THE PRINCE
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Translated by W. K. Marriott
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CHAPTER XV
Concerning Things For Which Men,
And Especially Princes, Are Praised Or Blamed
IT REMAINS now to see what ought to
be the rules of conduct for a prince towards subject and friends.
And as I know that many have written on this point, I expect I shall
be considered presumptuous in mentioning it again, especially as in
discussing it I shall depart from the methods of other people. But,
it being my intention to write a thing which shall be useful to him
who apprehends it, it appears to me more appropriate to follow up
the real truth of a matter than the imagination of it; for many have
pictured republics and principalities which in fact have never been
known or seen, because how one lives is so far distant from how one
ought to live, that he who neglects what is done for what ought to
be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation; for a man
who wishes to act entirely up to his professions of virtue soon
meets with what destroys him among so much that is evil. (Note
1)
Hence it is necessary for a prince
wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of
it or not according to necessity. Therefore, putting on one side
imaginary things concerning a prince, and discussing those which are
real, I say that all men when they are spoken of, and chiefly
princes for being more highly placed, are remarkable for some of
those qualities which bring them either blame or praise; and thus it
is that one is reputed liberal, another miserly, using a Tuscan term
(because an avaricious person in our language is still he who
desires to possess by robbery, whilst we call one miserly who
deprives himself too much of the use of his own); one is reputed
generous, one rapacious; one cruel, one compassionate; one
faithless, another faithful; one effeminate and cowardly, another
bold and brave; one affable, another haughty; one lascivious,
another chaste; one sincere, another cunning; one hard, another
easy; one grave, another frivolous; one religious, another
unbelieving, and the like. And I know that every one will confess
that it would be most praiseworthy in a prince to exhibit all the
above qualities that are considered good; but because they can
neither be entirely possessed nor observed, for human conditions do
not permit it, it is necessary for him to be sufficiently prudent
that he may know how to avoid the reproach of those vices which
would lose him his state; and also to keep himself, if it be
possible, from those which would not lose him it; but this not being
possible, he may with less hesitation abandon himself to them. And
again, he need not make himself uneasy at incurring a reproach for
those vices without which the state can only be saved with
difficulty, for if everything is considered carefully, it will be
found that something which looks like virtue, if followed, would be
his ruin; whilst something else, which looks like vice, yet followed
brings him security and prosperity. (Note
2)
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