presents...
by Scarovese
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How is it that some men, after infinite treacheries and cruelties, can live long and securely in their states, while others who are cruel are immediately overthrown? I believe that it comes from the severities being badly used. They are properly used when they are done all at once and are necessary for one’s security, and are afterwards stopped. They are badly employed when, although they may few and insignificant to start, multiply with time rather than decrease. So when conquering, a usurper ought to decide all those injuries he must inflict and then do them all at once. 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, because of his 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 flavour of them may last longer. Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe. They are disunited, ambitious and without discipline, and unfaithful. They have neither the fear of Theus nor fidelity to men. In peace one is robbed by their payment, and in war by the enemy, after they have fled. The fact is, they have no other 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, but if war comes they take themselves off or run from the foe
In an ideal world, all men would be virtuous; but we live in a real world. Doing what ought to be done instead of what needs to be done will be your ruin, not your salvation. A man who acts always with virtue will soon be destroyed in a land filled with evil men. Hence it is necessary for a prince to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity. 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 of course it would be best for a prince to have qualities which are thought to be good, but that is impossible in the real world. A prince must not fear incurring reproach for those vices necessary for the security of the state, because wise men know, following what are thought to be virtues would ruin the state; while what which looks like vice brings security and prosperity.
I say that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel. Nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency. A cruel prince can unify a state by force and bring it peace and loyalty. Is this not better than those who, not wishing to be called cruel, stand by while cities are destroyed? Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty. He will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these will injure the whole people, while those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only. Upon this a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? One should wish to be both, but, because it is hard to have both, is much safer to be feared than loved. Because in general, men are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, and covetous. As long as you are successful, they are with you; when you are not, they will turn against you. 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. Men would rather offend one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails. Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared while 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 execute someone, he must do it with proper justification and for a clear cause, but above all, 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. You cannot control if men love you, but you can control if they fear you. A wise prince trusts himself only to those things which he can control.
Everyone admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith, and to live with integrity and not with craft. But in the real world, those who keep their word accomplish little and are always overcome by the crafty princes. 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, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone who will allow himself to be deceived. Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the virtues, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. It is a bad idea to actually live by these virtues, but it is very useful to appear to have them. So you should always appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and, when it does not hurt you, be that way, but keep your mind open so that, if you need to, you can change to the opposite. 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. There is nothing more necessary to appear to have than religion. Every one 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.
The prince must consider how to avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible. If you are not hated, you may be secure; if your people hate you, it will be your undoing. It makes him hated above all things to be rapacious, and to be a violator of the property and women of his subjects. And when neither their property nor honour is touched, the majority of men live content, and he has only to contend with the ambition of a few, whom he can curb with ease in many ways. It makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate, mean-spirited, irresolute, from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock; and he should endeavour 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.
A prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy. It is always more advantageous to declare yourself for one party or another than to remain neutral. If two of your powerful neighbours come to blows, one of them will win. The winner will not want you as a friend, because you did not declare for him, and that will be to your detriment; the loser will not shelter you, because you did not aid him. You will have no friends on either side, whereas if you declared for one or the other, you would have at least one friend. A prince ought also to show himself a patron of ability, and to honour the proficient in every art. At the same time he should encourage his citizens to practise 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 trade for fear of taxes; but the prince ought to offer rewards to whoever wishes to do these things and designs in any way to honour his city or state. Further, he ought to entertain the people with festivals and spectacles at 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.
Dealing with flatterers is very difficult, because they are everywhere. Why? Because there is no other way of guarding oneself from flatterers except letting men understand that to tell you the truth does not offend you; but when every one may tell you the truth, respect for you abates. When any man can speak his mind freely to you, they will not fear you. Instead, choose wise men as counselors and give them the liberty of speaking truthfully to you – but only about things that you ask them about. They should never presume to speak freely to you, but only answer the questions you put to them. Also, you should question them frequently, collect all their opinions, and then form your own conclusion. With these counselors, separately and collectively, let them know that, the more freely he shall speak, the more he shall be preferred; outside of these, he should listen to no one. Once a you have made a decision, be steadfast in resolution. He who does otherwise is either overthrown by flatterers, or is so often changed by varying opinions that he falls into contempt. A prince, therefore, ought always to take counsel, but only when he wishes and not when others wish; he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless he asks it; but, however, he ought to be a constant inquirer, and afterwards a patient listener concerning the things of which he inquired; also, on learning that any one, on any consideration, has not told him the truth, he should let his anger be felt.
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