THE PRINCE
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Translated by W. K. Marriott
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CHAPTER XVIII
Concerning The Way In Which Princes
Should Keep Faith
EVERY one admits how praiseworthy it
is in a prince to keep faith, and to live with integrity and not
with craft. Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes
who have done great things have held good faith of little account,
and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and
in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word. You
must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the
other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to
beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is
necessary to have recourse to the second. Therefore it is necessary
for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the
man. This has been figuratively taught to princes by ancient
writers, who describe how Achilles and many other princes of old
were given to the Centaur Chiron to nurse, who brought them up in
his discipline; which means solely that, as they had for a teacher
one who was half beast and half man, so it is necessary for a prince
to know how to make use of both natures, and that one without the
other is not durable. A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly
to adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion; because
the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot
defend himself against wolves. Therefore, it is necessary to be a
fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves. Those
who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about.
Therefore a wise lord cannot, nor ought he to, keep faith when such
observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that
caused him to pledge it exist no longer. If men were entirely good
this precept would not hold, but because they are bad, and will not
keep faith with you, you too are not bound to observe it with them.
Nor will there ever be wanting to a prince legitimate reasons to
excuse this nonobservance. Of this endless modern examples could be
given, showing how many treaties and engagements have been made void
and of no effect through the faithlessness of princes; and he who
has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best. (Note
1)
But it is necessary to know well how
to disguise this characteristic, and to be a great pretender and
dissembler; and men are so simple, and so subject to present
necessities, that he who seeks to deceive will always find someone
who will allow himself to be deceived. One recent example I cannot
pass over in silence. Alexander VI did nothing else but deceive men,
nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found victims;
for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who
with greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less;
nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes,
because he well understood this side of mankind. (Note
2)
Therefore it is unnecessary for a
prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is
very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this
also, that to have them and always to observe them is injurious, and
that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful,
humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed
that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how
to change to the opposite. (Note
3)
And you have to understand this,
that a prince, especially a new one, cannot observe all those things
for which men are esteemed, being often forced, in order to maintain
the state, to act contrary to faith, friendship, humanity, and
religion. Therefore it is necessary for him to have a mind ready to
turn itself accordingly as the winds and variations of fortune force
it, yet, as I have said above, not to diverge from the good if he
can avoid doing so, but, if compelled, then to know how to set about
it. (Note 4)
For this reason a prince ought to
take care that he never lets anything slip from his lips that is not
replete with the above-named five qualities, that he may appear to
him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane,
upright, and religious. There is nothing more necessary to appear to
have than this last quality, inasmuch as men judge generally more by
the eye than by the hand, because it belongs to everybody to see
you, to few to come in touch with you. Every one sees what you
appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not
oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty
of the state to defend them; and in the actions of all men, and
especially of princes, which it is not prudent to challenge, one
judges by the result. (Note
5)
For that reason, let a prince have
the credit of conquering and holding his state, the means will
always be considered honest, and he will be praised by everybody
because the vulgar are always taken by what a thing seems to be and
by what comes of it; and in the world there are only the vulgar, for
the few find a place there only when the many have no ground to rest
on. (Note 6)
One prince
of the present time, whom it is not well to name, never preaches
anything else but peace and good faith, and to both he is most
hostile, and either, if he had kept it, would have deprived him of
reputation and kingdom many a time. (Note
7)
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