Judging the States’
Strength
According to
Machiavelli, we could judge the strength of a principality from his ability of
maintaining the state by himself. A strong state owns its army and provision to
maintain itself, but a weak one would need others’ help to do it. But it is not
applicable in an ecclesiastical principality, or the Catholic Church. For,
being sustained by God, it is more easily maintained.
Military choices
*Own
army—the best choice; it’s better to lose with one’s native army than to
win by others’.
*Mercenary
arms – paid soldiers—disunited, undisciplined, faithless, because money
was their only motive; while the captain only concerned for his own greatness.
*Auxiliaries—borrowing
armies from neighbors—even more dangerous than mercenaries, for if they won, you
would be their prisoner.
*Mixed—contains
of own army and mercenaries or auxiliaries; still better than the last two, but
much inferior than own army.
Qualities of a Prince
To succeed,
a prince should spare much of his time to arm himself; by physical exercises,
as well as reading histories. A prince should possess both good and bad
qualities, so that he could use them accordingly when necessary; although he
must not create a scandal.
*Generous
vs miserly: As a prince, to be generous won’t be appreciated; and if
overly done, it will exhaust your resources. Moreover, it will make your people
greedy. However, you can be liberal (or considered to be it) when you are in
process to become a prince. You can also be liberal when you don’t own your
property, for it won’t harm your reputation. It’s better to be named miser than
to be hated as a liberal.
*Merciful
vs cruel: A good prince is better feared than loved—if one could not
possess both equally—for love could change in difficult times, but not fear.
Excessive clemency would raise disorders, while a little cruelty would make
people more united and faithful. But the prince must avoid being hated although
still feared. “Men love at their free
will, but fear at the will of the prince.” seems very true!
*Trustworthy?
or not?: A prince must be a lion and a fox at once; or at least to seem
to have both qualities. He must know how to use both qualities; he mustn’t
deviate from what is good, but be able to do evil when necessary.
*Avoid
hatred: Do not deprive your people of their property and women; these
will make them hate you. By avoiding hatred you would eliminate the chance of
conspiracies, as it’s hard to conspire when people love you. As long as you keep
the nobles content and the people satisfied (by establishing a parliament as a
third judge, or make the military respect you), there will be little chance for
conspiracy.
Prudence of a Prince
*Fortresses—could
be useful or not, according to circumstances, but it is more important to not
being hated by the people than to build fortresses.
*To
gain reputation—a prince should pursue great enterprises and proof of
prowess. Greatness in administration was important too. However a prince should
choose side rather then being neutral; but never take a stronger force as an
ally, for if he wins, you’ll be under his power. He should also reward those
with merits and encourage citizens to safely pursue their trades.
*Picking
ministers—is important, because you are judged first from choosing the
right servant. A good minister should think of more your needs than his own.
And the prince should honor and be kind to his minister to get his loyalty.
*To
deal with flatterers—encourage them to speak the truth, but if they all
speaks, it will deviate the prince. The best way is to have a council, so he’d
only take counsel from no one except it; and they could only speak when he wish
it. After that he must be determined with his decision, or else he would not be
respected.
Chance of a Prince
*Italian
Princes lost the states—first, because they had defect arms. Second,
because either the people were hostile to them or they could not trust the
nobility.
*Fortune:
is it influential?—Fortune influences only half of our lives, while the
rest depends on us. The problem is men’s nature towards circumstances is fixed;
they succeed as long their nature conform the circumstances. A Prince should
work harder and take more risks to succeed.
*To free
Italian from barbarians—is Machiavelli’s advices to Medici family to
conquer Italy using their own armies according to his analyses in this book.
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