The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Introduction
Nicolo Machiavelli was born at Florence on 3rd May 1469.
He was the second son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli, a
lawyer of some repute, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli,
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, Il Magnifico. The downfall
of the Medici in Florence occurred in 1494, in which year
Machiavelli entered the public service. During his official
career Florence was free under the government of a Republic,
which lasted until 1512, when the Medici returned to power,
and Machiavelli lost his office. The Medici again ruled
Florence from 1512 until 1527, 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 22nd June 1527, in
his fifty-eighth year, without having regained office.
Youth
Aet. 1-25--1469-94
Although 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
splendour-loving Lorenzo. Savonarola's influence upon 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 to Lorenzo's
grandson that he dedicates "The Prince."
Machiavelli, in his "History of Florence," gives us a
picture of the young men among whom his youth was passed. He
writes: "They were freer than their forefathers in dress and
living, and spent more in other kinds of excesses, consuming
their time and money in idleness, gaming, and women; their
chief aim was to appear well dressed and to speak with wit
and acuteness, whilst he who could wound others the most
cleverly was thought the wisest." In a letter to his son
Guido, Machiavelli shows why youth should avail itself of
its opportunities for study, and leads us to infer that his
own youth had been so occupied. He writes: "I have received
your letter, which has given me the greatest pleasure,
especially because you tell me you are quite restored in
health, than which I could have no better news; for if God
grant life to you, and to me, I hope to make a good man of
you if you are willing to do your share." Then, writing of a
new patron, he continues: "This will turn out well for you,
but it is necessary for you to study; since, then, you have
no longer the excuse of illness, take pains to study letters
and music, for you see what honour is done to me for the
little skill I have. Therefore, my son, if you wish to
please me, and to bring success and honour to yourself, do
right and study, because others will help you if you help
yourself."
Office
Aet. 25-43--1494-1512
The second period of Machiavelli's life was spent in the
service of the free Republic of Florence, which flourished,
as stated above, from the expulsion of the Medici in 1494
until their return in 1512. After serving four years in one
of the public offices he was appointed Chancellor and
Secretary to the Second Chancery, the Ten of Liberty and
Peace. Here we are on firm ground when dealing with the
events of Machiavelli's life, for during this time he took a
leading part in the affairs of the Republic, and we have its
decrees, records, and dispatches to guide us, as well as his
own writings. A mere recapitulation of a few of his
transactions with the statesmen and soldiers of his time
gives a fair indication of his activities, and supplies the
sources from which he drew the experiences and characters
which illustrate "The Prince."
His first mission was in 1499 to Catherina Sforza, "my
lady of Forli" of "The Prince," from whose conduct and fate
he drew the moral that it is far better to earn 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 vital importance to
princes.
In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from Louis
XII for continuing the war against Pisa: this king it was
who, in his conduct of affairs in Italy, committed the five
capital errors in statecraft summarized in "The Prince," and
was consequently driven out. He, also, it was who made the
dissolution of his marriage a condition of support to Pope
Alexander VI; 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 VI and
his son, Cesare Borgia, the Duke Valentino, and these
characters fill a large space of "The Prince." Machiavelli
never hesitates to cite the actions of the duke for the
benefit of usurpers who wish to keep the states they have
seized; he can, indeed, find no precepts to offer so good as
the pattern of Cesare Borgia's conduct, insomuch that Cesare
is acclaimed by some critics as the "hero" of "The Prince."
Yet in "The Prince" the duke is in point of fact cited as a
type of the man who rises on the fortune of others, and
falls with them; who takes every course that might be
expected from a prudent man but the course which will save
him; who is prepared for all eventualities but the one which
happens; and who, when all his abilities fail to carry him
through, exclaims that it was not his fault, but an
extraordinary and unforeseen fatality.
On the death of Pius III, in 1503, Machiavelli was sent
to Rome to watch the election of his successor, and there he
saw Cesare Borgia cheated into allowing the choice of the
College to fall on Giuliano delle Rovere (Julius II), 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 favours will cause great personages
to forget old injuries deceives himself. Julius did not rest
until he had ruined Cesare.
It was to Julius II that Machiavelli was sent in 1506,
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, 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 1507 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
Louis XII 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
interesting men of the age, and his character has been drawn
by many hands; but Machiavelli, who was an envoy at his
court in 1507-8, 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
fulfilment of his wishes.
The remaining years of Machiavelli's official career were
filled with events arising out of the League of Cambrai,
made in 1508 between the three great European powers already
mentioned and the pope, with the object of crushing the
Venetian Republic. This result was attained in the battle of
Vaila, when Venice lost in one day all that she had won in
eight hundred years. Florence had a difficult part to play
during these events, complicated as they were by the feud
which broke out between the pope and the French, because
friendship with France had dictated the entire policy of the
Republic. When, in 1511, Julius II finally formed the Holy
League against France, and with the assistance of the Swiss
drove the French out of Italy, Florence lay at the mercy of
the Pope, and had to submit to his terms, one of which was
that the Medici should be restored. The return of the Medici
to Florence on 1st September 1512, 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 and Death
Aet. 43-58--1512-27
On the return of the Medici, Machiavelli, who for a few
weeks had vainly hoped to retain his office under the new
masters of Florence, was dismissed by decree dated 7th
November 1512. 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
Medicean pope, Leo X, procured his release, and he retired
to his small property at San Casciano, near Florence, where
he devoted himself to literature. In a letter to Francesco
Vettori, dated 13th December 1513, he has left a very
interesting description of his life at this period, which
elucidates his methods and his motives in writing "The
Prince." After describing his daily occupations with his
family and neighbours, he writes: "The evening being come, I
return home and go to my study; at the entrance I pull off
my peasant-clothes, covered with dust and dirt, and put on
my noble court dress, and thus becomingly re-clothed 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; where 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 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,' where I pour myself out as fully as I can
in meditation on the subject, discussing what a principality
is, what kinds there are, how they can be acquired, how they
can be kept, why they are lost: and if any of my fancies
ever pleased you, this ought not to displease you: and to a
prince, especially to a new one, it should be welcome:
therefore I dedicate it to his Magnificence Giuliano.
Filippo Casavecchio has seen it; he will be able to tell you
what is in it, and of the discourses I have had with him;
nevertheless, I am still enriching and polishing it."
The "little 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' Medici. Although
Machiavelli discussed 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: "And as
to this little thing [his book], when it has been
read it will be seen that during the fifteen years I have
given to the study of statecraft I have neither slept nor
idled; and men ought ever to desire to be served by one who
has reaped experience at the expense of others. And of my
loyalty none could doubt, because having always kept faith I
could not now learn how to break it; for he who has been
faithful and honest, as I have, cannot change his nature;
and my poverty is a witness to my honesty."
Before Machiavelli had got "The Prince" off his hands he
commenced his "Discourse on the First Decade of Titus
Livius," which should be read concurrently with "The
Prince." These and several minor works occupied him until
the year 1518, when he accepted a small commission to look
after the affairs of some Florentine merchants at Genoa. In
1519 the Medicean 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 1520 the Florentine merchants again had recourse to
Machiavelli to settle their difficulties with Lucca, but
this year was chiefly remarkable for his re-entry into
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 1525. His return to popular
favour may have determined the Medici to give him this
employment, for an old writer observes that "an able
statesman out of work, like a huge whale, will endeavour 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 VII. It is somewhat remarkable that, as, in 1513,
Machiavelli had written "The Prince" for the instruction of
the Medici after they had just regained power in Florence,
so, in 1525, 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 I a prisoner in the hands of his great
rival, Charles V. This was followed by the sack of Rome,
upon the news of which the popular party at Florence threw
off the yoke of the Medici, who were once more banished.
Machiavelli was absent from Florence at this time, but
hastened 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 22nd June 1527.
The Man and His Works
No one can say where the bones of Machiavelli rest, but
modern Florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in Santa
Croce, by the side of her most famous sons; recognizing
that, whatever other nations may have found in his works,
Italy found in them the idea of her unity and the germs of
her renaissance among the nations of Europe. Whilst it is
idle to protest against the world-wide and evil
signification of his name, it may be pointed out that the
harsh construction of his doctrine which this 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.
Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation,
acuteness, and industry; noting with appreciative eye
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 embassies and
political employments. He was misled by Catherina Sforza,
ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare 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 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 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 date so long as the governments
of Europe rely on material rather than on moral forces. Its
historical incidents and personages become interesting by
reason of the uses which Machiavelli makes of them to
illustrate his theories of government and conduct.
Leaving out of consideration those maxims of state which
still furnish some European and eastern statesmen with
principles of action, "The Prince" is bestrewn with truths
that can be proved at every turn. Men are still the dupes of
their simplicity and greed, as they were in the days of
Alexander VI. The cloak of religion still conceals the vices
which Machiavelli laid bare in the character of Ferdinand of
Aragon. Men will not look at things as they really are, but
as they wish them to be--and are ruined. In politics there
are no perfectly safe courses; prudence consists in choosing
the least dangerous ones. Then --to pass to a higher
plane--Machiavelli reiterates that, although crimes may win
an empire, they do not win glory. Necessary 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. 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
neighbours.
In translating "The Prince" my aim has been to achieve at
all costs an exact literal rendering of the original, rather
than a fluent paraphrase adapted to the modern notions of
style and expression. Machiavelli was no facile
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. "Quis
eo fuit unquam in partiundis rebus, in definiendis, in
explanandis pressior?" 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 to-day it is not so
simple. To take a single example: the word "intrattenere,"
employed by Machiavelli to indicate the policy adopted by
the Roman Senate towards the weaker states of Greece, would
by an Elizabethan be correctly rendered "entertain," and
every contemporary reader would understand what was meant by
saying that "Rome entertained the Aetolians and the Achaeans
without augmenting their power." But to-day such a phrase
would seem obsolete and ambiguous, if not unmeaning: we are
compelled to say that "Rome maintained friendly relations
with the Aetolians," etc., using four words to do the work
of one. I have tried to preserve the pithy brevity of the
Italian so far as was consistent with an absolute fidelity
to the sense. If the result be an occasional asperity I can
only hope that the reader, in his eagerness to reach the
author's meaning, may overlook the roughness of the road
that leads him to it.
The following is a list of the works of Machiavelli:
Principal works.
Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa, 1499;
Del modo di trattare i popoli della Valdichiana
ribellati, 1502;
Del modo tenuto dal duca Valentino nell' ammazzare
Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, etc., 1502;
Discorso sopra la provisione del danaro, 1502;
Decennale primo (poem in terza rima), 1506;
Ritratti delle cose dell' Alemagna, 1508-12;
Decennale secondo, 1509;
Ritratti delle cose di Francia, 1510;
Discorsi sopra la prima deca di T. Livio, 3 vols.,
1512-17;
Il Principe, 1513;
Andria, comedy translated from Terence, 1513 (?);
Mandragola, prose comedy in five acts, with prologue
in verse, 1513;
Della lingua (dialogue), 1514;
Clizia, comedy in prose, 1515 (?);
Belfagor arcidiavolo (novel), 1515;
Asino d'oro (poem in terza rima), 1517;
Dell' arte della guerra, 1519-20;
Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Firenze,
1520;
Sommario delle cose della citta di Lucca, 1520;
Vita di Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, 1520;
Istorie fiorentine, 8 books, 1521-5;
Frammenti storici, 1525.
Other poems include Sonetti, Canzoni, Ottave, and
Canti carnascialeschi.
Editions.
Aldo, Venice, 1546;
della Tertina, 1550;
Cambiagi, Florence, 6 vols., 1782-5;
dei Classici, Milan, 10 1813;
Silvestri, 9 vols., 1820-2;
Passerini, Fanfani, Milanesi, 6 vols. only published,
1873-7.
Minor works.
Ed. F. L. Polidori, 1852;
Lettere familiari, ed. E. Alvisi, 1883, 2 editions, one with
excisions;
Credited Writings, ed. G. Canestrini, 1857;
Letters to F. Vettori, see A. Ridolfi, Pensieri intorno allo
scopo di N. Machiavelli nel libro Il Principe, etc.; D.
Ferrara, The Private Correspondence of Nicolo Machiavelli,
1929.
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- The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
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