Latest / The Philosophy Insights Collection / 11 - The Prince - Machiavelli

Transcript

11 - The Prince - Machiavelli · The Philosophy Insights Collection

0:00
Chapter nineteen, that one should avoid being despised and hated. Now, concerning
0:09
the characteristics of which mention is made above, I have spoken of the more
0:14
important ones. The others I wish to discuss briefly under this generality, that
0:20
the prince must consider, as has been in part said before, how to
0:25
avoid those things which will make him hated or contemptible. And as often as
0:31
he shall have succeeded, he will have fulfilled his part, and he need
0:35
not fear any danger in other reproaches. It makes him hated above all things,
0:43
as I have said, to be rapacious, and to be a violator
0:48
of the property and women of his subjects, from both of which he must
0:53
abstain, And when neither their property nor their honor is touched, the majorityity
1:00
of men live content, and he has only to contend with the ambition of
1:03
a few, whom he can curb with ease. In many ways, it
1:11
makes him contemptible to be considered fickle, frivolous, effeminate, mean spirited,
1:17
irresolute, from all of which a prince should guard himself as from a rock,
1:23
and he should endeavor to show in his actions greatness, courage, gravity,
1:27
and fortitude, and in his private dealings with his subjects, let him
1:34
show that his judgments are irrevocable, and maintain himself in such reputation that no
1:40
one can hope either to deceive him or to get round him. That prince
1:48
is highly esteemed who conveys this impression of himself, And he who is highly
1:53
esteemed is not easily conspired against, For provided it is well known that he
2:00
is an excellent man and revered by his people, he can only be attacked
2:05
with difficulty. For this reason, a prince ought to have two fears,
2:12
one from within on account of his subjects, the other from without, on
2:17
account of external powers. From the latter he is defended by being well armed
2:23
and having good allies. And if he is well armed, he will have
2:29
good friends, and affairs will always remain quiet within when they are quiet without,
2:35
unless they should have already been disturbed by conspiracy, and even should affairs
2:42
outside be disturbed. If he has carried out his preparations and has lived as
2:46
I have said, as long as he does not despair, he will resist
2:51
every attack, as I said now Bis the Spartan did, but concerning his
3:00
subjects, when affairs outside are disturbed, he has only to fear that they
3:05
will conspire secretly, from which a prince can easily secure himself by avoiding being
3:10
hated and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him, which it
3:15
is most necessary for him to accomplish. As I said above at length,
3:23
and one of the most efficacious remedies that a prince can have against conspiracies is
3:29
not to be hated and despised by the people. For he who conspires against
3:34
a prince always expects to please them by his removal. But when the conspirator
3:40
can only look forward to offending them, he will not have the courage to
3:46
take such a course. For the difficulties that confront a conspirator are infinite,
3:53
and as experience shows, many have been the conspiracies, but few have been
3:59
successful, because he who conspires cannot act alone, nor can he take a
4:05
companion except from those whom he believes to be malcontents. And as soon as
4:12
you have opened your mind to malcontent, you have given him the material with
4:16
which to content himself, For by denouncing you, he can look for every
4:21
advantage, so that seeing the gain from this cause to be assured, and
4:28
seeing the other to be doubtful and full of dangers. He must be a
4:31
very rare friend or a thoroughly obstinate enemy of the Prince. To keep faith
4:36
with you, and to reduce the matter into a small compass, I say
4:43
that on the side of the conspirator there is nothing but feared, jealousy,
4:47
prospect of punishment to terrify him. But on the side of the Prince there
4:54
is the majesty of the principality, the laws, the protection of friends,
4:59
and the state to defend him. So that, adding to all these things
5:03
the popular good will, it is impossible that any should be so rash as
5:10
to conspire. For whereas in general the conspirator has to fear before the execution
5:16
of his plot, in this case he has also to fear the sequel to
5:20
the crime, because on account of it he has the people for an enemy,
5:27
and thus cannot hope for any escape. Endless examples could be given on
5:33
this subject, but I will be content with one brought to pass within the
5:39
memory of our fathers. Messer Annibale Bentivogli, who was prince in Bologna,
5:46
grandfather of the present Annibale, having been murdered by the Caneski, who had
5:53
conspired against him. Not one of his family survived, but Messer Giovanni,
5:59
who was in childhood. Immediately after his assassination, the people rose and murdered
6:05
all the Caneski. This sprung from the popular good will which the house of
6:11
Bentivoli enjoyed in those days in Bologna, which was so great that although none
6:17
remained there after the death of Annibale, who was able to rule the state,
6:23
the Bolognese, having information that there was one of the Bentivoli family in
6:29
Florence, who up to that time had been considered the son of a blacksmith,
6:33
sent to Florence for him and gave him the government of their city,
6:39
and it was ruled by him until Messa Giovanni came in due course to the
6:44
government. Note. Giovanni Bentivogli born in Bologna fourteen thirty eight died in Milan
6:54
fifteen o eight. He ruled Bologna from fourteen sixty two to filifteen o six.
7:01
Machiavelli's strong condemnation of conspiracies may get its edge from his own very recent
7:08
experience February fifteen thirteen, when he had been arrested and tortured for his alleged
7:14
complicity in the Boscali conspiracy end of note. For this reason, I consider
7:25
that a prince ought to reckon conspiracies of little account when his people hold him
7:30
in esteem, But when it is hostile to him and bears hatred towards him,
7:36
he ought to fear everything and everybody. And well ordered states and wise
7:43
princes have taken every care not to drive the nobles to desperation, and to
7:48
keep the people satisfied and contented, for this is one of the most important
7:54
objects a prince can have. Among the best ordered governed kingdoms of our times
8:01
is France, and in it are found many good institutions on which depend the
8:07
liberty and security of the king. Of these, the first is the parliament
8:13
and its authority. Because he who founded the kingdom, knowing the ambition of
8:18
the nobility and their boldness, considered that a bit to their mouths would be
8:24
necessary to hold them in. And on the other side, knowing the hatred
8:28
of the people founded in fear against the nobles, he wished to protect them.
8:35
Yet he was not anxious for this to be the particular care of the
8:39
king. Therefore, to take away the reproach which he would be liable to
8:43
from the nobles for favoring the people, and from the people for favoring the
8:48
nobles. He set up an arbiter, who should be one who could beat
8:54
down the great and favor the lesser without reproach to the king. Neither could
9:01
he have a better or a more prudent arrangement, or a greater source of
9:05
security to the king and kingdom. From this one can draw another important conclusion,
9:11
that princes ought to leave affairs of reproach to the management of others and
9:16
keep those of grace in their own hands. And further, I consider that
9:24
a prince ought to cherish the nobles, but not so as to make himself
9:28
hated by the people. It may appear, perhaps to some who have examined
9:35
the lives and deaths of the Roman emperors, that many of them would be
9:39
an example contrary to my opinion, seeing that some of them lived nobly and
9:45
showed great qualities of soul. Nevertheless, they have lost their empire or have
9:52
been killed by subjects who have conspired against them. Wishing therefore, to answer
9:58
these objections, I will recall the characters of some of the emperors, and
10:03
will show that the causes of their ruin were not different to those alleged by
10:07
me. At the same time, I will only submit for consideration those things
10:15
that are noteworthy to him who studies the affairs of those times. It seems
10:20
to me sufficient to take all those emperors who succeeded to the empire, from
10:26
Marcus the Philosopher down to Maximinus. They were Marcus and his son Commodus,
10:33
Pertinax, Julian, Severus and his son Antonius Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus,
10:43
Alexander, and Maximinus. There is first to note that, whereas in other
10:52
principalities the ambition of the nobles and the insolence of the people only have to
10:58
be contended with, the Roman empress had a third difficulty in having to put
11:03
up with the cruelty and avarice of their soldiers, a matter so beset with
11:09
difficulties that it was the ruin of many. For it was a hard thing
11:15
to give satisfaction both to soldiers and people. Because the people loved peace,
11:20
and for this reason they loved the unaspiring prince, whilst the soldiers loved the
11:28
warlike prince, who was bold, cruel, and rapacious. Which qualities they
11:33
were quite willing he should exercise upon the people, so that they could get
11:37
double pay and give vent to their own greed and cruelty. Hence, it
11:43
arose that those emperors were always overthrown who, either by birth or training,
11:48
had no great authority. And most of them, especially those who came new
11:54
to the principality, recognizing the difficulty of these two opposing humors, were inclined
12:01
to give satisfaction to the soldiers, caring little about injuring the people, which
12:07
cause was necessary, because as princes cannot help being hated by some one,
12:13
they ought in the first place to avoid being hated by every one, And
12:18
when they cannot compass this, they ought to endeavor with the utmost diligence to
12:24
avoid the hatred of the most powerful. Therefore, those emperors who through inexperience
12:31
had need of special favor, adhered more readily to the soldiers than to the
12:35
people, a course which turned out advantageous to them, or not accordingly,
12:41
as the prince knew how to maintain authority over them. From these causes,
12:48
it arose that Marcus, Pertinax and Alexander, being all men of modest life,
12:56
lovers of justice, enemies to cruelty, humane and benignant, came to
13:01
a sad end. Except Marcus, he alone lived and died honored, because
13:07
he had succeeded to the throne by hereditary title, and owed nothing either to
13:13
the soldiers or the people, and afterwards, being possessed of many virtues which
13:18
made him respected, he always kept both orders in their places whilst he lived,
13:24
and was neither hated nor despised. But Pertinax was created emperor against the
13:31
wishes of the soldiers, who, being accustomed to live licentiously under commodus,
13:37
could not endure the honest life to which Pertinax wished to reduce them. Thus
13:43
having given cause for hatred, to which hatred there was added contempt for his
13:48
old age, he was overthrown at the very beginning of his administration. And
13:54
here it should be noted that hatred is acquired as much by good works as
14:01
by bad ones. Therefore, as I said before, a prince wishing to
14:05
keep his state is very often forced to do evil. For when that body
14:13
is corrupt, whom you think you have need of to maintain yourself. It
14:18
may be either the people, or the soldiers, or the nobles You have
14:22
to submit to its humors and to gratify them, and then good works will
14:28
do you harm. But let us come to Alexander, who is a man
14:35
of such great goodness that, among the other praises which are accorded him,
14:39
is this that in the fourteen years he held the empire, no one was
14:45
ever put to death by him unjudged. Nevertheless, being considered effeminate and a
14:52
man who allowed himself to be governed by his mother, he became despised.
14:56
The army conspired against him and him. Turning now to the opposite characters of
15:05
Commodius Severus, and to Ninus Caracalla and Maximinis, you will find them all
15:13
cruel and rapacious men, who, to satisfy their soldiers, did not hesitate
15:18
to commit every kind of iniquity against the people. And all except Severus came
15:26
to a bad end. But in Severus there was so much valor that keeping
15:31
the soldiers friendly. Although the people were oppressed by him, he reigned successfully,
15:37
for his valor made him so much admired in the sight of the soldiers
15:41
and people, that the latter were kept in a way astonished and awed,
15:46
and the former respectful and satisfied. And because the actions of this man as
15:52
a new prince were great, I wish to show briefly that he knew well
15:58
how to counterfeit the fox and the lion, which natures. As I said
16:03
above, it is necessary for a prince to imitate. Knowing this loss of
16:10
the Emperor Julian, he persuaded the Armian's Glavonia, of which he was captain,
16:15
that it would be right to go to Rome and avenge the death of
16:19
Pertinax, who had been killed by the Pretorian soldiers. And under this pretext,
16:26
without appearing to aspire to the throne, he moved the army on Rome
16:30
and reached Italy before it was known that he had started. On his arrival
16:37
at Rome, the Senate, through fear, elected him emperor and killed Julian.
16:44
After this, there remained for Severus, who wished to make himself master
16:48
of the whole empire two difficulties, one in Asia, where Niger, head
16:53
of the Asiatic Army, had caused himself to be proclaimed emperor, the other
17:00
in the West, where Albinus was who also aspired to the throne, and
17:06
as he considered it dangerous to declare himself hostile to both, he decided to
17:11
attack Niger and to deceive Albinus. To the latter, he wrote that,
17:17
being elected emperor by the Senate, he was willing to share that dignity with
17:22
him, and sent him the title of Caesar, and moreover, that the
17:27
Senate had made Albinus his colleague. Which things were accepted by Albinus as true.
17:34
But after Severus had conquered and killed Niger and settled oriental affairs, he
17:41
returned to Rome and complained to the Senate that Albinus, little recognizing the benefits
17:48
that he had received from him, had by treachery, sought to murder him,
17:53
and for this ingratitude he was compelled to punish him. Afterwards, he
17:59
sought him out in France and took from him his government and life. He
18:04
who will therefore carefully examine the actions of this man, will find him a
18:10
most valiant lion and a most cunning fox. He will find him feared and
18:15
respected by every one, and not hated by the army. And it need
18:21
not be wondered at that he, a new man, was able to hold
18:25
the empire so well because his supreme renown always protected him from that hatred which
18:32
the people might have conceived against him for his violence. But his son Antoninus
18:40
was a most eminent man and had very excellent qualities, which made him admirable
18:45
in the sight of the people and acceptable to the soldiers, for he was
18:51
a warlike man, most enduring of fatigue, a despiser of all delicate food
18:57
and other luxuries, which called him to be beloved by the armies. Nevertheless,
19:03
his ferocity and cruelties were so great and so unheard of, that,
19:10
after endless single murders he killed a large number of the people of Rome and
19:15
all those of Alexandria. He became hated by the whole world, and also
19:21
feared by those he had around him, to such an extent that he was
19:26
murdered in the midst of his army by a centurion. And here it must
19:30
be noted that such like deaths, which are deliberately inflicted with a resolved and
19:37
desperate courage, cannot be avoided by princes, because any one who does not
19:41
fear to die can inflict them. But a prince may fear them the less
19:47
because they are very rare. He has only to be careful not to do
19:51
any grave injury to those whom he employs or has around him in the service
19:56
of the state. Antoninus had no not taken this care, but had contumiliously
20:03
killed a brother of that centurion, whom also he daily threatened, yet retained
20:08
in his bodyguard, which, as it turned out, was a rush thing
20:12
to do and proved the emperor's ruin. But let us come to Commodus,
20:21
to whom it should have been very easy to hold the empire, for being
20:25
the son of Marcus, he had inherited it, and he had only to
20:29
follow in the footsteps of his father to please his people and soldiers. But
20:34
being by nature cruel and brutal, he gave himself up to amusing the soldiers
20:40
and corrupting them, so that he might indulge his rapacity upon the people.
20:45
On the other hand, not maintaining his dignity, often descending to the theater
20:49
to compete with gladiators, and doing other vile things little worthy of the imperial
20:56
majesty, he fell into contempt with the soldiers, and, being hated by
21:02
one party and despised by the other, he was conspired against and was killed.
21:11
It remains to discuss the character of Maximinus. He was a very warlike
21:17
man, and the armies, being disgusted with the effeminacy of Alexander, of
21:22
whom I have already spoken, killed him and elected Maximinus to the throne.
21:29
This he did not possess for long, for two things made him hated and
21:33
despised. The one his having kept sheep in Thrace, which brought him into
21:38
contempt, it being well known to all and considered a great indignity by every
21:45
one. And the other his having, at the accession to his dominions,
21:51
deferred going to Rome and taking possession of the imperial seat. He had also
21:56
gained a reputation for the utmost ferocity by having, through his prefects in Rome
22:03
and elsewhere in the Empire, practiced many cruelties, so that the whole world
22:08
was moved to anger at the meanness of his birth and to fear at his
22:14
barbarity. First Africa rebelled, Then the Senate, with all the people of
22:19
Rome and all Italy, conspired against him, to which may be added his
22:25
own army, this latter besieging Aquileia, and meeting with difficulties in taking it,
22:33
were disgusted with his cruelties and fearing him less when they found so many
22:37
against him, murdered him. I do not wish to discuss Heliogobalus, Macrinus
22:45
or Julian, who, being sorroughly contemptible, were quickly wiped out. But
22:52
I will bring this discourse to a conclusion by saying that princes in our times
22:57
have this difficulty of giving inordinate satisfaction to their soldiers in a far less degree,
23:06
because notwithstanding one has to give them some indulgence that is soon done.
23:11
None of these princes have armies that are veterans in the governance and administration of
23:18
provinces, as were the armies of the Roman Empire. And whereas it was
23:22
then more necessary to give satisfaction to the soldiers than to the people, it
23:29
is now more necessary to all princes, except the Turk and the Soldan,
23:33
to satisfy the people rather than the soldiers, because the people are the more
23:40
powerful. From the above, I have accepted the Turk, who always keeps
23:48
round him twelve thousand infantry and fifteen thousand cavalry, on which depend the security
23:55
and strength of the kingdom, And it is necessary that, putting aside every
24:00
consideration for the people, he should keep them his friends. The kingdom of
24:06
the Soldan is similar, being entirely in the hands of soldiers. It follows
24:11
again that without regard to the people, he must keep them his friends.
24:17
But you must note that the state of the soldan is unlike all the other
24:22
principalities, for the reason that it is like the Christian pontificate, which cannot
24:26
be called either a hereditary or a newly formed principality, because the sons of
24:33
the old prince are not the heirs, but he who is elected to that
24:37
position by those who have authority, and the sons remain only noblemen. And
24:45
this being an ancient custom, it cannot be called a new principality, because
24:51
there are none of those difficulties in it that are met with in the new
24:53
ones. For although the prince is new, the constitution of the state is
24:59
old, and it is framed so as to receive him as if he were
25:03
its hereditary lord. But returning to the subject of our discourse, I say
25:11
that whoever will consider it will acknowledge that either hatred or contempt has been fatal
25:18
in the above named emperors. And it will be recognized also how it happened
25:22
that a number of them, acting in one way, and a number in
25:26
another. Only one in each way came to a happy end, and the
25:32
rest to unhappy ones, Because it would have been useless and dangerous for Pertinax
25:38
and Alexander, being new princes, to imitate Marcus, who was heir to
25:44
the principality, And likewise it would have been utterly destructive to Caracolor, Commodus
25:51
and Maximinus to have imitated Severus, they not having sufficient valor to enable them
25:56
to tread in his footsteps. Therefore, a prince new to the principality cannot
26:03
imitate the actions of Marcus, nor again is it necessary to follow those of
26:10
Severus. But he ought to take from Severus those parts to found his state,
26:18
and from Marcus those which are proper and glorious to keep a state that
26:22
may already be stable and firm. End of Chapter nineteen