THE PRINCE
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Translated by W. K. Marriott
Go to the Table
of Contents | Previous Chapter | Next
Chapter
Go to the Remarks
CHAPTER XIV
That Which Concerns A Prince On The
Subject Of The Art Of War
A PRINCE ought to have no other aim
or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its
rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him
who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those
who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a
private station to that rank. And, on the contrary, it is seen that
when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost
their states. And the first cause of your losing it is to neglect
this art; and what enables you to acquire a state is to be master of
the art. Francesco Sforza, through being martial, from a private
person became Duke of Milan; and the sons, through avoiding the
hardships and troubles of arms, from dukes became private persons.
For among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you
to be despised, and this is one of those ignominies against which a
prince ought to guard himself, as is shown later on. Because there
is nothing proportionate between the armed and the unarmed; and it
is not reasonable that he who is armed should yield obedience
willingly to him who is unarmed, or that the unarmed man should be
secure among armed servants. Because, there being in the one disdain
and in the other suspicion, it is not possible for them to work well
together. And therefore a prince who does not understand the art of
war, over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot
be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. He ought
never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts this subject of war,
and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise than in
war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action, the other by
study. (Note 1)
As regards action, he ought above
all things to keep his men well organized and drilled, to follow
incessantly the chase, by which he accustoms his body to hardships,
and learns something of the nature of localities, and gets to find
out how the mountains rise, how the valleys open out, how the plains
lie, and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes, and in all
this to take the greatest care. Which knowledge is useful in two
ways. Firstly, he learns to know his country, and is better able to
undertake its defence; afterwards, by means of the knowledge and
observation of that locality, he understands with ease any other
which it may be necessary for him to study hereafter; because the
hills, valleys, and plains, and rivers and marshes that are, for
instance, in Tuscany, have a certain resemblance to those of other
countries, so that with a knowledge of the aspect of one country one
can easily arrive at a knowledge of others. And the prince that
lacks this skill lacks the essential which it is desirable that a
captain should possess, for it teaches him to surprise his enemy, to
select quarters, to lead armies, to array the battle, to besiege
towns to advantage. (Note 2)
Philopoemen, Prince of the Achaeans,
among other praises which writers have bestowed on him, is commended
because in time of peace he never had anything in his mind but the
rules of war; and when he was in the country with friends, he often
stopped and reasoned with them: "If the enemy should be upon
that hill, and we should find ourselves here with our army, with
whom would be the advantage? How should one best advance to meet
him, keeping the ranks? If we should wish to retreat, how ought we
to set about it? If they should retreat, how ought we to
pursue?" And he would set forth to them, as he went, all the
chances that could befall an army; he would listen to their opinion
and state his, confirming it with reasons, so that by these
continual discussions there could never arise, in time of war, any
unexpected circumstances that he could deal with.
But to exercise the intellect the
prince should read histories, and study there the actions of
illustrious men, to see how they have borne themselves in war, to
examine the causes of their victories and defeat, so as to avoid the
latter and imitate the former; and above all do as an illustrious
man did, who took as an exemplar one who had been praised and famous
before him, and whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his
mind, as it is said Alexander the Great imitated Achilles, Caesar
Alexander, Scipio Cyrus. And whoever reads the life of Cyrus,
written by Xenophon, will recognize afterwards in the life of Scipio
how that imitation was his glory, and how in chastity, affability,
humanity, and liberality Scipio conformed to those things which have
been written of Cyrus by Xenophon. A wise prince ought to observe
some such rules, and never in peaceful times stand idle, but
increase his resources with industry in such a way that they may be
available to him in adversity, so that if fortune changes it may
find him prepared to resist her blows. (Note
3)
Go to the Table
of Contents | Previous Chapter | Next
Chapter