It is unquestionably very praiseworthy in princes to be faithful to
their engagements; but among those of the present day, who have been
distinguished for great exploits, few indeed have been remarkable for
this virtue, or have scrupled to deceive others who may have relied
on their good faith.
[Footnote 30: From Chapter XVIII of "The Prince." Machiavelli's
writings appear not to have been translated into English until some
years had elapsed after his death. The first work mentioned by Lowndes
is "The Arte of Warre," as "set forth in Englisshe" by Peter
Whitehaorne, published in 1560. Another translation appeared in 1608,
under the title "Discourse upon the Meanes of wel Governing and
Maintaining in good peace a Kingdome." A more modern translation is by
Ellis Farnsworth. The most recent of all, by Christian E. Detmold, was
published in Boston in 1882.
The earliest English translation of the "History of Florence" appears
to be one made by Thomas Bedingfield, published in 1594. Another early
translation was issued in 1675. In 1752 the translation by Ellis
Farnsworth was published.]
It should, therefore, be known that there are two ways of deciding any
contest; the one by laws, the other by force. The first is peculiar to
men, the second to beasts; but when laws are not sufficiently
powerful, it is necessary to recur to force; a prince ought,
therefore, to understand how to use both these descriptions of arms.
This doctrine is admirably illustrated to us by the ancient poets in
the allegorical history of the education of Achilles, and many other
princes of antiquity, by the centaur Chiron, who, under the double
form of man and beast, taught those who were destined to govern that
it was their duty to use by turns the arms adapted to both these
natures, seeing that one without the other can not be of any durable
advantage. Now, as a prince must learn how to act the part of a beast
sometimes, he should make the fox and the lion his patterns. The first
can but feebly defend himself against the wolf, and the latter readily
falls into such snares as are laid for him. From the fox, therefore, a
prince will learn dexterity in avoiding snares; and from the lion how
to employ his strength to keep the wolves in awe. But they who
entirely rely upon the lion's strength, will not always meet with
success; in other words, a prudent prince can not and ought not to
keep his word, except when he can do it without injury to himself, or
when the circumstances under which he contracted the engagement still
exist.
I should be cautious in inculcating such a precept if all men were
good; but as the generality of mankind are wicked, and ever ready to
break their words, a prince should not pique himself in keeping his
more scrupulously, especially as it is always easy to justify a breach
of faith on his part. I could give numerous proofs of this, and show
numberless engagements and treaties which have been violated by the
treachery of princes, and that those who enacted the part of the fox
have always succeeded best in their affairs. It is necessary, however,
to disguise the appearance of craft, and thoroughly to understand the
art of feigning and dissembling; for men are generally so simple and
so weak that he who wishes to deceive easily finds dupes.
One example, taken from the history of our own times, will be
sufficient. Pope Alexander VI played during his whole life a game of
deception; and notwithstanding his faithless conduct was extremely
well known, his artifices always proved successful. Oaths and
protestations cost him nothing; never did a prince so often break his
word or pay less regard to his engagements. This was because he so
well understood this chapter in the art of government.
It is not necessary, however, for a prince to possess all the good
qualities I have enumerated, but it is indispensable that he should
appear to have them. I will even venture to affirm that it is
sometimes dangerous to use, tho it is always useful to seem to possess
them. A prince should earnestly endeavor to gain the reputation of
kindness, clemency, piety, justice, and fidelity to his engagements.
He ought to possess all these good qualities, but still retain such
power over himself as to display their opposites whenever it may be
expedient. I maintain that a prince, and especially a new prince, can
not with impunity exercise all the virtues, because his own
self-preservation will often compel him to violate the laws of
charity, religion, and humanity. He should habituate himself to bend
easily to the various circumstances which may from time to time
surround him. In a word, it will be as useful to him to persevere in
the path of rectitude, while he feels no inconvenience in doing so, as
to know how to deviate from it when circumstances dictate such a
course. He should make it a rule, above all things, never to utter
anything which does not breathe of kindness, justice, good faith, and
piety; this last quality it is most important for him to appear to
possess, as men in general judge more from appearance than from
reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.
Every one sees your exterior, but few can discern what you have in
your heart; and those few dare not oppose the voice of the multitude,
who have the majesty of their prince on their side. Now, in forming a
judgment of the minds of men, and more especially of princes, as we
can not recur to any tribunal, we must attend only to results. Let it
then be the prince's chief care to maintain his authority; the means
he employs, be what they may, will, for this purpose, always appear
honorable and meet applause; for the vulgar are ever caught by
appearances, and judge only by the event. And as the world is chiefly
composed of such as are called the vulgar, the voice of the few is
seldom or never heard or regarded.