The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Chapter XIV
That which concerns a prince on the subject of
the art of war
A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor
select anything else for his study, than war and its rules
and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him
who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds
those who are 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 thought more of ease than
of arms they have lost their states. And the first cause of
your losing it is to neglect this art; and what enables you
to acquire a state is to be master of the art. Francesco
Sforza, through being martial, 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 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 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 this subject of war,
and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise
than in war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action,
the other by study.
As regards action, he ought above all things to keep his
men well organized and drilled, to follow incessantly the
chase, by which he accustoms his body 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, he learns to
know his country, and is better able to undertake its
defence; afterwards, by means of the knowledge and
observation of that locality, he understands with ease 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 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.
Philopoemen,1
Prince of the Achaeans, among other praises which writers
have bestowed on him, is commended because in time of peace
he never had anything in his mind but the rules of war; and
when he was in the country with friends, he often stopped
and reasoned 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?" 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,
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 do 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, 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 times stand idle, but increase his resources with
industry in such a way that they may be available to him in
adversity, so that if fortune chances it may find him
prepared to resist her blows.
1 Philopoemen, "the last of the
Greeks," born 252 B.C., died 183 B.C. [back]
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- The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Chapter XIII
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