11:09):
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 Book suffered many vicissitudes
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

(11:33):
with Casavecchio whether it should be sent or presented 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,

(11:54):
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 stone body 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
not now learn how to break it. For he who
has been faithful and honest as I have, cannot change

(12:15):
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
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,

(12:39):
the Medician rulers of Florence granted a few political concessions
to her citizens, and Machiavelli, with others, was consulted upon
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

(13:01):
Florentine literary society, where he was much sought after, and
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

(13:22):
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
the seventh. It is somewhat remarkable that, as in fifteen thirteen,

(13:45):
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
destroyed the French rule in Italy and left Francis Iye
a prisoner in the hands of his great rival, Charles
the fifth. This was followed by the sack of Rome,

(14:07):
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 his return, hoping to secure his former office
of Secretary to the ten of Liberty and Peace. Unhappily,
he was taken ill soon after he reached Florence, where
he died on June twenty second, fifteen twenty seven. The

(14:30):
man and his works. No one can say where the
bones of Machiavelli rest, but modern Florence has decreed him
a stately cenotaph in Sata Croce by the sight 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

(14:50):
protest against 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 long haunted men's vision has begun to fade.

(15:12):
Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness, and industry,
noting with appreciative by whatever passed before him, and with
his supreme literary gift turning it to account. In his
enforced retirement from affairs, he does not present himself, nor
is he 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

(15:35):
embassies and political employments. He was misled by catharinas Forza,
ignored by Louis the Twelfth, overaught by chasarey Borgia. Several
of his 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

(15:55):
not appear by the side of Soderini, to whom he
owed so much, for fear of compromising himself. His connection
with the Medici 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

(16:18):
centuries has been focused 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 incidents and personages become interesting by

(16:40):
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 can be proved at every turn.
Men are still the dupes of their simplicity and greed,
as they were in the days of Alexander six. The

(17:04):
cloak of religion still conceals the vices which Machiavelli laid
bare in the character of Ferdinand of Aragon. Men will
not look at things 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

(17:27):
do not win glory. Necessary 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
the people with a just recognition of the fundamental principles
of society. To this high argument, the Prince contributes but little.

(17:49):
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 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,

(18:13):
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 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 and serious. Cazio fute uncommon party undis rebus in

(18:34):
definiendi's in explanandes pressier 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 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

(18:56):
is not so simple. To take a single example. The
world entertenor employed by Machiavelli to indicate the policy adopted
by the Roman Senate towards the weaker states of Greece
would buy an Elizabethan be correctly rendered entertained, and every
contemporary reader would understand what was meant by saying that
Rome entertained the Eetolians and the Achaeans without augmenting their power.

(19:17):
But today such a phrase would seem obsolete and ambiguous,
if not unmeaning. We are compelled to say that Rome
maintain friendly relations with the Aetolians, 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

(19:38):
hope that the reader, 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.

Speaker 2 (19:54):
Principal works Discorso sopra l coosa di Pisa, mile quatrocento
del modo di tratari popol de la valbe lati millch
In Puceento due del modo del doca Valentino e la
Mazari with lots of it Eli o Riverotto, da Fermo, Etcetera.
Milllech in Cuceento due discurso sopra la provincion del danaro

(20:16):
Milllech in concento due the Chennale primo poem in terce
Arima millch in Pnceento Say retracted de le cosa de
la la magna unoch zerotto tratino do dici the Chennale secondo,
milllech in cuacento Nove retracted the le Cosa di Francia
Milllech in concento Diecchi. This course is sopra la prima
dicaditi livio trevoz un tratino dica sette il principe millch

(20:43):
in cuncento tradichi Andrea comedy translated from Terence Millch in
concento Tradici Mandragola pros comed in five acts with prologue
in verse, millch in pucento Tradici de la lingua diloge
millch in Puceento quator dic Clitzia comedy in pros Millach
in concento quinciji Belfagrarci diavoo, Novella millleach In pacento quin

(21:09):
Dici azinodoro poem in Turzima millach In conceno dicasette, the
lade de la guera Uno cinque, nove Tratino, vientti discurso
so prellri for marios tato diferentze Millaching, pacento ventti so
Mario de le cozza de lachitadi Lucca Millaching, cicento ventti
vita di castruccio castra candida Lucca Millaching, concento ventti historia Fiorentine,

(21:33):
auto books uno chinque tratino Cinque, framenti storici Millleaching, concento
venti Cinque. Other poems include Sonetti Canzoni ottave and Canti
Carnacaliski editions Aldo Venice millach In Cnceento Puaranta Sai the
later Tina millach In Cnceno chinuanta Cambiagi Florence savoz uno

(21:59):
setto toto due tratino, chinkwe de glascici milan dieci mi
leo to cento, tredici silvestri novevoz unoto duit Zero, Tratino
due Passerini, Fanfani Milanesi Saivoz only published eighteen seventy three
to seven.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
Minor works ed. Jeffeldt Pollodori eighteen fifty two. Litteer Familiary
editioning Alwaisi eighteen eighty three, two editions, one with excisions
credited writings Edition G. Canestrini eighteen fifty seven. Letters to F.
Vettore Sie Gridolfi, Penseiri and Torno Allo Scopo, DN. Machiavelli,
nel Libro el Principe et Cetera di Ferrara, The private

(22:40):
correspondence of Nicolo Machiavelli, nineteen twenty nine, Dedication to the
Magnificent Lorenzo d Piero de Medici. Those who strive to
obtain the good graces of a prince are accustomed to
come before him with such things as they hold most precious,
or in which they see him take most delight. Whence
one often sees horses, arms, cloth of gold, precious stones,

(23:02):
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 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

(23:25):
it with great and prolonged diligence, I now send, digested
into a little volume, to your magnificence. And although 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 of
understanding in the shortest time, all that I have learnt
in so many years, and with so many troubles and dangers.

(23:48):
Which work I have not embellished with swelling 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 with those who

(24:08):
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 needs to
be a prince, and to understand that of princes, it

(24:29):
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
if your magnificence, from the summit of your greatness, will
sometimes turn your eyes to these lower regions, you will

(24:51):
see how unmeritedly I suffer a great and continued malignity
of fortune. The Prince Chapter one, How many kinds of
principalities there are, and by what means they are acquired?
All states, all powers that have held in whole rule
over men, have been and are either republics or principalities.

(25:12):
Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been
long established, or they are new. The new are either
entirely new, as was Milan to Francesco's Forza, or they are,
as it were, members annex 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

(25:34):
prince or to live in freedom, and are acquired either
by 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, and will address myself only to principalities. In

(25:57):
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, than 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

(26:18):
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 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

(26:40):
unless he had been long established in his dominions. For
the 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
or laws for one change always leaves the toothing for another.

(27:04):
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, which,
taken collectively, may be called composite. The changes arise chiefly
from an inherent difficulty, which there is in all new principalities.

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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 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,

(27:45):
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 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

(28:07):
need of the good will of the natives. 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 Lodovico'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 very true that

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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 off the suspects, and to strengthen himself in
the weakest places. Thus to cause France to lose Milan
the first time, it was enough for the Duke Lodovico
to raise insurrections on the borders, but to cause him

(28:51):
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 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

(29:11):
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. Now 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.

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It is enough to have destroyed the family of the
prince who was ruling them. Because 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 the customs are alike,

(29:55):
and the people will easily be able to get on
amongst themselves. He who was annexed, 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 very short time they will become
entirely one body with the old principality. But when states

(30:16):
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 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

(30:37):
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, 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,

(30:59):
they have more to love him, 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
courses to send colonies to one or two places, which
may be his keys to that state, for it is
necessary either to do this or else to keep there

(31:20):
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 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

(31:41):
anxious not to wear for fear it should 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 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,

(32:04):
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 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.

(32:24):
All become acquainted with hardship, and all become hostile. And
they are enemies who, whilst beaten on their own ground,
are yet 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

(32:46):
amongst them, taking care that no foreigner as powerful as
himself shall, 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 by the inhabitants. And the usual course of

(33:09):
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,
for the whole of them quickly rally to the state
which he has acquired. There he is only to take
care that they do not get hold of too much power,

(33:30):
in 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 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 send colonies and maintain

(33:53):
friendly relations with the minor powers without increasing their strength.
They kept down the greater and did not allow any
strong foreign powers to gain authority. Greece appears to be
sufficient for an example. The Achaeans and Eetolians were kept
friendly by them. The Kingdom of Macedonia was humbled, Antiochus
was driven out, Yet the merits of the Achaeans and
Eetolians never secured for them permission to increase their power.

(34:16):
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
future ones, for which they must prepare with every energy,
because when foreseen, it is easy to remedy them. But

(34:39):
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
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,

(35:02):
For when the evils that arise have been foreseen, which
it is only given to a wise man to see,
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

(35:23):
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
benefits of their own valor and prudence. For time dries

(35:44):
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
conduct is the better to be observed. He having held
possession of Italy for the longest period, and you will

(36:04):
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
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

(36:27):
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
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

(36:47):
of Forli, the lords of Fienza, of Pesaro, of Rimini,
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 wrect ashness 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

(37:09):
little 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 who remained powerful. But he was no

(37:30):
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 to the spiritual, thus giving it greater authority.
And having committed this prime error, he was obliged to

(37:52):
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 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

(38:14):
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 pension or as king,
he drove him out to put one there who was
able to drive him Louis 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,

(38:36):
then there is folly in blame. Therefore, 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 Louis made these five errors.

(38:59):
He destroyed them 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, nor brought Spain
into Italy, it would have been very reasonable and necessary

(39:20):
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 the others
would not wish to take Lombardy from France in order
to give it to the Venetians, and to run counter

(39:41):
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 ought
never to be perpetrated to avoid war, because it is
not to be avoided, but is only deferred to your disadvantage.
And if another should alled the pledge which the King

(40:01):
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 the faith
of princes and how it ought to be kept. Thus
King Louis lost Lombardy by not having followed any of
the conditions observed by those who have taken possession of
countries and wished to retain them. Nor is there any

(40:23):
miracle in this, but much that is reasonable and quite natural.
And on these matters I spoke at 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 Staatecraft,
meaning that otherwise they would not have allowed the Church

(40:45):
to reach such greatness. And in fact, 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 an another becoming powerful is ruined,
because that predominancy has been brought about either by a
stuteness or else by force, and both are distrusted by

(41:07):
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 men have had to hold to a newly
acquired state, some might wonder, how, seeing that Alexander the
Great became the master of Asia in a few years

(41:27):
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.
I answered that the principalities of which one his record
are found to be governed in two different ways, either
by a prince with a body of servants who assist

(41:48):
him to govern the kingdom as ministers by his favour
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
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 country, there is no one who

(42:10):
is recognized as superior to him, And if they yield
obedience to another, they do it as to a minister
in official, and they do not bear him any particular affection.
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

(42:31):
sends their different administrators, and shifts and changes them as
he chooses. But the King of France is placed in
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 except
at his peril. Therefore, he who considers both of these
states will recognize great difficulties in seizing the state of

(42:51):
the Turk, but once it is conquered, great ease in
holding it. The causes of the difficulties in seizing the
Kingdom of the Turk are that the usurper cannot be
called in by the princes of the 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
all slaves and bondmen, can only be corrupted with great difficulty,

(43:14):
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
the Turk has been conquered and routed in the field
in such a way that he cannot replace his armies,
there is nothing to fear but the family of this prince,

(43:36):
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
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

(43:57):
as desire a change. Much 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,
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

(44:19):
unable either to satisfy or exterminate them, that state is
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

(44:41):
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
constituted like that of France. Hence arose those frequent rebellions

(45:02):
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,
and the Romans then became secure possessors, And when fighting
afterwards amongst themselves, each one was able to attach to

(45:22):
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 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 Paris and many more. This is
not occasioned by the little or abundance of ability in

(45:45):
the conqueror, but by the want of uniformity in the
subject state. Chapter five concerning the way to govern cities
or principalities which lived under their own laws before they
were annexed. Whenever those states which have been a required,
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.

(46:07):
The next is to reside there in person. The third
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
accustomed to freedom, will hold it more easily by the

(46:27):
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,
Carthage and Numantia, dismantled them and did not lose them.
They wished to hold Greece as the Spartans held it,

(46:50):
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 no
safe way to retain them otherwise than by ruining them.
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,

(47:12):
which neither time nor benefits will ever cause it to forget.
And whatever you may do or provide against, they never
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

(47:34):
is exterminated, they, being on the one hand, accustomed to
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

(47:54):
hatred 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, or
to reside there. Chapter six, concerning new principalities which are
acquired by one's own arms and ability. Let no one
be surprised if, in speaking of entirely new principalities, as

(48:15):
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,
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

(48:37):
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
which the strength of their bow attaines, 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,

(49:00):
more or less difficulty is found in keeping them, accordingly
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
has relied least on fortune is established the strongest. Further,

(49:22):
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 suchlike are the most excellent examples. And although one
may not discuss Moses, he having been a mere executor

(49:42):
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 be considered,
they will not be found inferior to those of Moses,
although he had so great a preceptor, and in examining

(50:04):
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 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 in Egypt, enslaved and oppressed by

(50:26):
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 not remain in Alba,
and that he should be abandoned at his birth, in
order that he should become king of Rome and 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

(50:49):
could not have shown his ability had he not found
the Athenians dispersed. These opportunities therefore made those men fortunate,
and their high ability enabled them to recognize the opportunit
unity 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.

(51:11):
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
the innovator has for enemies all those who have done

(51:32):
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 incredulity of men
who do not readily believe in new things until they
have had a long experience of them. Thus it happens
that whenever those who are hostile have the opportunity to attack,

(51:52):
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, that is to say,
whether to consummate their enterprise, have they to use prayers
or can they use force. In the first instance, they

(52:14):
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. 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 in that persuasion, and thus it is

(52:36):
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, 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

(52:57):
keeping steadfast those who believed, or of making the unblas
to believe. Therefore, such as these have great difficulties 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,

(53:18):
and happy. To these great examples, I wish 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, being oppressed, chose him for their captain.

(53:40):
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, And as he had his own soldiers
and allies on such foundations, he was able to build
in the edifice. Thus, whilst he had endured much trouble

(54:02):
in acquiring, he had but little in keeping. Chapter seven,
concerning new principalities, which are acquired either by the arms
of others or by good fortune, those who solely by
good fortune become princes from being private citizens have little
trouble in rising, but much in keeping atop. They have
not any difficulties on the way up, because they fly,

(54:24):
but they have many when they reach the summit. Such
are those to whom some state is given, either for
money or by 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,

(54:44):
came to empire. Such stands simply elevated upon the good
will and the fortune of him who has elevated them
two most inconstant and unstable things. Neither have they the
knowledge requisite for the position, because unless they are men
of great worth and ability, it is not reasonable to
a expect that they should know how to command, having
always lived in a private condition. Besides, they cannot hold

(55:05):
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 who unexpectedly become princes or men
of so much ability that they know they have to
be prepared at once to hold that which fortune has

(55:26):
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, I wish to adduce two examples
within our own recollection, and these are Francesco's forts in
chaesare Borga. Francesco, by proper means and with great ability,

(55:48):
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 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
enable man to fix firmly his roots in the states

(56:10):
which the arms and fortunes of others had bestowed on him.
Because as 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 I do not consider it superfluous to

(56:32):
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 immediate and prospective difficulties. Firstly, he

(56:52):
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 Faenza and Rhmany were already under the
protection of the Venetians. 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,

(57:12):
namely the Orsini in the Colonisi and their following. It
behooved him, therefore, to upset this state of affairs and
embroil the powers so as to make himself securely master
of part of 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

(57:33):
more easy by dissolving the former marriage of King Louis. Therefore,
the king came into Italy with the assistance of the
Venetians 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 Colonesi, while wishing to hold

(57:56):
that into advance further, was hindered by two things. The
one his forces to dead 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

(58:16):
warning win after taking Faienza 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
of others. For the first thing, he weakened the Orsinian

(58:37):
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 turned entirely to
the Duke. After this he awaited an opportunity to crush
the Orsini, having scattered the adherents of the Kalana house.

(59:00):
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 Peruja. 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

(59:21):
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 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

(59:42):
their partisans into his friends, the Duke laid 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, he found it under

(01:00:03):
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. Thereupon he promoted Messer
Ramiro Diorco, a swift and cruel man, to whom he

(01:00:24):
gave the fullest power. This man, in a short time
restored peace and unity with the greatest success. Afterwards, the
Duke considered that it was not advisable to confer such
excessive authority, for he had no doubt but 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

(01:00:45):
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 that
if any cruelty had been practiced, it had not originated
with him, but in the natural sternness of the Minister.
Under this pretense, he took Ramiro and one morning caused
him to be executed and left on the piazza at Cesina,

(01:01:06):
with the block and a bloody knife at his side.
The barbarity of this spectacle caused the people to be
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

(01:01:28):
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
to secure himself against them, and this he would have

(01:01:50):
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 that a new
successor to the Church might not be friendly to him
and might seek to take from him at which Alexander
had given him. So he decided to act in four ways. Firstly,
by exterminating the families of those lords whom he had despoiled,

(01:02:12):
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, 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

(01:02:35):
death of Alexander, he had accomplished three, for he had
killed as many of the dispossessed lords 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 Perugia and Piombino, and Pisa was under his protection,

(01:02:57):
and as he had no longer to study France, for
the 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 had he
continued to prosper. As he was prospering, the year that

(01:03:19):
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 and the forces of others,
but solely on his own power and ability. But Alexander
died five years after he had first drawn the sword.
He left the Duke with the state of Romagna alone, consolidated,
with the rest in the air, between two most powerful

(01:03:40):
hostile armies, and sick unto death. Yet there were in
the Duke such boldness inability, and he knew so well
how men are to be won or lost, and so
firm were the foundations which in so short 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

(01:04:00):
awaited him for more than a month in Rome, although
but half alive, he remained secure, and whilst the Balioni,
the Vitelli and the Orsini might come to Rome, they
could not effect 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 (01:04:26):
On the day that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:28):
Julius the second was elected, he told me that he
had thought of everything that might occur at the death
of his father, 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 not know how to blame him, but rather it
appears to be as I have said, that I ought

(01:04:48):
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 in far reaching aims,
could not have regulated his conduct otherwise, and only the
shortness of the life of Alexander, in his own sickness,
frustrated his designs. Therefore, he who considers it necessary to
secure himself in his new principality, to win friends, to

(01:05:10):
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
reason to hurt him, to change the old order of
things for new, 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

(01:05:30):
that they must help him with zeal and offend with caution.
Cannot find a more lively example than the actions of
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,

(01:05:52):
or who had caused to fear him, if they became pontiffs,
for men injure, either from fear or hatred. Those whom
he had injured, amongst others, were San Pietro, at Vincula, Klana,
San Giorgio, and Escanio. The rest in becoming pope had
to fear him. Ruan and the Spaniards accepted the latter
from their relationship and obligations, the former from his influence

(01:06:14):
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 Rwan and
not San Pietro at Vincula. He who believes that new
benefits will cause great personages to forget old injuries is deceived.
Therefore the Duke aired in his choice, and it was

(01:06:34):
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 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.

(01:06:55):
When I discuss republics, these methods are when either by
some wicked or nefarious one ascends to the principality, or when,
by the favor of his fellow citizens, a private person
becomes 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,

(01:07:15):
I consider these two examples will suffice those who may
be compelled to follow them. Agathocles the Sicilian became king
of Syracuse not only from a private but from a
low and 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

(01:07:35):
ability of mind and body, that, having devoted himself to
the military profession, he rose through its ranks to be
Praetor of Syracuse. Being established in that position, and having
deliberately resolved to make himself prince and deceized 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

(01:07:57):
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,
and although he was twice routed by the Carthaginians, and

(01:08:18):
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
the Gathocles, and, leaving Sicily to him, had to be
content with the possession of Africa. Therefore, he who considers

(01:08:40):
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
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 friends, to be without faith,

(01:09:03):
without mercy, without religion. Such methods may gain empire, but
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

(01:09:24):
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
up by his maternal uncle Giovanni Fogliani, and in the

(01:09:45):
early days of his youth sent to fight under Pagolo Vitelli,
that being trained under his discipline, he might attain some
high position in the military profession. After Pagolo died, he
fought under his brother Vitolazzo, and in a very short time,
being endowed with wit and a vigorous boy in mind,
he became the first man in his profession. But in
appearing a paltry thing to serve under others, he resolved

(01:10:06):
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.
So he wrote to Giovanni Fogliani, 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

(01:10:28):
see he had not spent his time in vain, he
desired to come honorably, so would be accompanied by one
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

(01:10:50):
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 necessary for his wicked designs, Olivarado gave
a solemn banquet to which he invited Giovanni Fogliani and
the chiefs of Fermo. When the Vians and all the
other entertainments that are usual in such banquets were finished,
Oliverado artfully began certain grave discourses, speaking of the greatness

(01:11:13):
of Pope Alexander and his son Chaseray, 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
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.

(01:11:35):
After these murders, Oliverado mounted on horseback, rode up and
down the town, and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace,
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

(01:11:58):
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 chaserrey Borja,
who took him with the Orsinian Vitelli at Senegalia. As
was stated above, Thus, one year after he had committed
this parricide, he was strangled together with Vitelazzo, whom he

(01:12:20):
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
never be conspired against by his own citizens. Seeing that
many others by means of cruelty, have never been able,
even in peaceful times, to hold the state still lessen

(01:12:41):
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
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

(01:13:03):
few in the commencement, multiply with time, rather than decrease.
Those who practice the first system are able, by aid
of God or man, to mitigate in some degree their rule,
as the Gathocles 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

(01:13:23):
to examine closely into all those injuries which it is
necessary for him to inflict, and to do 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

(01:13:44):
can they attach themselves to him, owing to their 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
a prince ought to live amongst his people in such
a way that no unexpected circumstances, whether of good or evil,

(01:14:05):
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 to the other point,
where a leading citizen becomes the prince of his country

(01:14:27):
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 by the favor
of the people or by the favor of the nobles,
because in all cities these two distinct parties are found.

(01:14:49):
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 prince, scipality, self government, 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,

(01:15:12):
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. 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

(01:15:34):
the aid of the people, because the former finds himself
with many around him who consider themselves his 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,
one cannot, by fair dealing and without injury to others

(01:15:55):
satisfy the nobles, but you can satisfy the people, for
their object is more right 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
people because of their being too many, whilst from the
nobles he can secure himself, as they are few in number.

(01:16:16):
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
these affairs more far seeing and 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

(01:16:37):
do well without the same nobles, being able to make
and unmake them daily, and to give or take away
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

(01:16:58):
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
ambitious ends they shun binding themselves, it is a token

(01:17:18):
that they are giving more thought to themselves than to you.
And a prince ought to guard against such and to
fear them as 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,
seeing they only ask not to be oppressed by him.
But one who in opposition to the people becomes a

(01:17:39):
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,
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

(01:18:00):
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
have the people friendly, otherwise he has no security in adversity. Nabbs,
Prince of the Spartans, sustained the attack of all Greece
and of a victorious Roman army, and against them he

(01:18:22):
defended his country in his government, and for the overcoming
of this peril. It was only necessary 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

(01:18:43):
him when he is oppressed by his 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 not fail in
other qualifications, and who by his resolution and energy, keeps

(01:19:05):
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 prince as either
rule personally or through magistrates. In the latter case, their
government is weaker and more insecure, because it rests entirely

(01:19:27):
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 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,

(01:19:49):
in doubtful times a scarcity of men whom he can trust.
For such a prince cannot rely 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

(01:20:12):
it can only be tried once. Therefore, a wise prince
ought to adopt such a course that his citizens will always,
in every sort and kind of circumstance, have need of
the state in 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 examining the character

(01:20:34):
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, who can, either by
abundance of men or money, raise a sufficient army to
join battle against anyone who comes to attack them. And

(01:20:56):
I consider those always to have need of others, who
cannot show themselves against the ends in the field, but
are forced to defend themselves by sheltering behind walls. The
first case has been discussed, but 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,

(01:21:20):
and shall have managed the other concerns of his subjects
in the way stated above, and 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 country around them,

(01:21:41):
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 year's eating, drinking,
and firing, and beyond this, to keep the people quiet

(01:22:03):
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 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

(01:22:25):
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 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

(01:22:47):
all such difficulties by giving at one time 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, the enemy would naturally,
on his arrival at once burn and ruin the country
at the time when the spirits of the people are
still hot and ready for the defense, and therefore so

(01:23:08):
much the less ought 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
to them, now that there houses have been burnt and
their possessions ruined in his defense. For it is the

(01:23:29):
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
steadfast from first to last, when he does not fail
to support and defend them. Chapter eleven, concerning ecclesiastical principalities.

(01:23:50):
It only remains now to speak of ecclesiastical principalities, touching
which all difficulties are prior to getting possession, because 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

(01:24:11):
princes alone have states and do not defend them, 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 shall speak

(01:24:33):
no more of them, because being exalted and maintained by God,
it would be the act 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
and temporal power? Seeing that from Alexander backwards, the Italian potentates,
not only those who have been called potentates, but every
baron and lord, though the smallest, have valued the temporal

(01:24:54):
power very slightly. Yet now a king of France trembles
before it, and it has been able to drive them
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. Before Charles,
King of France, passed into Italy, this country was under
the dominion of the Pope, the Venetians, the King of Naples,

(01:25:16):
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 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

(01:25:38):
was for the defense of Ferrara, and to keep down
the pope, they made use of the barons of Rome, who,
being divided into two factions, Orsini and Coolonesi, 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

(01:25:58):
could rid him of these annoyances. 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 Coolonesi, another would arise hostile to the Orsini, who
would support their opponents, and yet would not have time
to ruin the Orsini. This was the reason why the

(01:26:20):
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 brought about all those
things which I have discussed above in the actions of
the Duke. And although his intention was not to aggrandize

(01:26:42):
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 and found the
Church strong, possessing all the Romagna. The barons of Rome
reduced to impotence, and through the chastisements of Alexander the
factions wiped out. He also found the way open to

(01:27:03):
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 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

(01:27:26):
kept also the Orsinian Coolonesi factions within 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 do not remain
quiet for long. Because cardinals foster the factions in Roman

(01:27:49):
out of it, 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 is to
be hoped that if others made it great in arms,
he will make it still greater and more venerated by
His goodness in infinite other virtues. Chapter twelve. How many

(01:28:13):
kinds of soldiery there are? And concerning mercenaries. Having discoursed
particularly on the characteristics of such principalities as in the beginning,
I propose to discuss, and having considered in some degree
the causes of their being good or bad, and having
shown them 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

(01:28:34):
belong to each of them. We have seen above how
necessary it is for a prince to have 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 leave the

(01:28:56):
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. For they are disunited,
ambitious and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before enemies.

(01:29:21):
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 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,

(01:29:42):
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 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.

(01:30:04):
And he who told us that our sins were the
cause of it, told 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 men or they are not. If

(01:30:24):
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 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

(01:30:45):
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 laws so that he does
not leave the command. Experience has shown princes and republics
single handed making the greatest progress, and mercenaries doing nothing
except damage. And it is more difficult to bring a

(01:31:08):
republic armed with its own arms under the sway of
one of its citizens than it is to bring one
armed with foreign arms. 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

(01:31:28):
war with the Romans. Although the Carthaginians had their own
citizens for captains, after the death of a 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 fortsa against the Venetians,
and he, having overcome the enemy at Caravajo, allied himself

(01:31:50):
with them to 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 health into
the arms of the King of Aragon in order to
save her kingdom. And if the Venetians and Florentines formerly
extended their dominions by these arms, and yet their captains
did not make themselves princes, but have defended them, I

(01:32:12):
replied that the Florentines in this case have been favored
by chance for 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 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

(01:32:32):
stood at his discretion. Sforza had the Brak Senesky always
against him, so they watched each other. Francesco turned his
ambition to Lombardy Brachio against 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

(01:32:54):
position had risen to the greatest renown. If this man
had taken Pisa, nobody can 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

(01:33:15):
with armed gentlemen 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, they had not much to
fear from their captains. But when they expanded as under Carmignola,

(01:33:37):
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, and for this reason
they were not willing, nor were they able to let
him go, and so not to lose again at which
they had acquired, they were compelled, in order to secure

(01:33:58):
themselves to murder him. They had afterwards for their captains
Bartolomeo de Bergamo, Roberto de san Severino, the Count of Pidiliano,
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 in eight hundred years
they had acquired with so much trouble, because from such

(01:34:19):
arms conquests come but slowly, long delayed, and inconsiderable, but
the loss is sudden and portentous. And as with these examples,
I have reached Italy, which has been ruled for many
years by mercenaries, I wish 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,

(01:34:41):
that the Pope has acquired more 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 came to pass that
Italy fell partly into the hands of the Church and

(01:35:04):
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
di Conio, the Romagnian from the school of this man,
sprang among others Brachio and Sforza, who in their time
were the arbiters of Italy. After these came all the

(01:35:25):
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. 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,

(01:35:46):
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, 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

(01:36:08):
the fray, but taking prisoners and liberating without ransom. They
did not attack towns at night, nor did the garrisons
of the town's 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. Thus they

(01:36:29):
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, for he,
having in the enterprise against Ferrara, had poor proof of

(01:36:51):
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, for
losing one is undone, and winning one is their captive.
And although ancient histories may be full of examples, I

(01:37:12):
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
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

(01:37:35):
and others, it so came to pass that he did
not become prisoner to his enemies they having fled, nor
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,

(01:37:55):
to oppose his neighbors, sent ten thousand Turks into Greece, who,
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 others. But

(01:38:16):
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
dangerous in auxiliaries. Valor, the wise Prince, therefore, has always

(01:38:39):
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
entered the Romagna with auxiliaries, taking their only French soldiers,
and with them he captured emoln Fourli, But afterwards such

(01:39:01):
forces not appearing to him reliable, he turned to mercenaries,
discerning less danger in them, and enlisted the Orsinian Vitelli,
whom presently on handling, and finding them doubtful, unfaithful and dangerous,
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,

(01:39:22):
when he had the Orsinian, Thetelle, and when he relied
on his own soldiers, on whose fidelity he could always
count and found it ever increasing. He was never esteemed
more highly than when every one 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 Hiro the Syracusan, he being one
of those I have named above. This man, as I

(01:39:45):
have said, made head of the army by the Syracusans,
soon found out that a mercenary soldiery constituted like our
Italian condotary, 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
Old Testament applicable to this subject. David offered himself to

(01:40:09):
Saul to fight with Goliath, the fullestin 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
either fall from your back, or they weigh you down,
or they bind you fast. Charles the seventh, the father

(01:40:30):
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,
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,

(01:40:53):
because having raised the reputation of the Switzers, he has
entirely diminished the value of his own arms, For he
has destroyed the infant tree altogether, and his men at
arms 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,

(01:41:14):
and without the switzers they do not come off well
against others. 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 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

(01:41:38):
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 said 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
disaster to the Roman Empire should be examined, it will

(01:41:59):
be found to have commit ninst 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.
On the contrary, it is entirely dependent on good fortune,
not having the valor which in adversity would defend it.

(01:42:21):
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
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

(01:42:41):
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
entirely commit myself. Chapter fourteen, that which concerns a prince
on the subject of the art of war. Prince ought
to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything

(01:43:02):
else for his study than war. And its rules and discipline.
For this is the sole art that belongs to him, rules,
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

(01:43:23):
it is to neglect this art. And what 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, it causes
you to be despised. And this is one of those

(01:43:44):
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 is not reasonable
that he who is armed should yield obedience willingly to
him who is unarmed, or that the unarmed man should
be secure among armed servants. Because there being in the
one disdain and in the other suspicion, it is not

(01:44:04):
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 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

(01:44:27):
by study. As regards action, he ought above all things
to keep his men well organized and drilled, to follow
incessively the chase by which he accustoms his body to hardships,
and learns something of the nature of localities, and gets
to find out how the mountains rise, 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,

(01:44:52):
he learns to know his country, 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 that with a knowledge
of the aspect of one country, one can easily arrive

(01:45:14):
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 advantage. Philippemon, Prince of
the Achaeans, among other praises which writers have bestowed on him,

(01:45:35):
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 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?

(01:45:57):
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 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 illustrious men,

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to see how they have borne themselves in war, to
examine the causes of their victories and 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
Alexander Scipio Cyrus, And whoever reads the Life of Cyrus

(01:46:42):
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
observe some such rules, and never in peaceful time, stan iida,
but increase his resources with industry in such a way

(01:47:02):
that they may be available to him in adversity, so that,
if fortune chances, it may find him prepared to resist
her blows. Chapter fifteen, Concerning things for which men, 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 in friends, And as I know

(01:47:23):
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 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

(01:47:44):
have never been known or seen. Because how one lives
is so far distant from how one ought to live,
that he who neglects what is done for what ought
to be done sooner affects his ruin than his preservation.
For a man who wishes to act entirely up to
his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys him
among so much that is evil. Hence, it is necessary
for a prince wishing to hold his own, to know

(01:48:06):
how 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
or praise. And thus it is that one is reputed liberal,
another miserly, using a Tuscan term, because an avaricious person

(01:48:29):
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,
another faithful, one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and brave,
one affable, another haughty, one lascibious, another chaste, one sincere,

(01:48:50):
another cunning, one hard, another easy, one grave, another frivolous,
one religious, another unbelieving, and the like. I know that
everyone will confess that it would be most praiseworthy 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

(01:49:11):
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 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,

(01:49:34):
For if everything is considered carefully, it will be found
that something which looks like virtue, if followed, would be
his 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,

(01:49:54):
I say that it would be well to be reputed liberal. Nevertheless,
liberality exercised innes 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 to maintain among
men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no

(01:50:15):
attribute of magnificence. So that a prince thus inclined will
consume and such acts all his property, and will be
compelled in the end, if he wish 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 his subjects, and
becoming poor. He will be little valued by anyone. Thus,
with his liberality having offended many and rewarded few, he

(01:50:37):
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, 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

(01:50:59):
to be more con considered than if liberal, Seeing that
with his economy, his revenues are enough that he can
defend himself against all attacks, and is able to engage
in enterprises without burdening his people. Thus it comes to
pass that he exercises liberality towards ulfrom whom he does
not take for a numberless, and meanness towards those to
whom he does not give. For few we have not

(01:51:21):
seen great things done in our time except by those
who have been considered mean. The rest 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. The present King

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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 does not become poor
and abject, that he is not forced to become rapacious,
auto hold of little account 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

(01:52:08):
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. 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

(01:52:30):
moderated his expenses, he would have destroyed his government. And
if anyone should reply, many have been 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 subjects, 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

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to the prince who goes 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 a that which is neither
yours nor your subjects. You can be a ready giver,
as were Cyrus, Caesar and Alexander, because it does not
take away your reputation if you squander that of others,

(01:53:13):
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 it, you lose
the power to do so, and so become either poor
or despised, or else in avoiding poverty, rapacious and hated.
And a prince should guard himself, above all things against
being despised and hated, and liberality leads you to both. Therefore,

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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 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

(01:53:58):
that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement
and not cruel. Nevertheless, he ought to take care not
to misuse this clemency. Chesare 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

(01:54:19):
than the Florentine people, who, 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 to injure the whole people,

(01:54:41):
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,
owing to its being new, saying resdura adrignin uvita's matalia

(01:55:03):
kuum muliri at latafinus gustada tueri. 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 humanity, so that too much confidence may not
make him incautious, and too much distrust render him intolerable.
Upon this a question arises whether it be better to
be loved than feared, or feared than loved. It may

(01:55:26):
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
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,

(01:55:48):
when the need is far distant, but when it approaches,
they turn against you. And that prince, who relying entirely
on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined. Because
friendships that are obtained by payments and not by greatness
or 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

(01:56:09):
who is beloved than one who is feared. For love
is preserved by the link of obligation, which, owing to
the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for
there 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 very well being

(01:56:30):
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 men more quickly forget the
death of their father than the loss of their patrimony. Besides,

(01:56:53):
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 one what belongs to others.
But reasons for taking life, on the contrary, are more
difficult to find in sooner lapse. But when a prince
is with his army and has under control a multitude
of soldiers, than it is quite necessary for him to
disregard the reputation of cruelty, for without it he would

(01:57:15):
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 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 boundless valor,

(01:57:38):
made him revered and terrible in the sight of his soldiers.
But without that cruelty, his 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,

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not only of his own times, 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 of the Roman soldiery. The
Locrians were laid waste by a legate of Scipio, yet

(01:58:21):
they were not avenged by him, nor was the insolence
of the legate punished, owing entirely to his easy 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 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,

(01:58:41):
being under the control of the Senate, this injurious characteristic,
not only concealed itself, but contributed to his glory. Returning
to the question of 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 contry roll, and not in that of others. He
must endeavor only to avoid hatred. As is noted Chapter

(01:59:06):
eighteen concerning the way in which princes should keep faith,
everyone admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to
keep faith and to live with integrity, and not with craft. Nevertheless,
our experience 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,

(01:59:26):
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.
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

(01:59:46):
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
centaur tyrant to nurse, who brought them up in his discipline,
Which means solely that as they had for a time
each 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

(02:00:10):
to 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 a wise lord cannot, nor ought he to keep

(02:00:32):
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 a prince legitimate reasons to excuse this non observance

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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 and to be a great pretender and dissembler.
And men are so simple and so subject to present necessities,

(02:01:13):
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,
and he always found victims. For there never was a
man who had greater power in asserting, or who with
greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less. Nevertheless,

(02:01:34):
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 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 as injurious,
and that to appear to have them is useful. To

(02:01:54):
appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so,
but with a mind so framed that 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, it is

(02:02:19):
necessary for him to have a mind ready to turn
itself 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 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,

(02:02:43):
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, 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

(02:03:04):
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 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

(02:03:25):
few find a place there only when the many have
no ground to rest on. 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,

(02:03:48):
concerning the 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 consider, as has been in part said before, 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
in other reproaches. It makes him hated above all things,

(02:04:11):
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
the ambition of a few whom he concurb with ease.
In many ways, it makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate,

(02:04:33):
means 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
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

(02:04:54):
who conveys this impression of himself, and he who is
highly esteemed is not easily conspired against, for invited, it
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

(02:05:15):
he is defended by being well armed and having good allies.
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 attack, as I said Knobvis the spartan dead. But

(02:05:37):
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
efficacious remedies that a prince can have against conspiracies is

(02:05:58):
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
confront a conspirator are infinite, and as experience shows, many
have been the conspiracies, but few have been successful, because

(02:06:18):
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
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

(02:06:39):
rare friend or a thoroughly obstinate enemy of the Prince
to keep faith with you, and to reduce the matter
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, and the state to defend him.

(02:06:59):
So that, adding to all these things the popular goodwill,
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 plot, 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

(02:07:20):
be given on this subject, but I will be content
with one brought to pass within the memory of our fathers.
Messer Annabel bentiv Obli, who was prince in Bologna, grandfather
of the President Annabel, having been murdered by the kanchi
who had conspired against him. Not one of his family survived,
but Messer Giovanni, who was in childhood. Immediately after his assassination,
the people rose and murdered all the kanchi. This sprung

(02:07:43):
from the popular goodwill which the house of Bentovogli 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 bent of Ogli family in Florence,
who up to that time had been considered the son
of a blacksmith, sent to Florence for him and gave
him the government of their city, and it was ruled

(02:08:03):
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 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,

(02:08:25):
and to keep the people satisfied and contented, for this
is one of the most important objects a 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 a bit to

(02:08:47):
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 to from the nobles
for favoring the people, and from the people for favoring
the nobles. He set up an arbiter, who should be

(02:09:09):
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. 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,

(02:09:30):
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
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,

(02:09:54):
to answer these objections, I will recall the characters of
some of the emperors, and will show that the causes
of their rule one 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

(02:10:16):
and his son Commodus, Pertinax, Julian, Severus and his son Antoninus, Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander,
and Maximinus. 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
Roman emperors had a third difficulty in having to put
up with the cruelty and avarice of their soldiers, a

(02:10:37):
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
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

(02:10:58):
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 of them, especially those who came new to the principality,
recognizing the difficulty of these two opposing humors, were inclined
to give satisfaction to the soldiers, caring little about injuring
the people, which course was necessary, because as princes cannot

(02:11:21):
help being hated by someone, they ought in the first
place to 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 favour
adhered more readily to the soldiers than to the people,
a course which turned out advantageous to them, or not accordingly,

(02:11:41):
as the 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 honoured because he
had succeeded to the throne by hereditary title, and owed
nothing either to the soldiers or the people, and afterwards,

(02:12:03):
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 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

(02:12:24):
cause for hatred, to which hatred there was added contempt
for his old age. He was overthrown at the very
beginning of his administration. 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

(02:12:44):
be either the people, or the soldiers or the nobles.
You have to submit to its humors and to gratify them,
and then 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 in a man who

(02:13:05):
allowed himself to 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 of iniquity against the people. And all except Severus

(02:13:26):
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
the soldiers and people, that the latter were kept in
a way astonished in awed, and the former respectful and satisfied.
And because the actions of this man, as a new

(02:13:46):
prince were great, I wished to show briefly that he
knew while 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,
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

(02:14:08):
aspire to the throne, he moved the army on Rome
and reached Italy before it was known that he had started.
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.
Two difficulties won in Asia, where Niger, head of the

(02:14:28):
Asiatic Army, had caused himself to be proclaimed emperor. 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

(02:14:49):
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
received from him, had by treachery, sought to murder him,
and for this ingratitude he was compelled to punish him. Afterwards,

(02:15:12):
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
valued lion and a most cunning fox. He 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

(02:15:33):
hatred which the people might have conceived against him for
his violence. But his son Antoninus was 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

(02:15:55):
and cruelties were so great and so unheard of, that,
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
like debts, which are deliberately inflicted with a resolved in

(02:16:17):
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
taken this care, but had contemiliously killed a brother of
that centurion, whom also he daily threatened, yet retained in

(02:16:39):
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 empire, for being the 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 this soldiers in corrupting them,

(02:17:01):
so that he might indulge his rapacity upon the people.
On the other hand, not maintaining his dignity, 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 character of Maximinus.

(02:17:25):
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 forlong, for two things made
him hated and despised. The one his having kept sheep
and thrace, which brought him into contempt, it being well
known to all and considered a great indignity by every one.

(02:17:46):
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 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,

(02:18:08):
with all the people of Rome and all Italy conspired
against him, to which may be added his own army,
this latter, besieging Aquileia, and 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 Heliogabalus Macrinus or Julian, who, being
thoroughly contemptible, were quickly wiped out. But I will bring

(02:18:30):
this discourse to a conclusion by saying that princes in
our times have this difficulty of giving inordinate satisfaction to
their soldiers in a far less 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 was then more

(02:18:51):
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 thousand cavalry, on which depend
the security and strength of the kingdom, and it is

(02:19:12):
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 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

(02:19:33):
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 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 new, the constitution of the state is old,

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and it is framed so as to receive him as
if he were its hereditary lord. But returning to the
subject of our discourse, I say that whoever will consider
it will 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

(02:20:18):
useless and dangerous for Pertinax and Alexander, being new princes,
to imitate Marcus, 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

(02:20:39):
of Marcus. Nor again, 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
state that may already be stable and firm Chapter twenty.
Are fortresses and many other things to which princes often resort,
advantageous or hurtful. Some princes, so as to hold securely

(02:21:03):
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 give a final judgment on all of these
things unless one possesses the particulars of those states in

(02:21:24):
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 his subjects. Rather,
when he has found them disarmed, he has always armed them,
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

(02:21:46):
whereas all subjects cannot be armed, yet when those whom
you do arm or benefited, the others can be handled
more freely. And this difference in their treatment, which they
quite understand, makes the former your dependence, and the latter,
considering it to be necessary that those who have the
most danger and 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

(02:22:08):
for want of loyalty, And either of these opinions breeds
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 I have said, a new
prince and a new principality has always distributed arms. Histories

(02:22:31):
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
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

(02:22:55):
those who were reckoned wise, were accustomed to say that
it was necessary to hold Pistolia by fact in Pisa
by fortresses, And with this idea they fostered quarrels in
some of their tributary towns so as to keep possession
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 precept for today, because I do not believe

(02:23:16):
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
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 Ghibbeling factions in
their tributary cities. And although they never allowed them to

(02:23:36):
come to bloodshed, yet they nursed these disputes amongst them,
so that the citizens distracted by their differences should not
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

(02:23:56):
will never be permitted in a vigorous principality. Such methods
for ansabling one the more easily to manage subjects are
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

(02:24:18):
renowned 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
against himself, so that, having crushed it, his renown may

(02:24:39):
rise higher. Princes, especially new ones, have found more fidelity
and assistance in those men who, in the beginning of
their rule were distrusted than among those who in the
beginning were trusted. Pandulfo Petrucci, Prince of Siena, ruled his
state more by those who had been distrusted than by others.
But on this question one cannot speak generally, for it

(02:24:59):
very so so much with the individual. I will only
say this that those men who, at the commencement of
a prince dahm have been hostile. If they are of
a description to need assistance to support themselves, can always
be gained 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

(02:25:22):
profit from them than from those who serving him in
too much security, 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
induce those to favor him who did so, And if
it be not a natural affection towards him, but only
discontent with their government, then he will only keep them

(02:25:43):
friendly with great trouble and difficulty, for it will be
impossible to satisfy them. And weighing well the reasons for this,
in 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 own enemies,
than of those who, being discontented with it, were favorable
to him and encouraged him to seize it. It has

(02:26:06):
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 this system because it has been
made use of formerly. Notwithstanding that Messer Nicolo Vitelee in
our times has been seen to demolish two fortresses and

(02:26:27):
sided 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 Chaesare Borgia, raised to
the foundations all the fortresses 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

(02:26:49):
you good in one way, they injure you in another.
And this question 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 Sportsa than any other disorder in the state. For

(02:27:11):
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 to
people who have taken arms against you. It has not
been seen in our times that such fortresses have been
of use to any prince, unless to the Countess of Forli,
when the Count Girolamo, her consort, was killed, For by

(02:27:33):
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 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

(02:27:54):
both then and before not to have been hated by
the people than to have had the fortresses. All these
things considered, then I shall praise him who builds fortresses,
as well as him who does not, and I shall
blame whoever, 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

(02:28:16):
prince so much 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 them all great, in some of them extraordinary.

(02:28:38):
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 they did not perceive that by these means he
was acquiring power and authority over them. He was able,

(02:28:58):
with the money of the church and 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
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.

(02:29:19):
Under the same cloak. He assailed Africa, he came down
on Italy, he has finally attacked France. And thus his
achievements and designs have always been great, and have kept
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

(02:29:42):
unusual examples in internal affairs, similar to those which are
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 all always endeavor in
every action to gain for himself the reputation of being

(02:30:03):
a 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
are of such a character that if one of them conquers,

(02:30:23):
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
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

(02:30:46):
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
went into Greece, being sent for by the Aetolians to
drive out the Romans. He sent out to the Achaeans,
who were friends of the Romans, exhorting them to remain neutral,
and on the other hand, the Romans urged them to

(02:31:06):
take up arms. This question came to be discussed in
the council of the Achaeans, or the legate of Antiochus
urged them to stand neutral. To this, the Roman legate 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

(02:31:27):
the garden of the conqueror. Thus it will always happen
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 galantly in favor of one side,

(02:31:48):
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 in great
attitude by oppressing you. Victories, after all, are never so
complete that the victor must not show some regard, especially
to justice. But if he with whom you ally yourself loses,

(02:32:10):
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
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

(02:32:32):
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.
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 discretion
of any one. The Venetians joined with France against the

(02:32:55):
Duke of Milan, and this alliance, which caused their ruin,
could have been avoided. But when it cannot be avoided,
as happened to the Florentines, when the Pope in 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

(02:33:16):
have to take very doubtful ones. Because it is found
in 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

(02:33:36):
encourage his citizens to practice their callings peaceably, both in
commerce and 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
his city or state. Further, he ought to entertain the

(02:33:58):
people with festivals and spectacles it convenient 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.
For this he must never consent to abate in anything.
Chapter twenty two, concerning the secretaries of princes. The choice

(02:34:24):
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
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

(02:34:46):
form a good opinion of him, for the prime error
which he made was in choosing them. There were none
who knew. Messer Antonio de Vinafro is the servant of
Pandolpho Petrucci, Prince of Siena, who would not consider Pandolpho
to be a very clever man in having Nafro for
his servant. Because there are three classes of intellects, one
which comprehends by itself, another which appreciates what others comprehended,

(02:35:08):
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 Pandulfo was not in the first rank,
he was in the second. For whenever one is judgment
to know good and bad when it is said and done,
although he himself may not have the initiative, yet he
can recognize the good and the bad in his servant,

(02:35:30):
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
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

(02:35:50):
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
his servant honest, the prince ought to study him, honoring
him in 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

(02:36:11):
honors may not make him desire more, many riches make
him wish for more, and that many cares may make
him dread chances. 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

(02:36:32):
should be avoided. I do not wish to leave out
an important branch 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

(02:36:53):
this past. And if they wish to defend themselves, they
run the danger of falling into contempt. Because there is
no other way of guarding one self 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 choosing the wise men in
his state, and giving to them only the liberty of

(02:37:14):
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 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,

(02:37:35):
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 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

(02:37:58):
no one, yet never got his own way in any
any This arose because of 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, is diverted from them. Hence,

(02:38:21):
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 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

(02:38:43):
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 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 that they are deceived, Because this is an axiom
which never fails, that a prince who is not wise

(02:39:04):
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. In this case, indeed,
he may be well governed, but it would not be
for long, because such a governor would 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

(02:39:26):
he know how to unite them. Each of the councilors
will think of his own interests, 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,

(02:39:46):
and not the 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 long seated there. For the actions of

(02:40:07):
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 in 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 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

(02:40:29):
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 seigniors are
considered 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

(02:40:50):
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,
he has not known how to secure the nobles. In
the absence of these defects, 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

(02:41:12):
much territory compared to the greatness of the Romans and
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
principalities after so many years possession, but rather their own sloth,

(02:41:36):
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
recall them. This course, when others fail, may be good,
but it is very bad to have neglected all other

(02:41:57):
expedients for that, since you would never wish to fall back,
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 fore your security,
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.

(02:42:19):
What fortune can affect in human affairs, and how to
withstand her? It is not unknown to me how many
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

(02:42:42):
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
be true that fortune is the artar but of one
half of our actions, but that she still leaves us

(02:43:03):
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
before it, all yield to its violence, without being able
in 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

(02:43:25):
with defenses and barriers, in such a manner that, rising again,
the waters may pass away by canal, and their force
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,

(02:43:48):
which is the seat of these changes, and which has
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 in 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
enough to say concerning resistance to fortune in general, But

(02:44:11):
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
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

(02:44:32):
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
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

(02:44:52):
in reaching the goal by a different method. One can
also see if two cautious men, the one attain his end,
the other fail, and similar 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

(02:45:13):
two men working differently bring about the same effect, and
of two working similarly, one attains his object and the
other does not change. Is 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 change his course of action. But a

(02:45:35):
man is not often found sufficiently circumspect to know how
to accommodate himself to the change, both because he cannot
deviate from what nature inclines him 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, 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

(02:45:56):
the time's, fortune would not have changed. Hope, 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 always met with success. Consider
his first enterprise against Bologna Messer Giovanni Bentivovly being still alive.
The Venetians were not agreeable to it, nor was the

(02:46:18):
King of Spain, and he had the enterprise still under
discussion with the King of France. Nevertheless, he personally entered
upon the expedition with 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

(02:46:38):
observed the movement, and desiring to make the pope his
friends so as to 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 sexced,

(02:47:01):
because the King 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 have followed, because he would never have deviated

(02:47:21):
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 is a woman, and if you wish to
keep her under, it is necessary to beat him ill user.

(02:47:42):
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 womanlike a
lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent,
and with more audacity. Commander Chapter twenty six, an exhortation
to liberate Italy from the barbarians. Having carefully considered the

(02:48:05):
subject of the above discourses, and wondering within myself whether
the present times were propitious to a new prince, and
whether there were elements that would give an opportunity to
a wise and virtuous one to introduce a new order
of things, which would do 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.

(02:48:26):
And if, as I said, it was necessary that the
people of Israel should be captive so as to make
manifest the ability of Moses, that the Persians should be
oppressed by the meats, 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

(02:48:47):
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
been shown by one which made us think he was
ordained by God for our redemption. Nevertheless, it was afterwards seen,

(02:49:10):
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
those sores 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

(02:49:32):
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
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

(02:49:52):
lives of the men I have named. And although they
were great and wonderful men, yet they were men, and
each one of them had no more opportunity than the
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.

(02:50:14):
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
has led the way, the rock has poured forth water,
it has rained manna. Everything has contributed to your greatness.

(02:50:35):
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
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.

(02:50:57):
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
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 valor

(02:51:19):
in the limbs, whilst it fails in the head. Look
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

(02:51:41):
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
iel Taro afterwards Alisandria Capua, Genoa, Vila, Bologna mestry. If

(02:52:03):
therefore 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,
they will be much better when they find themselves commanded
by their Prince, honored by him, and maintained at his expense. Therefore,

(02:52:27):
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,
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

(02:52:49):
afraid of infantry whenever they encounter them in close combat.
Owing to this, as has been and may again be seen,
the Spaniards are unable to resist French cavalry, and the
switzers are as 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

(02:53:11):
follow the same tactics as the Swiss. When the Spaniards,
by 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
one which will resist cavalry and not be afraid of infantry.

(02:53:34):
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.
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

(02:53:56):
from these foreign scourings, with what thirst for revenge? With
what stubborn faiate, with what devotion, with what tears? What
door would be closed to him? Who would refuse obedience
to him? What envy would hinder him, what Italian would
refuse him homage to all of us? This barbarous dominion stinks.

(02:54:17):
Let therefore, your illustrious house take up this charge with
that courage and hope with which all just enterprises are undertaken,
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 prendera l arm e fii
l combatter cordo jay el antico valori negli italis iq

(02:54:40):
or non e anchor morto virtue against fury, shall advance
the fight, and at ih combats 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 the Duke Valentino when murdering.

Speaker 2 (02:55:04):
Vitellozzo Vitelli, o Riverotto da Fermo de signor Bagorro and
di duc di Gravino Sini.

Speaker 1 (02:55:11):
By Niccolo Machiavelli. The Duke Valentino had returned from Lombardy,
where he had been to clear himself with the King
of France from the calumnies which had been raised against
him by the Florentines concerning the rebellion of Arezzo and
other towns in the 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

(02:55:33):
intended to bring that city under his domination and to
make 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

(02:55:53):
called at Maggion in the district of Peruga, to which
came the Cardinal Pagillo and the Duke di Gravino, Orsini, Vitelozzo, Vitelli,
Oliverado de Fermo, Gianpagolo Balioni, the Tyrant of Peruja, and
Messer Antonio de Vinafro, sent by Pandolfo Petrucci, the Prince
of Siena. Here were discussed the power and courage of
the Duke, and the necessity of curbing his ambitions, which

(02:56:14):
might otherwise bring danger to the rest of being ruined.
And they decided not to abandon the Bentivogli, 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
the common enemy. This meeting was at once reported throughout
all Italy, and those who were discontented under the Duke,

(02:56:35):
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
to seize the fortress of San Leo, which was held
for the Duke, and which they captured by the following means.
The castellan was fortifying the rock and causing timber to
be taken there. So the conspirators watched, and when certain

(02:56:56):
beams which were being carried to the rock, were upon
the bridge, so that it was prevented from being drawn
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 rebellion 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 assistance. Those who heard of

(02:57:19):
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
the Florentines, from hatred for sundry reasons of the Vitellian Orsini,

(02:57:42):
not only would not ally themselves, but sent Nicolo Macchiavelli,
their secretary, to offer shelter and assistance to the Duke
against his enemies. The Duke was found full of fear
at Imola, because, against everybody's expectation, his soldiers had at
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

(02:58:05):
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
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

(02:58:26):
men of the Duke, and with the aid of the
Orsinian Vitelee, routed them. When this happened, the Duke resolved
at once to see if he could not close the
trouble with offers of reconciliation, and being a most perfect assembler,
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

(02:58:47):
the principality. And the Duke succeeded so well in this
that they sent Senior Pagolo to him to negotiate for
a reconciliation, and they brought their army to a standstill.
But the Duke did not stop his preparation, 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

(02:59:09):
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 outweat them, And for this reason he did not
stop the work of reconciliation. And that this might be affected,
the Duke concluded a peace with them, in which he

(02:59:29):
confirmed their former covenants. He gave them four thousand ducats
at once. He promised not to injure the bet 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
and other places seized by them, to serve him in
all his expeditions, and not to make war against to

(02:59:50):
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
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 friends. But the Duke Valentino,

(03:00:13):
having completed this convention and dispersed his men throughout the Romagna,
set out for Imola at the end of November, together
with his French men at arms. Thence he went to Cecina,
where he stayed some time to negotiate with the envoys
of the Vitellian 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

(03:00:35):
Duke wished to undertake an expedition against Tuscany, 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

(03:00:55):
town surrendered, but the fortress would not yield to them,
because the castelan would not give it up to any
any one 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 French
men at arms who were with him in Lombardy to depart,

(03:01:17):
except the hundred lancers under Mons d Candales, 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 and Orsini to wait for him
at Senegalia, pointing out to them that any lack of
compliance would cast a doubt upon the sincerity and permanency
of the reconciliation, and that he was a man who

(03:01:38):
wished to make use of the arms and councils of
his friends. But Vitelozzo remained very stubborn, for the death
of his brother warned him that he should not offend
a prince and afterwards trust him. Nevertheless, persuaded by Pagolo 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,

(03:02:00):
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, and he ordered that
as soon as Videlazzo, Pagilo Orsini, the Duke di Gravina
and Olivarado should arrive, his followers in pairs should take
them one by one, entrusting certain men to certain pairs,
who should entertain them until they reached Sinegalia, nor should

(03:02:22):
they be permitted to leave 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 daybreak at the Metro, a river five miles
distant from Fano, and await him there. He found himself therefore,
on the last day of December at the Metturo with

(03:02:43):
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 Senegalia are two cities of La Marcus, situated
on the shore of the 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

(03:03:04):
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 a bow shot, and from
the shore about a mile. On the side 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 for a good
space by road along the mountains and reaches the river

(03:03:26):
which passes by Sinegalia. If he turns to his left
hand along the bank of it and goes for the
distance of a ba shot, 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 The telean Orsini, having received

(03:03:49):
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 Sinegala Ya only Olivarado and his band, which consisted
of one thousand infantry in one hundred and fifty horsemen,
who were quartered in the suburb mentioned above. Matters having
been thus arranged the Duke Valentino left for Sinegalia, and

(03:04:12):
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
infantry passed without stopping into the town. Videlazzo, Pagilo and
the Duke di Gravina on mules accompanied by a few horsemen.
When towards the Duke, Videloso, unarmed in wearing a cape

(03:04:33):
line with green, appeared very dejected, as if conscious of
his approaching death, a circumstance which, in view of the
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

(03:04:56):
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,
was missing, for Oliverado was waiting in the square before

(03:05:17):
his quarters near the river, keeping his men in order
and drilling them, signaled with his eye to Don Michel,
to whom the care of Oliverado had been committed, that
he should take measures that Oliverado should not escape. Therefore,
Don Michel rode off and joined Oliverado, telling him that
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

(03:05:37):
them at once to their quarters and to come himself
to meet the Duke. And Oliverado, having taken this advice,
came before the Duke, who, when he saw him, called
to him, and Oliverado, having made his obeisance, joined the others.
So the whole party entered Sinegalia, dismounted at the Duke's quarters,
and went with him into a secret chamber, where the

(03:05:58):
Duke made them prisoners. He then mounted on horseback and
issued orders that the men of Oliverado and the Orsini
should be stripped of their arms. Those of Oliverado, being
at hand, were quickly settled, but those of the Orsini
and Vitelli, 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

(03:06:19):
Orsinian and Vittalian houses, they stood together against the hostile
forces of the country and saved themselves. But the Duke's soldiers,
not being content with having pillaged the men of Oliverado,
began to Saxonegalia, 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,

(03:06:39):
the Duke prepared to kill Videlozzo and Oliverado. 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. Oliverado cringed and laid the blame
for all injuries against the Duke on Vitelozzo, Pagolo and
the Duke di Gravina Orsini were kept alive until the

(03:06:59):
Duke heard from Rome that the Pope had taken the
Cardinal Orsino, the Archbishop of Florence and messer to Capo
di 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 Castracani
of Lucca, written by Niccolo Macchiavelli and sent to his

(03:07:22):
friends Zenobi Buandelmonti and Luigi Alamanni Castruccio Castracani twelve eighty
four to thirteen twenty eight. 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

(03:07:43):
in baseness and obscurity, or have been aggrieved by fortune
in some outrageous way. They have either been exposed to
the mercy of wild beasts, or they have had so
many a parentage 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

(03:08:04):
who read them, they are omitted. I believe that these
lowly beginnings of great men occur because Fortune is desirous
of showing to the world that such men owe much
to her and little to 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 is measured by the times

(03:08:26):
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 make him a great
exemplar to men. I think also that I ought to
call your attention to his actions, because you, of all

(03:08:47):
men I know, delight most in noble deeds. The family
of Castrakhani was formerly numbered among the noble families of Lucca,
but in the days of which I speak, it had
somewhat fallen in estate, as so often happens in this world.
To this family was born as son Antonio, who became
a priest of the Order of San Michele of Lucca,
and for this reason was honored with the title of Messerantonio.

(03:09:09):
He had an only sister, who had been married to
Buona Corso's Enemi, but Buona Corso dying, she became a widow, and,
not wishing to marry again, went 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 Dionora, as the sister of Meserantonio

(03:09:33):
was called, had occasioned 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
be crying for its mother. Partly wondering and partly fearing,

(03:09:54):
yet full of compassion, she lifted it up and carried
it to the house, where she washed it and clothed
it with clean linen customary, and showed it to Messerantonio
when he returned home. When he heard what had happened
and saw the child, he was not less 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.

(03:10:18):
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 of Castrucco, after
their father. As the years passed, Castruccio 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. Messerantonio intended to make a priest of him,

(03:10:39):
and in time would have inducted him into his cannonry
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 Messerentonio and Madonna Dionora, and
no longer to fear them, he left off reading ecclesiastics

(03:11:00):
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 in bodily strength, and if at
any time he did turn to books only those pleased him,
which told of wars and the mighty deeds of men,
Messer Antonio beheld all this with vexation and sorrow. There

(03:11:23):
lived in the city of Lucca a gentleman of the
Guinagee 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 the command of
the Visconti of Milan and as a Ghibeline, was the
valued leader of that party in Lucca. This gentleman resided
in Lucca, and was accustomed to assemble with others most

(03:11:44):
mornings and evenings under the balcony of the Podesta, which
is at the top of the Square of San Michel,
the finest square in Lucca. And he had often seen
Castrucco taking part with other children of the street in
those games of which I have spoken, noticing that Castrcco
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

(03:12:07):
who he was. Being informed of the circumstances of the
bringing up of Castrucco, 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, where he would learn
to ride horses and use arms, or in the house
of a priest, where he would learn nothing but masses
and the services of the church. Messer Francesco could see

(03:12:28):
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, and
in a very short time he obtained the consent of
Messer Antonio, who was driven to yield by his knowledge

(03:12:51):
of the nature of the lad and the fear that
he would not be able to hold him much longer.
Thus Castrucco passed from the house of Messerantonio the Priest
to the house of Messer Francesco Ginaji the Soldier, and
it was astonishing to find that in a very 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

(03:13:13):
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 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,

(03:13:34):
and courteous to his inferiors. These gifts made him beloved
not only by all the Ginagi family, but by all Luca.
When Castrucco had reached his eighteenth year, the Ghibelines were
driven from Pavia by the Guelphs, and Messer Francesco was
sent by the Visconti to assist the Ghibelines, and with
him when Castrucco in charge of his forces. Castruccio gave

(03:13:54):
ample proof of his prudence and courage in 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 Lucca 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 arts which

(03:14:15):
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 Castrucco to
him and prayed him to show Pagolo that goodwill which
he Francesco had always shown to him, and to render
to the son the gratitude which he had not been

(03:14:37):
able to repay to the father. Upon the death of Francesco,
Castruccio became the governor and tutor of Pagolo, which increased
enormously his power and position, and created a certain amount
of envy against him and Lucca 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,

(03:14:58):
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 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. Castrucco at first treated this with scorn, but

(03:15:18):
afterwards he grew alarmed, thinking that Messer Giorgio might 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 Faggiuola of Arezzo, who, being in the first place,
elected their captain, afterwards became their lord. There resided in
Paris some exiled Gibelings from Lucca, with whom Castrucco held communications,

(03:15:42):
with the object of affecting their restoration by the help
of Uguccion. Castrucco also brought into his plans friends from
Luca who would not endure the authority of the Opeesi.
Having fixed upon a plan to be followed, Castruccio cautiously
fortified the tower of the Onesti, filling it with supplies
in the initials of war, in order that it might
stand a siege for a few days in case of need.

(03:16:03):
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,
Uguccion approached the gate of San Piero and set fire
to the Portcullis Castrucco raised 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

(03:16:25):
the town and killed Messer Giorgio 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 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 Pistoia, which city was the headquarters

(03:16:46):
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 others of the Guelf party
that the Ghibelines absorbed too much power in Tuscany, they
determined to restore the exiled guad Helphs to Lucca. They
assembled a large army in the valdeen evil and seized Montecatini.
From thence they marched to Monte Carlo in order to

(03:17:08):
secure the free passage into Luca. Upon this, Uguccion assembled
his Pisan and Luchesi forces, 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. Euguccion now took up a position

(03:17:28):
near to Monte Carlo and within about two miles of
the enemy, and slight skirmishes between the 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 Castrucco. This change brought about the ruin of

(03:17:51):
the Guelphs, who, thinking that the hostile army, having lost
its captain, had lost its head, grew over confident. Castrucco
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. On the other side, the Gwelfs
grew more insolent the more they saw these evidences of fear,

(03:18:12):
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 words of encouragement to his soldiers and pointed
out to them the certainty of victory if they would
but obey his commands. Castrucco had noticed how the enemy

(03:18:34):
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 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

(03:18:55):
insolence to defy him. He then commanded his center squadrons
to march slam, 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

(03:19:16):
each other. By this expedient, the more valiant part of
Castrucco'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, Castrucco put the enemy to flight on both flanks,

(03:19:37):
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 Gwelph party in Tuscany,
and also many princes who had come to help them,
among whom were Piero, the brother of King Roberto, and Carlo,

(03:19:57):
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
the first onset. This victory so greatly increased the reputation
of Castruccio that Uguccion conceived some jealousy and suspicion of him,

(03:20:17):
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
to give effect to it. This occurred on the death
of pi Agnolo Macchayley, 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

(03:20:38):
captain going to arrest the murderer, they were driven off
by Castrucco, and the murderer escaped this affair coming to
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,

(03:21:02):
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 in cowardice
of his son, and at once set out from Pisa
to Lucca with four hundred horsemen to finish the business

(03:21:23):
in his own way. But he had not yet reached
the bats when the Pisans rebelled and put his deputy
to death and created Count Gaddo della Gheradesca their lord.
Before Uguccion reached Lucca, he heard of the occurrences at Pisa,
but it did not appear wise to him to turn back,
lest the Lucchesi, with the example of Pisa before them
should close their gates against him. But the Lucchesi, having

(03:21:43):
heard of what had happened at Pisa, availed themselves of
this opportunity to demand the liberation of Castrucco, notwithstanding that
Uguccion had arrived in their city. They first began to
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 Uguccion and demanded that
Castrucco should be set at liberty. Uguccion, fearing that worse

(03:22:06):
might happen, released him from prison, whereupon Castrucco gathered his
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 Castruccio, from
being a prisoner, became almost a prince in Lucca, and
he carried himself so discreetly with his friends and the

(03:22:28):
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 after the departure of Uguccion, and with
the help of the Pissans with whom he had concluded
a treaty, he marched to Cerezana to capture this place.
He constructed a ford against it, which is called today Zarazinello.

(03:22:49):
In the course of two months, Castrucco captured the town.
With the reputation gained at that siege, he rapidly seized Masa,
Carrara and lo Venza, and in a short time had
overrun the whole whole of Lunigiana. In order to close
the pass which leads from Lombardy to Lunigiana, he besieged
Pontremoli and wrested it from the hands of Messerana Stejo Pallavicini,

(03:23:09):
who was the lord of it. After this victory, he
returned to Lucca and was welcomed by the whole people
and now Castrucco, deeming it imprudent any longer to defer,
making himself a prince, God himself created the Lord of
Lucca by the help of Pazzino del Poggio, Puxinello del Portico,
Francesco Baccinzacci and Seco Ginagi, all of whom he had corrupted,

(03:23:30):
and he was afterwards solemnly and deliberately elected prince by
the people. At this time, Frederic of Bavaria, 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. Castrucco
had left as his deputy in Lucca, Pagolo Ginaji, who
was held in high estimation because of the people's love

(03:23:52):
for the memory of his father. Castrucco was received in
great honour 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 Gherardesca, whom they had driven out of Pisa, and
they had recourse for assistance to Frederic. Frederic created Castruccio

(03:24:13):
the lord of Pisa, and the Pissans, in dread of
the Guelph Party and particularly of the Florentines, were constrained
to accept him as their lord. Frederic, 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 Castrucco for help and counsel, and

(03:24:34):
all promised him the governorship of his country if enabled
to recover it with his assistants. Among these exiles were
Matteo Ghidi, Nardos Gulari, Leapo Uberti, Gerrazzo Nardi, and Piero
buan Corsi, all exile Florentines and Gibelines. Castrucco had the
secret intention of becoming the master of all Tuscany by
the aid of these men and of his own forces,

(03:24:55):
and in order to gain greater weight in affairs, he
entered into a league with Messer Matteo Visconti, the the
Prince of Milan, and organized for him the forces of
his city in the country districts. As Luca had five gates,
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

(03:25:17):
to his assistants from Pisa, while he surrounded himself with
these forces and allies. It happened at Messer Matteo Visconti
was attacked by the Guelfs of Pichenza, who had driven
out the Ghibelins with the assistance of a Florentine army
and the king Ruberto. Mesermteo called upon Castrucco to invade
the Florentines in their own territories, so that, being attacked
at home, they should be compelled to draw their army

(03:25:39):
out of Lombardy in order to defend themselves. Castruccio invaded
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 Castruccio was forced by
other necessities to return to Lucca. There resided in the
city of Luca the Poggio family, who were so powerful

(03:26:02):
that they could not only elevate Castrucco, 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 Castrucco out of Lucca. They found their opportunity one morning,
and arming themselves, they set upon the lieutenant whom Castrucco
had left to maintain order, and killed him. They endeavored

(03:26:24):
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 Castruccio to obtain from him what they desired. Therefore,
they laid down their arms with no greater intelligence than
they had taken them up. Castrucco, having heard the news

(03:26:44):
of what had happened at Lucca, at once put Pagiloginaji
in command of the army, and with a troop of cavalry,
set out for home. Contrary to his expectations, he found
the rebellion at an end. Yet he posted his men
in the most advantageous places throughout the city. As it
appeared to Stefano that Castrucco ought to be very much
obliged to him, he sought him out, and, without saying

(03:27:05):
anything on his own behalf, for he did not recognize
any need for doing so. He begged Castrucco to pardon
the other members of his family by reason of their youth,
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

(03:27:26):
had ever caused him anxiety to hear of its inception.
He encouraged Stefano 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

(03:27:46):
had recovered San Miniato, whereupon it seemed advisable to Castrucco
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.
A treaty was concluded with them for two years, by

(03:28:07):
which both parties agreed to keep the conquests they had made. Castrucco,
thus released from this trouble, turned his attention 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 who,
by their ambition might aspire to the principality, not sparing
one of them, but depriving them of country and property,

(03:28:29):
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
the towers of those whom he had killed or hunted
out of the state. Whilst Castrucco made peace with the
Florentines and strengthened his position in Lucca, he neglected no opportunity,

(03:28:49):
short of open war, of increasing his importance elsewhere. It
appeared to him that if he could get possession of Pistoia,
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

(03:29:10):
it always had been, into the Bianchi and Nery parties.
The head of the Bianchi was Basciano di passant and
of the Nery Gacapo Diggia. Each of these men held
secret communications with Castrucco, 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,
Bastiano at that of the Lucchesi side of the city.

(03:29:32):
Both trusted more in Castrucco 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
that he would send his pupil Pagolo Ginaji at the
appointed time. He sent forward Pagolo by way of Pisa,

(03:29:53):
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 Castrucco, one killed Gacapo Digia and the other Bastiano
di passant and both took prisoners or killed the partisans
of either faction. Without further opposition, Pistoia passed into the
hands of Castruccio, who, having forced the Signoria to leave

(03:30:16):
the palace, compelled the people to yield obedience to him,
making them many promises 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

(03:30:37):
the pontiff at Avignon. 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 friend to whom he could apply for

(03:30:58):
help than Castrucco, sad 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 Pagiologinaji in
command at Lucca, Castrucco set out for Rome with six

(03:31:19):
hundred horsemen, where he was received by Enrico with the
greatest distinction. In a short time, the presence of Castrucco
obtained such respect for the Emperor that, without bloodshed or violence,
good order was restored, chiefly by reason of Castrucco having
sent by sea from the country round piece of large
quantities of corn, and thus removed the source of the trouble.
When he had chastised some of the Roman leaders and

(03:31:41):
admonished others, voluntary obedience was rendered to Enrico Castrucco received
many honors and was made a Roman senator. This dignity
was assumed with the greatest pomp, Castruccio being clothed in
a brocaded toga, 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,

(03:32:03):
the Florentines, who were much enraged that Castrucco should have
seized Pistoia during the truce, considered how they could tempt
the city to rebel, to do which they thought would
not be difficult in his absence. Among the exiled Pistoians
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

(03:32:25):
aid of the Florentines, 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

(03:32:45):
no time, they decided to intercept him with their forces
in the Valdeen Evil, under the belief that by doing
so they would cut off his road to Pistoia. 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 with his army, and having heard
where the Florentines lay, he decided not to encounter it

(03:33:07):
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 Saravaje. He
believed that if he succeeded in this design, victory was assured.
Although he was 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

(03:33:27):
his troops, yet he hesitated to attack his enemy in
the open, lest he should be overwhelmed by numbers. Saraviaje
is a castle between Peschia and Pistoia situated on a
hill which blocks the Valdeen 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

(03:33:48):
waters divide, so that twenty men side by side could
hold it. The lord of Saraville was Manfred, a German, who,
before Castruccio became lord of Pistoia, had been allowed to
remain in possession of the castle, it being common to
the Lucasian 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.

(03:34:11):
For these reasons, and also because the castle was well fortified,
he had always been able to maintain his position. It
was here that Castrucco 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. Castrucco saw

(03:34:32):
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. Castrucco, having prepared everything, had now
to encourage the Florentines to persist in their desire to
carry the seat of war away from Pistoia into the

(03:34:54):
valdeen Evole. Therefore, he did not move his army from
Monte Carlo. Thus the Floridas teens hurried on until they
reached their encampment under Saravai, intending to cross the hill
on the following morning. In the meantime, Castruccio had seized
the castle at night, had also moved his army from
Monte Carlo, and marching from thence at midnight, in dead silence,
had reached the foot of Sarabayi. Thus he and the

(03:35:16):
Florentines commenced the ascent of the hill at the same time.
In the morning, Castrucco sent forward his infantry by the
main road, and a troop of 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

(03:35:36):
the castle. Thus it happened that the Florentine horsemen mounting
the hill were completely taken by surprise when they discovered
the infantry of Castrucco, 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

(03:35:56):
got through. When the noise of the fighting reached the
flooruarantine 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. The cavalry, who were

(03:36:17):
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 Castrucco saw that his men were unable
to strike a decisive blow at the enemy and put

(03:36:39):
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 that the Florentines could
not sustain the attack, but gave way and were soon
in full retreat, Conquered more by their unfortunate position than

(03:36:59):
by the valley of their enemy. Those in the rear
turned towards Pistoia and spread through the plains, each man
seeking only his own safety. The defeat was complete and
very sanguinary. Many captains were taken prisoners, among whom were
Bandini de Rasi, Francesco Bruneleeski and Giovanni Delatosa, all Florentine noblemen,

(03:37:19):
with many Tuscans and Neapolitans, who fought on the Florentine side,
having been sent by King Roberto to assist the Gwelphs.
Immediately the Pistoians heard of this defeat, they drove out
the friends of the 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 plane of Peretola, about two

(03:37:41):
miles from Florence. Here he remained many days, dividing the
spoils and celebrating his 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 obit from the city gates at night,

(03:38:01):
but the conspiracy was discovered and the participators in had
taken and beheaded, among whom were Tomaso 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 gwelph cause

(03:38:22):
was to him, 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 Pisa in order to suppress a

(03:38:43):
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, in a conspiracy paucity of numbers
is essential to secrecy, so for its execution if few

(03:39:05):
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 Fassio Serchi 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,

(03:39:27):
and drove their families into exile. It now appeared to
Castrcco that both Pisa and Pistoia were thoroughly disaffected. He
employed much 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

(03:39:48):
of more than thirty thousand infantry in ten thousand cavalry.
Having called to their aid everyquealth 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. In the early part of May thirteen

(03:40:12):
twenty eight, the Florentines put in motion this army and
quickly occupied Lastra, Signa, Montalupo and Impoli, passing from thence
on to San Miniato. When Castrucco heard of the enormous
army which the Florentines were sending against him, he was
in no degree alarmed, 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

(03:40:33):
his enemy would make a better fight or had better
prospects of success than at Pisa or Seravae. He assembled
twenty thousand foot soldiers in four thousand horsemen, and with
this army went to Fusecchio, whilst he sent Pagologinagi to
Pisa with five thousand infantry. Fuseccio has a stronger position
than any other town in the Pisan district, owing to

(03:40:53):
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 divided their forces,
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 accepted a disadvantage. In one case
they would find themselves placed between his two armies, the

(03:41:16):
one under his own command and the other under Pagillo,
And in the other case they would 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, Castrucco withdrew his men
from the banks of the river and placed them under
the walls of Fusecchio, leaving a wide expanse of land
between them and the river. The Florentines, having occupied Sanniniato,

(03:41:40):
held a council of war to decide whether they should
attack Pisa or the army of Castrucco, and having weighed
the difficulties of both courses, they decided upon the ladder.
The river Arno was at that time low enough to
be fordable, yet the water reached to the shoulders of
the infantrymen and to the saddles of the horsemen. On
the morning of June tenth, thirteen twenty eight, the Florentines

(03:42:00):
commenced the battle by ordering forward a number of cavalry
and ten thousand infantry. Castrucco, whose plan of action was
fixed and who well knew what to do, at once
attacked the Florentines with five thousand infantry and 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.

(03:42:21):
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 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 that they could not move. When the Florentine captain

(03:42:43):
saw the difficulties their men were meeting, they withdrew them
and moved higher up the river, hoping 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 floy with
tremendous shouts into the faces and bodies of the cavalry.

(03:43:04):
The horses, alarmed by the noise and the wounds, would
not move forward, and trampled each other in great confusion.
The fight between the men of Castrucco and 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 strove to get a

(03:43:25):
footing on land in order to make room for the
others pressing forward, For 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 be overcome
by the few. At length, Castrucco, seeing how long the

(03:43:46):
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 open their
ranks as if they intended to retreat, and one part
of them to turn to the right, in another to
the left. This cleared a space of which the Florentines

(03:44:06):
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 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

(03:44:29):
stand on the defensive against the attacks of their adversaries,
as he hoped that when he had overcome 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

(03:44:51):
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 atta tempted to
make their infantry cross lower down the river in order
to attack the flanks of Castruccio's army. But here also
the banks were steep and already lined by the men
of Castrucco, and this movement was quite useless. Thus the

(03:45:13):
Florentines were so completely defeated at all points that scarcely
a third of them escaped, and Castrucco was again covered
with glory. Many captains were taken prisoners, and Carlo, the
son of King Roberto, with Mitchell, Agnolo Falconi and Todaeo
Degli Albizi, the Florentine commissioners, fled to Impoli. If the
spoils were great, the slaughter was infinitely greater, as might

(03:45:34):
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 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

(03:45:55):
in the successful prosecution of which nothing but death could
have stopped him. Castruccio was in the thick of the
battle the whole of the day, and when the end
of it came, 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

(03:46:15):
opinion that it was the duty of a good general
to be the first man in the saddle and the
last out of it. Here Castrucco 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

(03:46:38):
doctors saw it must 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 fewer enemies in perils. Because I should

(03:46:59):
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, without a doubt, smaller, but one more
secure and established on a surer foundation. But fortune, who

(03:47:20):
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 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

(03:47:41):
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, 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 all possessed the estate which thy father left.

(03:48:02):
But also that which my fortune and abilities have gained.
I have never married, so that the love of children
should never deflect my 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.

(03:48:25):
Thou hast also Pisa, 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 offended Florentines, injured by us in

(03:48:47):
a thousand ways, but not utterly destroyed, who will hail
the news of my death with more delight than they
would the acquisition of all Tuscany. In the Emperor and
in the princes of Milan, Thou canst place no reliance,
for they are far disay distant, slow, and their help
is very long in coming. Therefore thou hast no hope
in anything but in thine own abilities, and in the
memory of my valor, and in the prestige which this

(03:49:09):
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 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

(03:49:30):
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 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

(03:49:52):
that what I have told THEE is true, and thou
wilt be doubly indebted to 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.

(03:50:12):
He left a happy memory 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 Lucca. Fortune was not so friendly to Pagolo
Ginaji as she had been to Castrucco, for he had
not the abilities. Not long after the death of Castrucco,

(03:50:34):
Pagolo lost Pizza and then Pistoia, and only with difficulty
held on to Lucca. This latter city continued in the
family of Guinaji until the time of the great grandson
of Pagolo. From what has been related here, it will
be seen that Castruccio was a man of exceptional abilities,
not only measured by men of his own time, but
also by those of an earlier date. In stature, he

(03:50:56):
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 left him 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

(03:51:18):
his subjects, ready to play false with the unfaithful, and
willing to overcome by fraud those whom he desired 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 in fear nothing, that God is

(03:51:39):
a lover of strong men, because one 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 have spoken
sharply to him, as on the following occasions. He had

(03:52:02):
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 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

(03:52:24):
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 was not only heard by Castruccio with patience,
but rewarded when told by a priest that it was
wicked for him to live so sumptuously. Castrucco said, if
that be a vice, then you should not fare so
splendidly at the feasts of our saints. Passing through a street,

(03:52:45):
he saw a young man as he came out of
a house of ill fame, blush at being seen by Castrucco,
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
wish 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

(03:53:07):
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 Leghorn,
Castrucco 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 Castrucco answered
that he did not wonder at that, since every man

(03:53:29):
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, Castrucco said, he knows better than
to boast of remembering many things. Someone bragged that he
could drink much without becoming intoxicated, Castruccio replied, an ox

(03:53:53):
does the same. Castrucco was acquainted with a girl with
whom he had intimate relations, and being blamed by a friend,
and who told him that it was undignified for him
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

(03:54:15):
more avaricious than I am. Bluttnous. Being invited by Todayo Bernardi,
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 and foliage of the most beautiful coloring.
Castrucco gathered some saliva in his mouth and spat it
out upon Todayo, and, seeing him much disturbed by this,

(03:54:37):
said to him, I knew not where to spit in
order to offend thee less. Being asked 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 than was usual in one of his station. So
he said, he who is considered wise by day will

(03:54:57):
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 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

(03:55:19):
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 you have another request to make,
send some one 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

(03:55:42):
say of one who had been a beautiful child, and
who afterwards became a fine man, 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 the charge of Messer Francesco Ginaji, one of

(03:56:02):
his companions said to him, what shall I give you
if you will let me give you a blow on
the nose. Castrucco 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 only killed a new enemy.
Castruccio praised greatly those men who intended to take a

(03:56:24):
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 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

(03:56:45):
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, he answered that
it had not, because it appeared strange to him that
for a LAZZARONI should go to paradise and Yuguccion della
fa to the inferno. He was once asked when should
a man eat to preserve his health, and replied, if

(03:57:06):
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 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,

(03:57:27):
he saw a small house with a very large door,
and remarked, that house will fly 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 he was a good one.

(03:57:49):
Whereupon he said, why should you suggest that I should
be afraid of a good man? I 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 as he was surrounded
by many evidences of his good fortune, so he also

(03:58:09):
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 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

(03:58:29):
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. Pigeon Publishing House presented
the Prince author Niccolo Machiavelli. Thank you for listening to
this audiobook. We hope you enjoyed it.