HOW FLATTERERS MUST BE SHUNNED
I must not omit an important subject, and a mistake which princes
can with difficulty avoid, if they are not very prudent, or if they
do not make a good choice. And this is with regard to flatterers, of
which courts are full, because men take such pleasure in their own
things and deceive themselves about them that they can with difficulty
guard against this plague; and by wishing to guard against it they run
the risk of becoming contemptible. Because there is no other way of
guarding one's self against flattery than by letting men understand
that they will not offend you by speaking the truth; but when every one
can tell you the truth, you lose their respect. A prudent prince must
therefore take a third course, by choosing in his state wise men, and
giving these alone full liberty to speak the truth to him, but only of
those things that he asks and of nothing else; but he must ask them
about everything and hear their opinion, and afterwards deliberate by
himself in his own way, and in these councils and with each of these
men comport himself so that every one may see that the more freely he
speaks, the more he will be acceptable. Outside these he should listen
to no one, go about the matter deliberately, and be determined in his
decisions. Whoever acts otherwise either acts precipitately through
flattery or else changes often through the variety of opinions, from
which it happens that he is little esteemed. I will give a modern
instance of this. Pre' Luca, a follower of Maximilian, the present
emperor, speaking of his majesty said that he never took counsel with
anybody, and yet that he never did anything as he wished; this arose
from his following the contrary method to the aforesaid. As the emperor
is a secret man he does not communicate his designs to any one or
take any one's advice, but as on putting them into effect they begin
to be known and discovered, they begin to be opposed by those he has
about him, and he is easily diverted from his purpose. Hence it comes
to pass that what he does one day he undoes the next, no one ever
understands what he wishes or intends to do, and no reliance is to be
placed on his deliberations. A prince, therefore, ought always to take
counsel, but only when he wishes, not when others wish; on the contrary
he ought to discourage absolutely attempts to advise him unless he
asks it, but he ought to be a great asker, and a patient hearer of
the truth about those things which he has inquired of; indeed, if he
finds that any one has scruples in telling him the truth he should be
angry. And since some think that a prince who gains the reputation
of being prudent is so considered, not by his nature but by the good
councillors he has about him, they are undoubtedly deceived. It is an
infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well
advised, unless by chance he left himself entirely in the hands of one
man who ruled him in everything, and happened to be a very prudent
man. In this case he may doubtless be well governed, but it would not
last long, for that governor would in a short time deprive him of the
state; but by taking counsel with many, a prince who is not wise will
never have united councils and will not be able to unite them for
himself. The councillors will all think of their own interests, and he
will be unable either to correct or to understand them. And it cannot
be otherwise, for men will always be false to you unless they are
compelled by necessity to be true.
Therefore it must be concluded that wise counsels, from whoever they
come, must necessarily be due to the prudence of the prince, and not
the prudence of the prince to the good counsels received.