We often 'know' things that aren't true, and one of the things that many of us have believed is that a 'Machiavellian' politician is completely deceitful, without principles, and uncaring for anything except what furthers his personal ambitions. Yet, to actually read Machiavelli's writings is to discover an encompassing warmth, fierce patriotism, and keen perceptions of the requirements of leadership and governments.  He does, however, write with an utter acceptance of the realities of life, without illusions about the basic nature of mankind. He was an avid student of history, both ancient and modern, and an astute observor of men. He wrote with such simplicity and discernment that wise men of every generation succeeding him have found his advice pertinent to their times. 

  Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy on May 3, 1469, and entered politics in 1498. He served his prince in domestic as well as foreign affairs. When his government went to war, Machiavelli developed and trained a citizen militia, which he said is always preferable to the mercenary armies that were common in his time. 

He was rewarded and trusted when his prince's affairs went well, and blamed, imprisoned, tortured and banished when those affairs did not go well. Nothing, however, deterred him from continuing to serve his beloved country. He wrote "The Prince" and his "Discourses on the Ten Books of Livy" (a representative selection of which are included in this book) while living in exiled poverty on a farm inherited from his father. These writings, which were dedicated to the prince who sent him into exile (and which earned him a recall back into that prince's service) were an outpouring of love, wisdom, and deep concern for the dangers facing his country, which was divided by warring factions, religious and secular, and threatened by foreign powers. 

  Above all, Machiavelli says, a leader must be virtuous, which in Machiavelli's times meant the essence of manliness. A virtuous man has high morals and holds strong religious beliefs.  He is prepared to be ruthless in the pursuit of his nation's prosperity and military security, and to assert his dominance so as to avoid being dominated by his enemies. The fear of God (or gods) underlies respect for oneself and others, but personal ethics must never stand in the 
way of decisions a leader will be called upon to make. To lie in personal relationships is not honorable, but to deceive one's enemies or allies in national and international affairs, if those deceits further the common good, is not only honorable but is required of a wise leader. Murder is not honorable, but a leader who hesitates to risk lives, military or civilian, when his nation is under attack from murderous enemies, is foolish, and can expect to be overthrown 
by men wiser than he. It is this separation of personal and public morality which in part earned Machiavelli the censure of the Church, and the fouling of his reputation. 

Machiavelli asks whether it is better for a leader to be loved or to be feared, and answers that it is better to be feared. A leader who yearns to be loved invites, through this weakness, contempt and conspiracies, because "men are less concerned about offending someone they have cause to love than someone they have cause to fear."  But, though fear is better, a prince should avoid at all costs being hated, which is invited by confiscating the income, land or goods of his citizens. And, "men are quicker to forget the death of a father than the loss of an inheritance."  He says again: "Hatred, as I said before, [the prince] will most readily engender by being rapacious and seizing the property and the women of his subjects. These he must not touch." 

"Those girls of Italy, take heed of them." --  The King of France, All's Well That Ends Well, Act 2, Scene 1 . (Mrs. Francesco del Giocondo, a citizen of Florence during the time of Machiavelli.  He also knew the artist.)

"Moreover," he adds,  a leader ought to "encourage his citizens peaceably to pursue their affairs, whether in trade, in agriculture, or in any other human activity, so that no one will hesitate to improve his possessions for fear that they will be taken from him, and no one will hesitate to open a new avenue of trade for fear of taxes." Instead, says Machiavelli, "reward those who do these things and those who seek out ways of enriching their city or state." 

He says, "You must recognize that there are two ways of fighting: by means of law, and by means of force. The first belongs properly to man, the second to animals; but since the first is often insufficient, it is necessary to resort to the second. Therefore, a prince must know how to use both." 

Machiavelli recognizes the value of having the reputation for keeping one's word, but says that a wise prince must know when it is in his country's best interests not to keep a pledge.  He tells of one leader who "never gave a thought to anything but deception and never lacked someone on whom to practice it. There was never a man who made promises more persuasively or swore to them more solemnly and kept so few of them as he."  Yet, this man was for a while successful because "he knew this side of the world" very 
well. 

On arming citizens, he says that by arming them, "you make their arms your own.....from subjects they are transformed into [your] partisans....When you disarm your citizens, however, you offend them by showing that, either from cowardliness or from lack of faith, you distrust them; and either conclusion will induce them to hate you."  Having the confidence of the people is a leader's greatest strength, and a prince will keep this confidence so long as he respects his people's property and their traditions and customs....and holds himself subject to the same laws to which they are held. 

Machiavelli urges princes not to promote divisiveness among the people because it weakens them and makes them prey to those who would invade and terrorize them. For weak leaders who want greater control over the people, introducing factions is useful, but should only be indulged in during peacetime. In wartime, the citizens will have to be united if they are to overcome their enemies. 

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries -- Machiavelli's life spanned that passage from one century to the next --  were times of tremendous changes: new scientific discoveries, new ideas, and new technologies. This was, remember, during that period when Columbus sailed to the New World, and the beginning of the Reformation. The people, and even the leaders, often felt overwhelmed by the constant changes, and for many the answer was to just 'go with the flow' since they felt they had little control over events in any case. Not Machiavelli. He urged his prince to adapt his methods, if not his personality, to whatever challenges and opportunities came his way. And not merely to adapt, but to actively promote the creation and introduction of new inventions, concepts and arts, especially those of war-making. 

For Machiavelli, the underpinnings of a strong, secure state are military strength and sound laws, neither of which is possible without the other. In the Discourses he expounds further on the different forms of government, but especially on what he considered the finest form of government: a representative republic. And in these writings one recognizes the origins of 
much of the wisdom of America's Founding Fathers: the three branches of government checking the tendency of any government to become tyrannical; the importance of solid institutions that protect the liberties of the citizens; and citizens, not perfect, but always ultimately with greater wisdom in the aggregate than any one man or group of elites who would usurp their power. (Jefferson, seated left, Franklin, standing left, and the committee assigned with the task of creating the Declaration of Independence.)

It is worth noting that Rome, which Machiavelli greatly admired, fell only after its citizens lost their wisdom, became the whiners and parasites that Machiavelli rightly held in such contempt. Even a strong, wise leader cannot long be successful without an independent, alert citizenry secure in their possessions and the fruits of their labors, with their liberties protected by sound laws and well-established institutions. But together, such a leader, and such a people will stand. 

© 2002 Peggy Whitcomb