THE PRINCE
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Translated by W. K. Marriott
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CHAPTER II
Concerning Hereditary Principalities
I WILL leave out all discussion on
republics, inasmuch as in another place I have written of them at
length, and will address myself only to principalities. In doing so I
will keep to the order indicated above, and discuss how such
principalities are to be ruled and preserved. (Note
1)
I say at once there are fewer
difficulties in holding hereditary states, and those long accustomed
to the family of their prince, than new ones; for it is sufficient
only not to transgress the customs of his ancestors, and to deal
prudently with circumstances as they arise, for a prince of average
powers to maintain himself in his state, unless he be deprived of it
by some extraordinary and excessive force; and if he should be so
deprived of it, whenever anything sinister happens to the usurper, he
will regain it. (Note
2)
We have in Italy, for example, the
Duke of Ferrara, who could not have withstood the attacks of the
Venetians in '84, nor those of Pope Julius in '10, unless he had been
long established in his dominions. For the hereditary prince has less
cause and less necessity to offend; hence it happens that he will be
more loved; and unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated, it
is reasonable to expect that his subjects will be naturally well
disposed towards him; and in the antiquity and duration of his rule
the memories and motives that make for change are lost, for one change
always leaves the toothing for another. (Note
3)
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