THE PRINCE
by Nicolo Machiavelli
Translated by W. K. Marriott
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CHAPTER XXVI
An Exhortation To Liberate Italy
From The Barbarians
HAVING carefully considered the
subject of the above discourses, and wondering within myself whether
the present times were propitious to a new prince, and whether there
were the elements that would give an opportunity to a wise and
virtuous one to introduce a new order of things which would do
honour to him and good to the people of this country, it appears to
me that so many things concur to favour a new prince that I never
knew a time more fit than the present. (Note
1)
And if, as I said, it was necessary
that the people of Israel should be captive so as to make manifest
the ability of Moses; that the Persians should be oppressed by the
Medes so as to discover the greatness of the soul of Cyrus; and that
the Athenians should be dispersed to illustrate the capabilities of
Theseus: then at the present time, in order to discover the virtue
of an Italian spirit, it was necessary that Italy should be reduced
to the extremity she is now in, that she should be more enslaved
than the Hebrews, more oppressed than the Persians, more scattered
than the Athenians; without head, without order, beaten, despoiled,
torn, overrun; and to have endured every kind of desolation. (Note
2)
Although lately some spark may have
been shown by one, which made us think he was ordained by God for
our redemption, nevertheless it was afterwards seen, in the height
of his career, that fortune rejected him; so that Italy, left as
without life, waits for him who shall yet heal her wounds and put an
end to the ravaging and plundering of Lombardy, to the swindling and
taxing of the kingdom and of Tuscany, and cleanse those sores that
for long have festered. It is seen how she entreats God to send
someone who shall deliver her from these wrongs and barbarous
insolencies. It is seen also that she is ready and willing to follow
a banner if only someone will raise it. (Note
3)
Nor is there to be seen at present
one in whom she can place more hope than in your illustrious house,
with its valour and fortune, favoured by God and by the Church of
which it is now the chief, and which could be made the head of this
redemption. This will not be difficult if you will recall to
yourself the actions and lives of the men I have named. And although
they were great and wonderful men, yet they were men, and each one
of them had no more opportunity than the present offers, for their
enterprises were neither more just nor easier than this, nor was God
more their friend than He is yours. (Note
4)
With us there is great justice,
because that war is just which is necessary, and arms are hallowed
when there is no other hope but in them. Here there is the greatest
willingness, and where the willingness is great the difficulties
cannot be great if you will only follow those men to whom I have
directed your attention. Further than this, how extraordinarily the
ways of God have been manifested beyond example: the sea is divided,
a cloud has led the way, the rock has poured forth water, it has
rained manna, everything has contributed to your greatness; you
ought to do the rest. God is not willing to do everything, and thus
take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us.
(Note 5)
And it is not to be wondered at if
none of the above-named Italians have been able to accomplish all
that is expected from your illustrious house; and if in so many
revolutions in Italy, and in so many campaigns, it has always
appeared as if military virtue were exhausted, this has happened
because the old order of things was not good, and none of us have
known how to find a new one. And nothing honours a man more than to
establish new laws and new ordinances when he himself was newly
risen. Such things when they are well founded and dignified will
make him revered and admired, and in Italy there are not wanting
opportunities to bring such into use in every form. (Note
6)
Here there is great valour in the
limbs whilst it fails in the head. Look attentively at the duels and
the hand-to-hand combats, how superior the Italians are in strength,
dexterity, and subtlety. But when it comes to armies they do not
bear comparison, and this springs entirely from the insufficiency of
the leaders, since those who are capable are not obedient, and each
one seems to himself to know, there having never been any one so
distinguished above the rest, either by valour or fortune, that
others would yield to him. Hence it is that for so long a time, and
during so much fighting in the past twenty years, whenever there has
been an army wholly Italian, it has always given a poor account of
itself; as witness Taro, Alessandria, Capua, Genoa, Vaila, Bologna,
Mestre. (Note 7)
If, therefore, your illustrious
house wishes to follow those remarkable men who have redeemed their
country, it is necessary before all things, as a true foundation for
every enterprise, to be provided with your own forces, because there
can be no more faithful, truer, or better soldiers. And although
singly they are good, altogether they will be much better when they
find themselves commanded by their prince, honoured by him, and
maintained at his expense. Therefore it is necessary to be prepared
with such arms, so that you can be defended against foreigners by
Italian valour. (Note
8)
And although Swiss and Spanish
infantry may be considered very formidable, nevertheless there is a
defect in both, by reason of which a third order would not only be
able to oppose them, but might be relied upon to overthrow them. For
the Spaniards cannot resist cavalry, and the Switzers are afraid of
infantry whenever they encounter them in close combat. Owing to
this, as has been and may again be seen, the Spaniards are unable to
resist French cavalry, and the Switzers are overthrown by infantry.
And although a complete proof of this latter cannot be shown,
nevertheless there was some evidence of it at the battle of Ravenna,
when the Spanish infantry were confronted by German battalions, who
follow the same tactics as the Swiss; when the Spaniards, by agility
of body and with the aid of their shields, got in under the pikes of
the Germans and stood out of danger, able to attack, while the
Germans stood helpless, and, if the cavalry had not dashed up, all
would have been over with them. It is possible, therefore, knowing
the defects of both these infantries, to invent a new one, which
will resist cavalry and not be afraid of infantry; this need not
create a new order of arms, but a variation upon the old. And these
are the kind of improvements which confer reputation and power upon
a new prince. (Note
9)
This opportunity, therefore, ought
not to be allowed to pass for letting Italy at last see her
liberator appear. Nor can one express the love with which he would
be received in all those provinces which have suffered so much from
these foreign scourings, with what thirst for revenge, with what
stubborn faith, with what devotion, with what tears. What door would
be closed to him? Who would refuse obedience to him? What envy would
hinder him? What Italian would refuse him homage? To all of us this
barbarous dominion stinks. Let, therefore, your illustrious house
take up this charge with that courage and hope with which all just
enterprises are undertaken, so that under its standard our native
country may be ennobled, and under its auspices may be verified that
saying of Petrarch:
Virtu contro al Furore
Prendera l'arme, e fia il combatter corto:
Che l'antico valore
Negli italici cuor non e ancor morto.
[english]
(Note
10)
THE END
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