Machiavelli argues that readers of history fail to apply ancient Roman examples to present problems, and that this neglect weakens modern states. The deck covers his commentary on Livy’s first decade, including Rome’s founding, civic virtue, and his views on historical imitation.
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Chapter 1 · Question
What does Machiavelli say most history readers do wrong?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
The author argues most readers take pleasure in following the variety of incidents history presents without any thought of imitating them, judging such imitation to be not only difficult but impossible. He attributes this less to feeble modern education or widespread apathy than to a want of right intelligence of History, which leaves men unable to extract its true meaning or relish its flavour.
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BOOK I.4 cards
What does Machiavelli say most history readers do wrong?
The author argues most readers take pleasure in following the variety of incidents history presents without any thought of imitating them, judging such imitation to be not only difficult but impossible. He attributes this less to feeble modern education or widespread apathy than to a want of right intelligence of History, which leaves men unable to extract its true meaning or relish its flavour.
Chapter 1
What inconsistency does Machiavelli marvel and grieve at?
The author marvels that people revere antiquity so much they pay great prices for fragments of ancient statues to adorn their houses or have copied by artists who strive to imitate them, yet the noble labours wrought by kings, captains, citizens, and lawgivers for the good of their country are merely admired rather than followed, so that no trace of antique worth remains.
Chapter 1
Where does Machiavelli say recourse to ancient examples is still made?
The author notes that in civil disputes between citizens and in bodily disorders, recourse is always had to the decisions and remedies pronounced or prescribed by the ancients. Civil law is no more than opinions of ancient jurisconsults reduced to a system, and the healing art is the recorded experience of old physicians. Yet in giving laws, maintaining states, organizing armies, and conducting wars, no prince, republic, captain, or citizen resorts to ancient example.
Chapter 1
Why does Machiavelli write his commentary on Livy?
Desiring to rescue men from the error of thinking imitation of the ancients impossible, the author has chosen to note down, with respect to all those books of Titus Livius which have escaped the malignity of Time, whatever seems essential to a right understanding of ancient and modern affairs, so that readers may reap the profit for which knowledge of History is sought. He admits the task is arduous but hopes, with help from those at whose instance he assumed the burden, to carry it far enough that another will have no long way to go.
Chapter 1
BOOK II.4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say men wrongly praise the past over the present?
The author argues men praise the past partly because they cannot see the whole truth about it: faults that would detract from its credit are hidden, while its glories are magnified. Writers also exaggerate conquerors' deeds and color enemies' actions. Further, past things cannot harm or provoke envy, whereas present things, fully known to us, reveal much that displeases us.
Chapter 2
When is praising the past over the present actually justified, according to Machiavelli?
The author argues the habit is not always wrong. Since human affairs constantly rise or fall, one born in a flourishing city would err in preferring the past, but one born after that city has begun to decline would rightly praise the past. He adds that one living in present-day Italy or Greece, unlike an ultramontane or a Turk, has reason to complain of his own times.
Chapter 2
Why do old men wrongly prefer their youth to their maturity?
The author argues that men do not judge things the same way at all ages. As they grow old they lose bodily strength but gain wisdom and discernment, so things that seemed tolerable and good in youth appear intolerable and evil in age. They should ascribe this change to their own judgment, but instead they blame the times.
Chapter 2
What does Machiavelli claim about the total quantity of good and evil in the world?
The author argues the world remains continually the same and holds a constant quantity of good and evil, which shifts from one country to another. He traces excellence moving from Assyria to Media, Persia, and finally Italy and Rome; after Rome's decline it spread among many nations, including the Franks, Turks, the Soldan, Germany, and the Saracens.
Chapter 2
CHAPTER I.—_Of the Beginnings of Cities in general, and in…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what two ways do all cities have their origin?
Machiavelli says all cities are founded either by the people of the country in which they stand, or by strangers. Native foundations occur when scattered inhabitants unite for security, as with Athens under Theseus and Venice. Stranger foundations include colonies sent by a prince or republic, or cities built by a prince for renown, like Alexandria by Alexander. Cities not begun in freedom, he argues, seldom rise to greatness.
Chapter 3
Why does Machiavelli say a fertile site is preferable to a sterile one?
He notes a sterile site would force industry and unity, as at Ragusa, and calls this wisest if men could be content with their own. But since cities must be strong to be safe, they need a fertile region to grow population and defend themselves. The languor fertility breeds must then be countered by strict laws, as Egypt and the Mamelukes did through severe military training.
Chapter 3
What does the story of Dinocrates and Mount Athos illustrate?
Dinocrates proposed building a city on Mount Athos shaped like a human form, a striking site worthy of Alexander. Asked how inhabitants would live, he admitted he had not considered it. Alexander laughed, left Mount Athos, and built Alexandria instead, where fertile soil and proximity to the Nile and sea would attract settlers. The anecdote shows a founder's capacity is judged by choice of site.
Chapter 3
How does Machiavelli classify Rome's origin and its early discipline?
Whether Rome's beginning is assigned to Aeneas, making it a city of strangers, or to Romulus, making it native, Machiavelli says it began in freedom, not subjection to another state. He credits the strict discipline imposed by Romulus, Numa, and other founders, arguing that neither fertility, proximity to the sea, victories, nor empire could corrupt it for many centuries, preserving unmatched virtues.
Chapter 3
CHAPTER I.—_Whether the Empire acquired by the Romans was…4 cards
What opinion does Machiavelli reject about Rome's empire?
Machiavelli rejects the view of Plutarch and others that the Romans owed their empire more to good fortune than to valour. He notes they cite Rome's many temples to Fortune and Livy's habit of pairing Fortune with valour in speeches. The author argues this opinion cannot be made good, since no commonwealth was ever so well fitted by its institutions for growth.
Chapter 4
How does Machiavelli explain Rome never fighting two great wars at once?
The author argues this was not mere luck but a consequence of Rome's reputation: once a prince is feared, neighbours avoid attacking him single-handed, so he can choose his wars while others stay quiet out of fear or deception. Distant powers treat the conflict as remote until it reaches their doors, by which time Rome is too strong.
Chapter 4
What method does Machiavelli say Rome used to enter new provinces?
Machiavelli says that in a new province the Romans always sought some local friend to serve as a ladder to climb, a door to pass through, or an instrument to keep their hold. He lists examples: the Capuans for Samnium, Camertines for Etruria, Mamertines for Sicily, Saguntans for Spain, Massinissa for Africa, and others.
Chapter 4
What error does Machiavelli attribute to Carthage and other distant powers?
Machiavelli says Carthage, strong in Africa, Sicily, Sardinia and Spain, never thought to attack Rome or aid the Etruscans and Samnites while Rome fought them, instead courting Rome's friendship. He says the Carthaginians only saw their mistake when Rome assailed their power in Spain and Sicily, and the Gauls, Philip and Antiochus made the same error.
Chapter 4
CHAPTER I.—_For a Sect or Commonwealth to last long, it…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what must a sect or commonwealth do to last long?
The author argues that states and sects, being mixed bodies, must often be brought back to their beginnings. Their founding excellence becomes corrupted over time, so unless institutions or accidents renew them, they necessarily decay. He compares this to the human body, where something is daily added that sooner or later requires treatment.
Chapter 5
What two means does Machiavelli say can renew a commonwealth?
The author argues renewal comes either by extrinsic accident or by intrinsic foresight. Rome's capture by the Gauls is his example of external accident: afterward religion and justice were restored, the Fabii punished, and Camillus again entrusted with affairs. Intrinsic renewal comes through institutions like the tribuneship and censorship, or through the virtues of an exceptional citizen.
Chapter 5
How often should laws be reinforced in a republic, and why?
The author argues no more than ten years at most should pass between vindications of the laws, because after that time men begin to change their manners and disregard the laws. Without renewed fear of punishment, offenders multiply so fast they cannot be punished without danger. He notes Florence's rulers from 1434 to 1494 believed their government needed renewing every five years.
Chapter 5
How did Saint Francis and Saint Dominic renew religion, per Machiavelli?
The author argues that without Francis and Dominic, the Christian religion would soon have been extinguished. By voluntary poverty and imitation of Christ's life they rekindled dying faith and averted ruin threatened by the ill lives of prelates. Living in poverty and gaining authority through confession and preaching, they taught that it is evil to speak ill even of evil, and good to obey rulers.
Chapter 5
CHAPTER II.—Of the various kinds of Government; and to…2 cards
According to Machiavelli, what are the three good and three bad forms of government?
Machiavelli states there are six forms: three good—Monarchy, Aristocracy, and Democracy—and three bad counterparts into which they readily degenerate. Monarchy becomes Tyranny, Aristocracy becomes Oligarchy, and Democracy degenerates into Anarchy. Because each good form closely resembles its corrupt opposite, a founder who establishes any one of them simply establishes it briefly, since no precaution can stop it sliding into its contrary.
Chapter 6
How did Rome come to have a mixed constitution, according to Machiavelli?
Machiavelli says Rome had no Lycurgus; instead, through accidents caused by conflicts between commons and senate, she obtained by chance what her founders' foresight failed to provide. The kings made good laws but sought a kingdom, not a commonwealth. After the kings were expelled, two consuls preserved regal authority without the throne, giving Rome monarchic and aristocratic elements; later the tribunes were created, adding the popular element and greatly increasing stability.
Chapter 6
CHAPTER II.—_With what Nations the Romans had to contend…4 cards
Why did the Etruscans refuse aid to Veii against Rome?
The Etruscans declined to help the Veientines while the latter lived under a king, even though Veii had created that king for its own defense. After much deliberation, they judged it useless to defend a country given over to servitude by its inhabitants. Machiavelli notes Etruria was then free and so detested the regal name that it would not assist a people ruled by a king.
Chapter 7
According to Machiavelli, why do free states grow greater than principalities?
The author argues that a republic secures the well-being of the community rather than of individuals, and that this universal well-being is found nowhere save in a republic. A republic will do whatever makes for its interest; measures hurting this or that man are carried because so many benefit. Under a prince, what helps him usually hurts the State, and vice versa.
Chapter 7
How does Machiavelli explain ancient nations' greater love of liberty?
The author argues it arose from differing training, itself stemming from the different character of religions. Ancient religion, esteeming worldly glory, honored captains and rulers and joined pomp to bloody sacrifice, fostering fierceness; Christianity teaches contempt for worldly glory and places the highest good in humility and lowliness. He adds that false interpretations of religion, and Rome's destruction of free states, also contributed.
Chapter 7
How long did the Samnites withstand the Romans, and what changed?
On Titus Livius's own admission, the Samnites were powerful and steadfast enough to withstand the Romans down to the consulship of Papirius Cursor, son of the first Papirius—a period of forty-six years—despite defeats, lost towns, and great slaughter. Later, under Roman subjugation, Livy reports their legates telling Hannibal they could scarce defend themselves against one poor legion.
Chapter 7
CHAPTER II.—_That on occasion it is wise to feign Folly._4 cards
Why does Machiavelli believe Brutus feigned folly beyond protecting his property?
Livy gives only one reason: safety and protecting his patrimony. Machiavelli argues, from Brutus's behavior, that he also feigned folly to escape notice and find the chance to overthrow the kings and free Rome—shown by his riddle of kissing the earth as his mother and by being first to draw the dagger from Lucretia and bind the bystanders by oath against kings.
Chapter 8
What does Machiavelli advise men who are too weak to make open war on their prince?
They should court the prince's favor by every method they judge needful, adapting themselves to his pleasures and delighting in what he delights in. Such intimacy lets them live securely, share the prince's good fortune without risk, and gain every facility for carrying out their plans. If strong enough for open war, Machiavelli says that course is nobler and less dangerous.
Chapter 8
Why does Machiavelli reject the middle course between aloofness and clinging to the prince?
Some say one should stand neither so near as to share the prince's downfall nor so far as to miss the chance to rise on his ruin. Machiavelli calls this mean course best if it could be followed, but believes it impracticable. So one must either keep altogether aloof or cleave closely to the prince; men of great station who stay neutral live in constant peril.
Chapter 8
Why does Machiavelli say a great man cannot choose a quiet, private life?
Such excuses—concerning himself with nothing, coveting neither honors nor preferment, wishing only a quiet peaceful life—may be listened to but are not accepted. No man of great position can elect this tranquillity, since his professions will not be believed; though he might be content to be let alone, others will not suffer it. So, like Brutus, men must feign folly, saying and praising things contrary to their inclinations.
Chapter 8
CHAPTER III.—Of the Accidents which led in Rome to the…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what must founders of a state assume about human nature?
Machiavelli states that all who establish states and laws must assume that all men are bad and will give free rein to their evil inclinations whenever they have the opportunity. If such inclinations stay hidden for a time, it is only because some secret cause restrains them; Time, called the father of all truth, eventually reveals it.
Chapter 9
Why did the nobles treat the commons kindly while the Tarquins still lived?
The nobles feared the Tarquins and worried that if they mistreated the people, the commons might side against them. So they concealed their natural arrogance and treated the commons with kindness. Machiavelli says this dissimulation went undetected and its causes stayed hidden only while the Tarquins lived.
Chapter 9
What happened between nobles and commons once the Tarquins were expelled?
Relieved of their fear, the nobles began to vent against the commons all the venom they had previously kept hidden, offending and insulting them in every way. This confirmed Machiavelli's observation that men never behave well unless compelled, and that when free to act unrestrained, everything falls into confusion and disorder.
Chapter 9
Why were tribunes of the people created in Rome, and what power did they hold?
With the Tarquins gone, the fear that had kept the nobles in check was gone too, so a new safeguard was needed to produce the same effect. After much uproar, confusion, and danger of violence between commons and nobles, tribunes were created to protect the people. They were given such station and authority that they could stand between people and senate and resist the nobles' insolence.
Chapter 9
CHAPTER III.—_That Rome became great by destroying the…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, by what two methods could a city increase its population?
Machiavelli says a city may grow its population either by gentleness or by force. By gentleness, it offers a safe and open path to strangers who wish to dwell there, encouraging them to come voluntarily. By force, it destroys neighbouring towns and transplants their inhabitants into the city. Rome practised both methods, and by the time of her sixth king had eighty thousand citizens fit to bear arms.
Chapter 10
Why did Lycurgus try to prevent Sparta from admitting strangers?
Machiavelli states that Lycurgus, founder of the Spartan Republic, believed nothing would relax his laws so much as an admixture of new citizens, so he did all he could to prevent intercourse with strangers. He denied them the right to marry, the right of citizenship, and other social rights, and ordained that only leather money circulate, so none would be tempted to come to trade or practise an art.
Chapter 10
How does Machiavelli explain Sparta's and Athens's lesser greatness compared with Rome?
The author argues that Sparta and Athens, though well-armed and well-governed, never reached Rome's greatness because of their different methods of enlarging the citizen body. Rome, by admitting strangers and transplanting conquered peoples, could arm two hundred and eighty thousand men, while Sparta and Athens could never muster more than twenty thousand. He says this was not due to less advantageous situations but solely to the methods followed.
Chapter 10
What image does Machiavelli use for a small republic dominating stronger cities?
Machiavelli compares a small republic that assumes control over cities or countries stronger than itself to a tree whose boughs are greater than its trunk: the branches are supported with difficulty and snapped by every gust of wind. He says this happened to Sparta, for after spreading her dominion over the cities of Greece, once Thebes rebelled all the others rebelled too, leaving the trunk stripped of its boughs.
Chapter 10
CHAPTER III.—_That to preserve a newly acquired Freedom we…4 cards
What does Machiavelli say a founder of a free government must do to survive?
The author argues that whoever creates a free government and does not slay the sons of Brutus—those hostile to the new order—can never maintain himself long. After any change of government, whether from commonwealth to tyranny or tyranny to commonwealth, opponents of the new order must be visited with signal punishment. Brutus's severity in condemning his own sons is cited as a rare but necessary example.
Chapter 11
Why did Piero Soderini fail, according to Machiavelli?
Soderini believed patience and kindness could overcome the same temper that drove the sons of Brutus to revert to the old government. He refused to strike when chance and his enemies' ambition gave him the opportunity, fearing extraordinary powers and laws destructive of civil equality. The author argues he was misled by a preconceived opinion, not understanding that ill-will is not vanquished by time nor propitiated by favours, and so lost power, fame, and was exiled.
Chapter 11
What did Soderini fear would follow from his use of extraordinary powers?
Soderini persuaded himself and often told friends that he could not confront opposition openly nor crush adversaries without assuming extraordinary powers and passing laws destructive of civil equality. He feared that even if he did not use these measures tyrannically, the community would be so alarmed that after his death they would never again appoint a Gonfalonier for life—an office he judged essential to maintain and strengthen.
Chapter 11
How does Machiavelli answer Soderini's scruple about good means and evil outcomes?
The author argues we ought never, out of regard for what is good, to suffer an evil to run its course, since the evil may prevail over the good. He says Soderini should have believed his acts and intentions would be judged by results, and that if he lived and fortune befriended him, he could have shown what he did was to preserve his country, not from personal ambition.
Chapter 11
CHAPTER IV.—That the Dissensions between the Senate and…3 cards
What does Machiavelli claim was the prime cause of Rome becoming free?
The author argues that the dissensions between the nobles and the commons were the prime cause of Rome becoming free. He rejects the view of many who call Rome turbulent and disorderly, insisting that in every republic the conflict between the people and the nobles is where all laws favourable to freedom originate, as was seen in Rome.
Chapter 12
How does Machiavelli answer the objection that Roman behaviour was outrageous?
He replies that inhabitants of all cities, especially those using the people in important matters, have their own ways of expressing wishes. Rome's people, seeking a law, shouted against the senate, closed shops, quit the town, or refused military enrolment until demands were conceded. Such demands of a free people are hurtful only when they stem from oppression or fear of it.
Chapter 12
According to Machiavelli, how can groundless popular fear be remedied?
He says when the people's fear of oppression is groundless, the remedy lies in public meetings, where some worthy person may come forward and show by argument that the people are deceiving themselves. Though ignorant, the people are not, as Cicero says, incapable of being taught the truth, but are readily convinced by one whose honesty they trust.
Chapter 12
CHAPTER IV.—_That Commonwealths have followed three Methods…4 cards
What three methods do republics use to extend power, according to Machiavelli?
Machiavelli identifies three methods: forming a confederation of equal states sharing acquisitions (Etruscans, Swiss, Achaians, Etolians); acquiring allies while retaining chief command and supremacy (Romans); and holding other states in direct subjection (Spartans and Athenians). He judges the third useless, the first second-best, and the Roman method the safest and most certain.
Chapter 13
Why does Machiavelli say the Spartan and Athenian method of subjection failed?
The author argues that governing free cities by force requires a great army, and raising such an army requires associates who swell your citizen numbers. Athens and Sparta neglected this precaution, so whatever they did was in vain. They acquired a dominion greater than they could maintain, and came to ruin from no other cause.
Chapter 13
Why does Machiavelli rank leagues below the Roman method?
The author argues leagues cannot greatly extend power because separate governments with distinct seats make concerted action slow and difficult, and shared acquisitions are less valued than those a single republic keeps. Leagues also tend to stop at twelve or fourteen communities, then turn to protecting others for money or hiring out as soldiers, as the Swiss do.
Chapter 13
How did Rome's Italian companions end up as subjects?
The author argues Rome kept the seat of empire and titular command while companions shared equality in most respects. When Rome sent armies beyond Italy and subjected foreign nations, the Italian companions found themselves surrounded by Roman subjects and dwarfed by Roman power. Realizing the mistake came too late; their conspiracy was defeated and they became subjects, not associates.
Chapter 13
CHAPTER IV.—_That an Usurper is never safe in his Princedom…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say the elder Tarquin was ruined?
Machiavelli argues the elder Tarquin was ruined by believing he held the kingdom by a just title, since the people had given it and the senate confirmed it. He never suspected the sons of Ancus would be so stirred by resentment that no benefits could content them, though such benefits contented the rest of Rome.
Chapter 14
What error does Machiavelli attribute to Servius Tullius?
Machiavelli says Servius Tullius was ruined through believing he could conciliate the sons of Ancus by loading them with favours. The author argues old injuries are not healed by later benefits, least of all when the new benefit is less in degree than the injury suffered. Servius also wrongly thought they would accept being his sons-in-law.
Chapter 14
What does the desire to reign drive people to, per this chapter?
Machiavelli argues the desire to reign is so prevailing a passion that it penetrates the minds not only of rightful heirs but also of those who are not. He cites the wife of the younger Tarquin, daughter to Servius, who set aside filial duty and incited her husband to take her father's kingdom and life, esteeming it nobler to be a queen than a king's daughter.
Chapter 14
CHAPTER V.—_Whether the Guardianship of public Freedom is…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, where was guardianship of liberty placed in Sparta, Venice, and Rome?
Machiavelli states that among the Lacedæmonians of old, as with the Venetians of his time, guardianship of liberty was placed in the hands of the nobles, while with the Romans it was vested in the commons. He notes that judging by results, the nobles seem favored, since the liberty of Sparta and Venice lasted longer than that of Rome.
Chapter 15
What reasoning does Machiavelli give for entrusting liberty to the commons?
Machiavelli argues the commons are most fit to guard a thing because they least desire to pervert it. The nobles have a great desire to dominate, while the commons merely desire not to be dominated over. Since the commons have less to gain by destroying freedom, they are more attached to it and less apt to let others tamper with it.
Chapter 15
What two benefits does Machiavelli say come from giving the nobles guardianship of liberty?
He says two desirable ends are served: first, the nobles' ambition is more fully satisfied by letting them retain a weapon that makes them the stronger party; second, authority is withdrawn from the unstable multitude, whose use of it leads to endless disputes and tumults and drives the nobles into dangerous, desperate courses. He cites Rome's tribunes as an instance.
Chapter 15
Which class does Machiavelli conclude is more commonly the cause of disorders, and why?
Machiavelli argues that, as a rule, disorders are more commonly occasioned by those seeking to preserve power, because fear of loss breeds the same passions as seeking to acquire, and men never feel secure unless gaining something new. Their position lets them effect changes with less effort and greater efficacy, and their corrupt behavior inflames those who have nothing.
Chapter 15
CHAPTER V.—_That changes in Sects and Tongues, and the…2 cards
How does Machiavelli use the Chronicle of Diodorus Siculus as evidence?
The author cites Diodorus Siculus's chronicle, which claims to cover forty or fifty thousand years, as an example of a record regarded—justly, in the author's view—as a lying tale. He uses it to support his claim that repeated changes of belief over five or six thousand years have destroyed memory of remote events, or reduced surviving traces to unbelievable fables.
Chapter 16
What analogy does Machiavelli draw between the human race and simple bodies?
The author argues that just as superfluous matter in simple bodies prompts nature to purge it repeatedly for health, so when the world is overpopulated and human craft and wickedness peak, it must purge itself through plague, famine, or flood. The result is that men become few and contrite, amend their lives, and live more conveniently.
Chapter 16
CHAPTER V.—_How an Hereditary King may come to lose his…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Tarquin the Proud was driven out?
Machiavelli argues Tarquin was expelled not because his son Sextus violated Lucretia, but because Tarquin himself violated the laws of the kingdom and ruled as a tyrant. He stripped the senate of authority, transacted public business privately in his palace, and exhausted the commons with mechanic labours. The Lucretia outrage was only the occasion that let already-disposed citizens rebel.
Chapter 17
What lesson does Machiavelli draw for princes about breaking laws?
Machiavelli argues that from the hour princes first violate the laws, customs, and usages under which men have long lived, they begin to weaken the foundations of their authority. He adds that princes who lose power and then see how easily princedoms are preserved by prudent counsels suffer a worse punishment in their own regret than any inflicted by others.
Chapter 17
Which rulers does Machiavelli offer as examples of good princes?
Machiavelli cites Timoleon of Corinth and Aratus of Sicyone as good princes whose lives show security and content for ruler and ruled alike. Their peoples were so well governed that they asked no further freedom and constrained both men to remain rulers while they lived, though each sought repeatedly to return to private life.
Chapter 17
CHAPTER VI.—_Whether it was possible in Rome to contrive…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Venice avoided tumults between governors and governed?
The author argues Venice admitted all original settlers to the governing body, so none had grounds to complain; later arrivals found the constitution complete and were excluded without anything being taken from them. Those in authority kept them from affairs where they might gain importance, and their numbers never overwhelmed the "Gentlemen."
Chapter 18
What two causes does Machiavelli give for Sparta's long unity?
The author identifies two chief causes: the fewness of Sparta's inhabitants, which allowed government by a few, and the barring of foreigners, which limited corruption and kept numbers from growing troublesome. Lycurgus's laws, equal poverty, and kings defending the people against nobles also reduced conflict.
Chapter 18
What dilemma does Machiavelli say Rome faced regarding quiet versus greatness?
The author argues Rome could have been tranquil only by not arming the commons or by closing the country to foreigners, as Venice and Sparta did. But doing so would have closed the road to the greatness she reached, since removing the causes of tumults would also remove the causes of growth.
Chapter 18
What advice does Machiavelli give a founder choosing between Roman and Spartan/Venetian models?
The author argues a founder wanting territorial expansion must shape the constitution like Rome's, accepting dissensions and tumults, since no great warlike republic grows without them. One content with narrow limits may follow Sparta or Venice but must block all extension, since enlargement ruins such republics, as Sparta and Venice showed.
Chapter 18
CHAPTER VI.—_Of the Methods followed by the Romans in…4 cards
What two characteristics did Roman wars have before the siege of Veii?
The author argues Roman wars were "great and short": they fielded strong armies and quickly defeated the Latins, Samnites, and Etruscans. From the founding of the city to the siege of Veii, wars ended in twenty, ten, or as few as six days. Once war was declared, the Romans marched out and gave battle at once.
Chapter 19
How did Roman colonies serve as frontier defense?
After defeating an enemy, the Romans took part of its territory and assigned it to individuals or settled a colony there. The colony guarded the Roman frontier at no expense, benefiting both colonists and Rome. When an enemy took the field, the Romans came out in force, defeated them, and imposed harder terms than before.
Chapter 19
Why did the Romans begin paying their soldiers during the siege of Veii?
The author states that during the siege of Veii the Romans passed a law to pay soldiers so they could wage longer wars and keep armies in the field on distant campaigns. Before that, wars were brief and pay was unnecessary. Even so, they never abandoned ending campaigns as quickly as circumstances allowed, nor planting colonies.
Chapter 19
What two factors drove Rome's short wars and colony planting?
The author argues short wars were natural to the Romans and strengthened by consuls' ambition: consuls served twelve months, six in the city, and wanted triumphs, so they rushed wars to a close. Colonies were favored for their great advantage and convenience. The author also notes spoils policy changed, becoming less liberal once soldiers were paid.
Chapter 19
CHAPTER VI.—_Of Conspiracies._ (part 1)3 cards
Which injuries does Machiavelli say a prince must most beware of, after threats to life?
The author argues injuries to property and honour stir men more than any others, and a prince must most beware of these. He can never strip a man so bare as to leave him no weapon for redress, nor dishonour him so far as to quell the spirit prompting revenge. Of all dishonours, those done to the women of a household are the worst, followed by personal indignities.
Chapter 20
Why does Machiavelli say most conspirators are men of great station or close intimates of the prince?
The author argues men of humble rank lack the hopes and opportunities essential for conspiracy. They find no one to keep faith with them, and once they share the design with two or three they are betrayed; even without a traitor, lack of access to the prince ruins them. So most conspirators have been persons of position and familiars of the prince, driven as often by excessive indulgence as by excessive injury.
Chapter 20
What three stages of danger does Machiavelli say conspiracies face, and who escapes the first?
The author says conspirators are in peril at all times: in contriving, in executing, and after execution. Since a conspiracy involves either many or one, only the solitary plotter escapes the first stage, because he imparts his design to none and so no one can betray it to the prince. A deliberate resolve to kill a prince may be conceived by a person of any rank, high or low.
Chapter 20
CHAPTER VI.—_Of Conspiracies._ (part 2)4 cards
What does Machiavelli advise about communicating a conspiracy before execution?
The author argues a plotter should never communicate his design until the moment of execution if he can help it. If he must, he should tell only one long-trusted intimate who shares his feelings. Finding one such person is easier and less risky than finding several, since a single false accomplice leaves you some defense, whereas many accomplices leave you none.
Chapter 21
Why does Machiavelli warn conspirators to shun writing?
The author argues nothing is so damning as a letter under your own hand, since a written warrant turns your denial into nothing. Plautianus asked the tribune Saturninus for written authority to kill Severus and Caracalla; Saturninus used it to accuse him, and Plautianus was convicted, whereas a bold denial might otherwise have saved him.
Chapter 21
How does Machiavelli illustrate courage failing a conspirator?
The author argues reverence for a prince can unnerve executioners. The slave sent to kill the captive Marius was overawed by his bearing and name. Sitalces' conspirators assembled but none raised a hand, each blaming the others, and repeated the folly until caught. Two brothers of Duke Alfonso had chances through the priest Giennes yet never struck, and were punished.
Chapter 21
Why does Machiavelli say conspiring against two rulers is nearly hopeless?
The author argues simultaneous killings in different places are well-nigh impossible, and doing them at different times lets one ruler counteract the other. He cites the young Athenians against Diocles and Hippias, Chion and Leonidas against Clearchus and Satirus, and the Pazzi against the Medici: one tyrant fell, the survivor avenged him and ruled harsher.
Chapter 21
CHAPTER VI.—_Of Conspiracies._ (part 3)3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say conspiracies against a country are less dangerous beforehand than those against a prince?
The author argues a citizen may pursue power without revealing his designs to anyone, and republics are slower to take alarm, less suspicious, and more reverent toward great citizens. He adds this applies to a commonwealth already somewhat corrupted; where no corruption exists, such designs will not arise. Examples include Catiline addressing the senate and Hanno escaping punishment beyond a sumptuary law.
Chapter 22
How does Machiavelli say a prince or commonwealth should react upon learning of a conspiracy?
He advises them to ascertain the conspiracy's character and weigh the conspirators' strength against their own. If the conspirators preponderate, they should not reveal their knowledge until they have sufficient force to crush it, seeming unconscious of the plot, since detected conspirators are driven by necessity to act. He cites Rutilius, who kept the Capuan legions in station until ready to move one legion away.
Chapter 22
What two opposed methods of handling conspiracies does Machiavelli condemn, and why?
The author condemns the Duke of Athens, who executed an informer to seem confident in the Florentines' goodwill, thereby discouraging informers and encouraging conspirators. He also condemns Dion the Syracusan, who had Calippus feign a conspiracy to test a suspect; Calippus then plotted for real, depriving Dion of both state and life. Neither tyrant gained advantage.
Chapter 22
CHAPTER VII.—_That to preserve Liberty in a State there…4 cards
What two benefits does Machiavelli say a law of accusation gives a state?
Machiavelli argues it has two effects: first, citizens fearing accusation refrain from attempts harmful to the state, or are suppressed at once without respect of persons; second, it provides a lawful outlet for the evil humours that gather in cities against particular citizens, which otherwise flow into irregular channels and overwhelm the state.
Chapter 23
How does Machiavelli use Coriolanus to illustrate the need for lawful accusation?
Coriolanus urged the senate to withhold corn from the plebeians during a famine to punish them. The people, enraged, would have slain him leaving the Senate House, but the tribunes cited him to answer a formal charge. Machiavelli argues that had he been killed by private violence, wrong, fear, defence, faction, and ruin would have followed; lawful process avoided these evils.
Chapter 23
What does Machiavelli claim the Florentine cases of Valori and Soderini show?
Machiavelli argues that without lawful means to impeach powerful citizens, opponents resort to factions and open violence. Valori, facing irregular attacks, sought partisans, and his opponents used unlawful methods injuring many nobles. Soderini's fall came from lacking a law to impeach powerful citizens; had proper redress existed, the people would have impeached him or feared to proceed, avoiding the Spanish army.
Chapter 23
What conclusion does Machiavelli draw when a party in a state calls in a foreign power?
Machiavelli says we may safely conclude it is because the state's defective laws provide no escape for the malignant humours natural to men. He argues this is best remedied by arranging impeachment before a sufficient number of judges and giving countenance to the procedure. Rome, he notes, never sought foreign redress because it had a remedy at home.
Chapter 23
CHAPTER VII.—_Of the Quantity of Land assigned by the…2 cards
Why does Machiavelli think Roman colonial land allotments were small?
The author argues allotments were kept small for two reasons: colonists were sent to guard newly acquired territory, so giving less land allowed Rome to send more men; and since Romans lived frugally at home, it was unreasonable to suppose they would want their countrymen too well off abroad. He also suggests they may have believed careful cultivation, not quantity, made land suffice.
Chapter 24
How much land did Livy say each colonist received after Veii's capture?
According to Titus Livius, after the capture of Veii the Romans sent a colony there and allotted each colonist three jugera and seven unciae of land, which Machiavelli says by our measurement is something under two acres. Machiavelli cites this as his concrete example of how modest Roman allotments were.
Chapter 24
CHAPTER VII.—_Why it is that changes from Freedom to…4 cards
Why do some changes from freedom to servitude occur without bloodshed?
The author argues that a government founded by the whole community and deriving authority from it can be overthrown without widespread killing, since the community has no grievance against anyone but the prince. Rome's expulsion of the Tarquins and the Medici overthrow in Florence in 1494 are his examples: only the rulers themselves suffered.
Chapter 25
Why do violent-founded governments produce bloody revolutions when they fall?
The author argues that a government beginning in violence must first injure many people. When it later falls, those injured want revenge, and that desire for vengeance produces slaughter and death. So the bloodshed comes from accumulated private wrongs, not from the mere act of changing the form of government.
Chapter 25
What two examples does Machiavelli give of bloodless change?
He cites Rome's change from kings to consuls, where only Tarquin was banished and no one else was harmed, and the overthrow of the Medici in Florence in 1494, where no injury was done to anyone except the Medici themselves. Both are offered as cases where authority came from the community.
Chapter 25
According to the chapter, what makes a change of government dangerous?
The author argues that changes made by men who have wrongs to revenge are always of a most dangerous kind, alarming even to readers of history. By contrast, changes where the community merely withdraws authority from a prince it originally granted pose no great danger, since no one else has cause for injury.
Chapter 25
CHAPTER VIII.—_That Calumny is as hurtful in a Commonwealth…4 cards
What distinction does Machiavelli draw between calumny and impeachment?
Machiavelli argues that calumny needs neither witness nor circumstantial proof, so anyone can calumniate anyone, while impeachment demands substantive charges and trustworthy evidence. Impeachment occurs before magistrates, the people, or courts; calumny happens in streets and marketplaces. He concludes calumny is most rife where impeachment is least practiced and least favored by law.
Chapter 26
How does Machiavelli say a legislator should handle calumniators?
The author argues a legislator should shape laws so any citizen can be impeached without fear or favor, and then punish calumniators with the sharpest penalties. The punished have no cause to complain, since they could have impeached openly instead of calumniating secretly. Where this is neglected, he says grave disorders always follow, because calumnies sting without disabling and provoke revenge.
Chapter 26
What happened to Manlius Capitolinus after his accusations?
Manlius, jealous of Camillus's glory, spread reports among the commons that treasure collected for the Gauls had been embezzled by certain citizens. The senate appointed a dictator to investigate. When ordered to name where the treasure was, Manlius answered evasively that it was needless to tell them what they already knew. The dictator then ordered him to prison. Machiavelli calls him a calumniator, not an accuser.
Chapter 26
How does Machiavelli use Florence's treatment of Messer Giovanni Guicciardini?
The author argues Florence always handled this badly. At the siege of Lucca, commissary Giovanni Guicciardini was blamed for the failure, and rumor spread he had been bribed. He wished to clear himself before the Captain of Justice but no law allowed it. The calumny deepened hostility between his friends, mostly old nobility, and reformers, and Machiavelli says such causes helped bring down the republic.
Chapter 26
CHAPTER VIII.—_Why certain Nations leave their ancestral…4 cards
What two kinds of war does Machiavelli distinguish in this chapter?
The author distinguishes wars of ambition, waged by princes or republics seeking to extend dominion, from wars of entire peoples who, driven out by famine or defeat, migrate to possess a new country and expel or exterminate its inhabitants. The first kind seeks submission and generally leaves the conquered their laws, houses, and goods; the second is far more cruel because the migrants must destroy all who oppose them in order to subsist.
Chapter 27
What two causes does Livy assign for the Gauls' invasion of Italy?
Machiavelli reports that Livy assigned two causes: the Gauls were attracted by Italy's fruitful soil and wine, which Gaul lacked, and their population had multiplied so greatly they could no longer live at home, so their princes decided some should seek a new abode. Bellovesus led those who came into Italy, while Siccovesus went into Spain.
Chapter 27
Which three desperate Gallic wars did Rome have to pass through?
The first was the Gallic capture of Rome by Gauls who had earlier taken Lombardy from the Etruscans. The second came after the first Carthaginian war, when more than two hundred thousand Gauls perished in battle between Piombino and Pisa. The third broke out with the descent of the Todi and Cimbri, who defeated several Roman armies before Marius defeated them.
Chapter 27
Why does Machiavelli say small migrations are less dangerous than large ones?
The author argues that migrants who are not numerous cannot use the same violence, so they must rely on address to procure a habitation and then live with neighbours as friends and companions. He cites Aeneas, Dido, and the Massilians, who maintained themselves by securing the goodwill of neighbouring nations, unlike large migrations that slaughter inhabitants and seize possessions.
Chapter 27
CHAPTER VIII.—_That he who would effect Changes in a…4 cards
Why did the Roman people refuse Spurius Cassius's offer of grain money?
They suspected it was the price of their freedom. Machiavelli says that had the people been corrupted, they would have accepted the bribe and opened the way to tyranny rather than closing it. Their refusal shows a commonwealth not yet corrupted, where a bad citizen cannot work grave mischief.
Chapter 28
How did Romans of every rank respond when Manlius Capitolinus was accused?
No noble defended him, no kinsman wore mourning garb, the tribunes sided with the nobles, and the people, though fond of him, acted as judges and sentenced him to death. Machiavelli says love of country outweighed all other thoughts, and citizens weighed his present danger more than his past deserts.
Chapter 28
What two points does Machiavelli draw from Manlius's fate?
First, glory must be sought by different methods in a corrupt city than in a free one. Second, in matters of moment men must adapt to times and circumstances; those who run counter to the times mostly fail, while those who accommodate themselves succeed. He infers Manlius might have succeeded in the days of Marius and Sylla.
Chapter 28
Why can no single man complete a city's corruption in his own lifetime?
One man may prepare the ground for universal corruption, but cannot carry it far enough to reap the harvest himself. Men grow impatient and cannot long defer their desires, and they deceive themselves most about what they most want, so they rush unripe undertakings and end badly. Corruption must be gradual, generation to generation.
Chapter 28
CHAPTER IX.—_That to give new Institutions to a…3 cards
According to Machiavelli, what must a wise founder of a commonwealth do to benefit the State?
The author argues that a wise founder who seeks to benefit not himself or his descendants but his State and country must endeavor to acquire absolute and undivided authority. He holds as a rule with very few exceptions that no commonwealth or kingdom ever receives salutary institutions, or has them recast anew, unless by a single person.
Chapter 29
How does Machiavelli excuse Romulus for killing Remus and Titus Tatius?
The author argues that although the act may condemn the doer, the end may justify him: when the end is good, as with Romulus, it excuses the means. He who does violence with intent to injure merits blame, not he who does it to secure tranquility. Romulus's creation of a senate, with whom he took counsel, shows he acted for the common good, not personal ambition.
Chapter 29
Why did Cleomenes kill the Ephori, and what became of his reforms?
Cleomenes, stirred by Agis's writings, desired to restore Lycurgus's laws but saw he could not benefit his country unless he obtained sole power, since others' ambition blocked what was useful for many. He killed the Ephori and obstacles, then renewed the laws. The author says this would have revived Sparta and won him renown like Lycurgus, but Macedonian power and Greek weakness overwhelmed him, leaving his plans unfinished.
Chapter 29
CHAPTER IX.—_Of the Causes which commonly give rise to Wars…3 cards
What caused the first war between Rome and the Samnites?
The author says the occasion was accidental. The Samnites attacked the Sidicinians and then the Campanians without intending conflict with Rome. When the Campanians were overpowered, they unexpectedly sought Rome's aid. The Romans, having promised protection, felt bound to defend them as dependents and could not honorably decline the war.
Chapter 30
How did Hannibal deliberately provoke the second war with Carthage?
The author states the second war was not chance. Hannibal attacked the Saguntans, friends of Rome in Spain, not to injure them but to set Rome's arms in motion and create an opportunity to engage Rome and pass into Italy. The author generalizes that powerful States use this pretext when bound by honor or treaty.
Chapter 30
What remedy does the author recommend for a weak State unable to defend itself?
The author argues such a State should give itself up unreservedly to a chosen defender. He cites the Campanians submitting to Rome, and the Florentines submitting to King Robert of Naples, who first refused to defend them as friends against Castruccio of Lucca but defended them as subjects once they surrendered.
Chapter 30
CHAPTER IX.—_That to enjoy constant good Fortune we must…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, on what does men's good or bad fortune depend?
Machiavelli argues that fortune depends on whether a man's methods of acting accord with the character of the times. Men act either impulsively or cautiously, and because they cannot keep to the just mean they err in one direction or the other. He who prospers most follows his natural bent while finding that method suited to the times in which he lives.
Chapter 31
Why did Fabius Maximus's cautious methods suit Rome against Hannibal?
Hannibal entered Italy youthful, flushed with success, having defeated Rome twice and filled the city with dismay. Machiavelli says nothing was more fortunate for Rome than a general whose deliberateness and caution could keep the enemy at bay. Fabius's natural bent matched the times, and he gained glory from it.
Chapter 31
How did Fabius's opposition to Scipio's invasion of Africa reveal his limits?
When Scipio proposed to carry the war into Africa, Fabius strenuously opposed him, unable to depart from his habitual methods. Machiavelli says that had it rested with Fabius, Hannibal might never have left Italy, because he perceived not that the times had changed. Had Fabius been King of Rome, the war might have ended unhappily.
Chapter 31
Why does Machiavelli say a commonwealth outlasts a princedom?
A commonwealth endures longer because the diversity of its citizens' characters lets it adapt better to changing times than a single prince can. It produced a Fabius when the war needed protracting, and later a Scipio when it needed ending. A man fixed in one method is ruined when times change, as with Soderini; commonwealths change slowly, needing occasions that stir the whole community.
Chapter 31
CHAPTER X.—_That in proportion as the Founder of a Kingdom…4 cards
Whom does Machiavelli rank highest among the praised, and who follows?
The author argues the founders of religions are praised most, followed by founders of kingdoms and commonwealths, then commanders who expand their dominions, then men of letters celebrated each in his degree. All others receive praise according to their profession, while those who overthrow religion, ruin states, or oppose letters and arts are held in infamy.
Chapter 32
Why does Machiavelli say Caesar's glory should not mislead readers?
The author argues those who praise Caesar were corrupted by his good fortune and overawed by the empire governed in his name, which would not suffer anyone to speak openly. He urges readers to note what historians say of Catiline, whom Caesar exceeds in hatefulness, and how they magnify Brutus because they could not reproach Caesar directly.
Chapter 32
What contrast does Machiavelli draw between good and bad emperors' deaths?
Of the twenty-six emperors from Caesar to Maximinus, sixteen died violently and ten naturally. The author argues good emperors like Titus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus and Marcus were defended by their own good lives and subjects' goodwill, needing no legions, while evil emperors like Caligula and Nero could not be protected by all the armies of east and west.
Chapter 32
What does Machiavelli observe about emperors who succeeded by birth versus adoption?
The author argues that while all emperors succeeding by birth except Titus were bad, all who succeeded by adoption were good, as with the five from Nerva to Marcus. Once the empire returned to heirs by birth, its ruin recommenced. He urges a prince to contrast the era from Nerva to Marcus with what came before and after.
Chapter 32
CHAPTER X.—_That contrary to the vulgar opinion, Money is…4 cards
What does Machiavelli claim is truly the sinews of war, contrary to vulgar opinion?
The author argues that good soldiers, not money, are the sinews of war. He maintains that while gold alone cannot procure good soldiers, good soldiers can readily obtain gold, since those who fear them bring gold into their camp. Money is necessary only in a secondary place, and good soldiers will always be able to supply that necessity.
Chapter 33
How does Machiavelli use Croesus and Solon to support his argument?
Croesus showed Solon his boundless treasures and asked his opinion of his power. Solon answered that Croesus was no more powerful for these riches, since war is made with iron and not with gold, and another coming with more iron might carry off his gold. The author cites this to show treasure alone does not secure power.
Chapter 33
How does Machiavelli explain the Spartan king's forced battle against Antipater?
Quintus Curtius says the Spartan king, lacking money, feared his soldiers would desert and so hazarded battle, though waiting days would have brought news of Alexander's death. Machiavelli concedes want of money may sometimes force a captain to fight, but argues this is no ground for calling money the sinews of war, since many other necessities produce the same compulsion.
Chapter 33
What three things does Livy note as essential to success in war?
In discussing whether Alexander would have conquered the Romans, Livy notes three essentials: many and good soldiers, prudent captains, and favourable fortune. After comparing Romans and Alexander on each point, he reaches his conclusion without any mention of money. Machiavelli calls Livy the best witness to his contention.
Chapter 33
CHAPTER X.—_That a Captain cannot escape Battle when his…2 cards
Why does Machiavelli say a captain cannot avoid battle if the enemy forces it?
The author argues that a captain who keeps the field cannot decline battle when his adversary forces it at all hazards, so instructions to avoid battle really mean fighting when it pleases the enemy. The only safe ways to avoid battle are keeping at least fifty miles distant with vigilant lookouts, or shutting up in a town—both extremely disadvantageous, since the first leaves the country a prey and the second risks siege and famine.
Chapter 34
What happened to Philip of Macedon when he tried to avoid battle with the Romans?
Philip resolved not to give battle and first imitated Fabius by intrenching on a hilltop, thinking the Romans would not attack. They advanced and drove him from his position; he fled with most of his army and was saved only by difficult ground. Learning intrenching was not enough, and unwilling to shut himself in a town, he kept many miles distant, moving between provinces, but his condition worsened until he hazarded battle.
Chapter 34
CHAPTER XI.—_Of the Religion of the Romans._4 cards
Why did Numa Pompilius turn to religion, according to Machiavelli?
Machiavelli says Numa found the Roman people fierce and turbulent and wanted peaceful arts to bring them to order and obedience. He therefore called in religion as essential to maintaining civil society, giving it such a form that for many ages God was nowhere so much feared as in that republic. This made enterprises of the senate or great men easy to undertake.
Chapter 35
How does Machiavelli rank Romulus and Numa in Rome's debt?
The author argues the balance turns in favor of Numa. His reasoning: once religion is established you may readily bring in arms, but where you have arms without religion it is not easy afterwards to bring in religion. Romulus needed no Divine authority for his civil and military ordinances, but Numa needed it to introduce new and untried institutions.
Chapter 35
What examples show Romans feared breaking oaths more than laws?
After the defeat at Cannae, citizens resolved to flee to Sicily, but Scipio threatened them with his naked sword and made them swear never to abandon their country. Separately, Titus Manlius threatened tribune Marcus Pomponius with death unless he withdrew charges against his father; Marcus swore, and kept the oath despite his hatred and dishonor. Machiavelli attributes this to Numa's religion.
Chapter 35
Why does Machiavelli say a state resting on one prince's qualities is fragile?
The author argues that a kingdom without fear of God must either fall apart or be maintained by fear of a prince. But princes' lives are short, so that influence ends with them and is rarely renewed in a successor. Therefore a commonwealth's safety lies in institutions that let the state maintain itself after the ruler dies, not in one prudent ruler.
Chapter 35
CHAPTER XI.—_That it were unwise to ally yourself a Prince…4 cards
What does Livy say the Campanians actually gave the Sidicinians?
Livy says the Campanians "rather lent their name to the Sidicinians than furnished any substantial aid towards their defence." Machiavelli uses this to show that alliances with princes who are distant, embarrassed, or otherwise unable to help bring reputation rather than protection to those who trust in them.
Chapter 36
What Florentine example does Machiavelli give of reputation without help?
In 1479, when the Florentines were attacked by the Pope and the King of Naples, their friendship with the French king gave them more reputation than help. Machiavelli offers this as a modern case of the same pattern Livy describes, where a distant ally's name supplies prestige but not actual assistance.
Chapter 36
How does Machiavelli explain the Campanians' error in judgment?
Machiavelli says the Campanians were misled by imagining themselves stronger than they really were. He generalizes that men often, from defect of judgment, take upon themselves to defend others when they have neither skill nor ability to defend themselves—so the fault lies in self-assessment, not merely in the ally's distance.
Chapter 36
How did the Roman consul answer the Tarentines' threat?
When the Roman and Samnite armies were drawn up for battle, the Tarentines sent messengers saying they wanted peace between the two nations and would declare war on whichever side began hostilities. The consul laughed at their threats, ordered the battle signal sounded in the messengers' presence, and advanced—showing by acts rather than words what he thought of their message.
Chapter 36
CHAPTER XI.—_That one who has to contend with many, though…4 cards
What remedy did Appius Claudius devise to restrain the tribunes' ambition?
Appius Claudius devised a method to control the tribunes' excessive authority: ensure that one of their number was always timid, venal, or a lover of the general good, so that this tribune could be influenced to oppose the others whenever they sought to pass measures contrary to the senate's wishes. Machiavelli says this remedy greatly restrained the tribunes and proved serviceable to Rome on many occasions.
Chapter 37
According to Machiavelli, what must a single power do to defeat many united enemies?
The author argues that when many powerful persons unite against one who is weaker collectively, the single power has the better chance if he can withstand the first shock, temporize, and wait for opportunity. By dexterity he can divide the many and weaken the force that was strong only while united. Without the strength to temporize, he faces a thousand dangers.
Chapter 37
Which modern examples does Machiavelli give of one power overcoming many?
Machiavelli cites two modern instances. In 1484 all Italy combined against the Venetians, who bribed Lodovico of Milan and settled, recovering lost towns and gaining part of Ferrara's territory. Not many years before, the whole world was banded against France, but Spain broke with the confederates and made a separate treaty with France, forcing the other league members to terms.
Chapter 37
Why does Machiavelli say the Venetians failed in 1508?
Machiavelli says the Venetians were undone in 1508 because they lacked an army strong enough to temporize with their enemies, and so had no time to conciliate any of the coalition. Had they been able to wait, the Pope and Spain might have broken away, since each wanted to keep Lombardy from France. He argues they should have surrendered part to save the rest before war began.
Chapter 37
CHAPTER XII.—That it is of much moment to make account of…3 cards
What does Machiavelli say is the surest sign of a province's decay?
Machiavelli argues that no surer sign of a province's decay exists than seeing Divine worship held in contempt there. He urges princes and commonwealths to keep the rites and ceremonies of religion uncorrupted and reverenced, since religion's presence implies every excellence while its absence brings the opposite.
Chapter 38
Why did the Gentiles' oracles lose credibility, according to the chapter?
The author explains that the Gentiles' religion rested on oracles, augurs, and soothsayers. When the oracles began shaping answers to suit powerful men and the multitude saw through their impostures, men grew incredulous and ready to overturn every sacred institution.
Chapter 38
How does Machiavelli claim the Roman Church caused Italy's ruin?
The author argues the Church owes Italy two debts: through the Roman Court's ill example Italians lost religious feeling, and the Church keeps Italy divided. Never strong enough to seize the whole country yet able to call in foreign powers against rivals, she prevented Italy from uniting under one head, leaving it weak and a prey to attackers.
Chapter 38
CHAPTER XII.—_Whether when Invasion is imminent it is…4 cards
What advice did Croesus give Cyrus about fighting Tomyris?
Croesus advised Cyrus to advance and meet Queen Tomyris rather than let her come to him, arguing that defeating her far from her kingdom would let her recover, whereas defeating her inside her own dominions would allow him to pursue her flight and seize her State without giving her time to recover.
Chapter 39
What did Hannibal tell Antiochus about defeating the Romans?
Hannibal told Antiochus that the Romans could not be vanquished except in Italy, where an invader could use the arms and resources of their friends. Making war outside Italy while leaving it in Roman hands would leave them an unfailing source of reinforcement. He added that Rome could more easily be taken than the empire, and Italy more easily than other provinces.
Chapter 39
What distinction does Machiavelli draw between defended and undefended countries?
The author argues that a prince whose country is strongly defended and people armed, like Rome and the Swiss, should await a great war at home. But one whose country is undefended and whose strength lies in money, like the Carthaginians and the Florentines, should keep the enemy far off, since invasion cuts off the money that sustains such a state.
Chapter 39
Why does Machiavelli reject Hannibal's authority in this debate?
Machiavelli says Hannibal's great authority does not move him here, since resentment and his own advantage might have led him to speak as he did to Antiochus. He argues that had the Romans suffered the same three defeats in Gaul as in Italy, it would have ended them, since they could not have repaired their strength or raised such numerous armies away from home.
Chapter 39
CHAPTER XII.—_A prudent Captain will do what he can to make…4 cards
What did Machiavelli say prudent captains do about necessity for their soldiers and enemies?
The author argues that prudent captains work to impose necessity on their own soldiers, giving them steadfast courage, while using address to loosen necessity's hold on enemies. They often leave open a way they could have closed for the enemy, and close a way they could have left open for their own men.
Chapter 40
Why does Machiavelli claim cities are harder to recover after a revolt than to take first?
The author argues that on a first attack cities have no fear of punishment, having given no ground of offence, so they readily surrender. After a revolt they know they have offended and fear punishment, so they are not so easily brought under. A prudent captain measures difficulty by the strength of the necessity compelling defenders.
Chapter 40
How does Machiavelli explain Florence spending more on wars and gaining less than Venice?
The author argues this results from Venice finding neighbouring towns less obstinate, since those towns were used to living under princes and not in freedom, and those used to servitude think little of changing masters. Florence, by contrast, was surrounded by free cities, and rivalry among republics makes subjection extremely hard.
Chapter 40
What examples does Machiavelli give of necessity driving fierce fighting, and how did Camillus avoid it?
The Veientines, shut in by Manilius, fought furiously and slew him until a tribune opened an escape, after which they fled. Vectius Mescius told his trapped Volscians that necessity, the last and mightiest weapon, gave them advantage. Camillus, inside Veii, ordered his men to spare the unarmed so the Veientines threw down their weapons.
Chapter 40
CHAPTER XIII.—_Of the use the Romans made of Religion in…4 cards
How did the nobles use plague and famine to influence the election of tribunes?
After tribunes with consular powers were mostly plebeians, Rome suffered plague, famine, and strange portents. The nobles claimed the gods were angry at Rome for lowering the majesty of its government, and could only be appeased by restoring the tribuneship to a fair footing. The people, smitten with religious awe, then chose all tribunes from the nobles.
Chapter 41
How did the Alban lake's rising help the Romans at Veii?
In the last year of the siege, weary soldiers clamoured to return to Rome. When the Alban lake rose unusually high, it was found that oracles at Delphi and elsewhere foretold Veii would fall in the year the lake overflowed. The hope of near victory led the soldiers to endure the war until Camillus, named dictator, took Veii after a ten-year siege.
Chapter 41
How did the nobles use the Sibylline books against Terentillus's law?
The nobles had the Sibylline books searched and a feigned answer returned: that year the city ran great risk of losing its freedom through civil discord. Though the tribunes exposed the fraud, it aroused such alarm in the commons that they slackened in support of their leaders. The author presents this as religion turned to account by the nobles.
Chapter 41
How did the oath to the slain consul help Quintius avoid the Terentillian law?
After the Capitol was retaken and Valerius slain, Quintius replaced him and ordered the people to march against the Volscians, claiming they were bound by oath not to desert the consul. The tribunes argued the oath was sworn to the dead consul, not Quintius, but the people, under religious awe, obeyed the consul rather than the tribunes.
Chapter 41
CHAPTER XIII.—_That Men rise from humble to high Fortunes…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, how do men rise from humble to high fortunes?
The author argues that men seldom rise from small beginnings to great place without using fraud or force, unless they inherit or are given a place another has already reached. Force alone never suffices, but fraud often does, as seen in Philip of Macedon, Agathocles of Sicily, and others who rose from very low beginnings to sovereignty or high command.
Chapter 42
How does Xenophon's life of Cyrus illustrate the need for deceit?
Machiavelli says Xenophon shows Cyrus's very first expedition, against the King of Armenia, teeming with fraud, and that Cyrus acquired his kingdom by fraud rather than force. Xenophon also depicts Cyrus deceiving his maternal grandfather Cyaxares, king of the Medians, in various ways, implying that without such deceit he could not have reached his greatness.
Chapter 42
What fraud does Machiavelli attribute to Rome's early expansion?
The author argues Rome used no greater fraud than making companions for herself: under that name she made subjects of the Latins and surrounding nations. Using their arms to subdue neighbors and gain reputation, Rome grew so powerful none could overcome her. The Latins only realized their enslavement when they saw the Samnites twice routed and forced to make terms.
Chapter 42
How did the Latins react upon discovering Rome's crafty policy?
Seeing and feeling Roman arms, the Latins grew jealous and distrustful. Not only the Latins but all Roman colonies in Latium, along with the Campanians whom Rome had recently defended, leagued against Roman authority. They began the war by defending the Sidicinians against the Samnites rather than attacking Rome directly, as Annius Setinus's speech about slavery disguised as equal alliance shows.
Chapter 42
CHAPTER XIII.—_Whether we may trust more to a valiant…4 cards
What does Livy say the Coriolanus incident teaches about Roman power?
Livy says the spread of Roman power was due more to the valour of her captains than of her soldiers. Before Coriolanus became their captain the Volscians had always been routed, and only succeeded once he led them. Machiavelli notes, however, that many passages in Livy's history show Roman soldiers performing astonishing feats even without leaders.
Chapter 43
What counterexample does Machiavelli give to Livy's pro-captain view?
Machiavelli cites the army under the Scipios in Spain: after both its leaders had fallen, the soldiers were able by their valour not merely to secure their own safety but to overcome the enemy and preserve the province for Rome. He also notes soldiers sometimes kept better discipline and fought with greater spirit after their consuls were slain.
Chapter 43
How does Caesar's remark frame the captain-versus-army question?
Caesar, going to Spain against Afranius and Petreius, said he went to fight an army without a captain, indicating the weakness of those generals. Conversely, marching against Pompeius in Thessaly, he said he went against a captain without an army. Machiavelli says that by Caesar's opinion we ought lightly to esteem both.
Chapter 43
Which does Machiavelli conclude is better to trust: a captain or a good army?
Machiavelli concludes it is better to trust a captain who has time to discipline his men and means to equip them than a tumultuary host with a chance leader of its own choosing. A good army left without a good leader, like the Macedonians after Alexander, grows restless and turbulent. He adds that captains who both organize and subdue deserve twofold glory.
Chapter 43
CHAPTER XIV.—_That the Romans interpreted the Auspices to…4 cards
Why did the Romans consult the auguries before battles and other enterprises?
The chapter states the Romans resorted to auguries in consular comitia, new enterprises, raising armies, and going into battle, because the auguries were a main foundation of the old Gentile religion and a cause of the commonwealth's prosperity. They would not set out on a warlike expedition until they had satisfied their soldiers that the gods had promised them victory.
Chapter 44
How did the consul Papirius handle unfavorable auspices before fighting the Samnites?
The fowls refused to peck, but the chief soothsayer, seeing the eagerness of the soldiers and captain, falsely reported the auspices favorable. When the lie was revealed, Papirius said the auspices were fair for him and the army, and that the soothsayer's lie fell on his own head. He placed the soothsayers in front of the battle; the chief soothsayer was killed by a Roman spear, and Papirius declared the army purged of blame.
Chapter 44
How did Appius Pulcher treat the auspices, and what happened to him?
Appius Pulcher, in Sicily during the first Carthaginian war, ordered the auspices taken; when told the fowls refused to feed, he said, 'Let us see, then, whether they will drink,' and threw them into the sea. He fought and was defeated, and was condemned at Rome. The chapter contrasts him with Papirius, who was honored, attributing the difference to discretion versus rashness in handling the auspices.
Chapter 44
What does the author say was the real purpose of taking the auspices?
The author argues the sole object of the system of taking auspices was to ensure the army joined battle with that confidence of success which constantly leads to victory. He says this device was followed not by the Romans only but by foreign nations as well, and promises an example in the following chapter.
Chapter 44
CHAPTER XIV.—_That Men often err in thinking they can…4 cards
Why did Roman concessions fail to pacify the Latins?
The Romans, wishing not to offend the Latins, declined to forbid their war on the Samnites. Machiavelli says this avoidance of offence only increased Latin confidence and hastened their hostility, as Annius Setinus's speech shows: Roman patience convinced the Latins of Roman weakness and their own strength.
Chapter 45
When does Machiavelli say a prince should not make voluntary concessions?
A prince should never stoop from his dignity, nor make a voluntary concession, unless he is able or believes himself able to withhold it. Once matters reach a point where he cannot yield with credit, Machiavelli argues it is better that something be taken by force than yielded through fear of force.
Chapter 45
What happens when you yield through fear to escape war?
Machiavelli argues you likely do not escape war: the adversary, seeing manifest cowardice, will not rest content but will seek further concessions, think less of you, and grow more hostile. Your friends also appear less zealous, since you seem weak or cowardly.
Chapter 45
What does Machiavelli advise when facing several adversaries?
He advises that even after war has been declared, it is always prudent to restore to one of the adversaries something you hold of his, so as to regain his friendship and detach him from the others leagued against you. He notes the earlier advice applies chiefly to a single adversary.
Chapter 45
CHAPTER XIV.—_Of the effect produced in Battle by strange…3 cards
How did Quintius's shout turn the battle against the Volscians?
Seeing one wing of his army wavering, the Roman general Quintius shouted that the other wing was already victorious. The words gave confidence to his own troops and struck the enemy with dismay, winning him the battle. Machiavelli uses this to show that a cry can have great effect even on a well-disciplined army, and far greater on an ill-disciplined one.
Chapter 46
Why did the Oddeschi attack on Perugia collapse?
Entering Perugia by night, the Oddeschi needed a hammerman to break the street chains. At the last chain, crowded and unable to swing freely, he called to those behind to stand back. The word 'back' passed rank to rank, the rearmost began to run, then the rest, falling into utter disorder, so the attempt came to nothing.
Chapter 46
What condition makes deceptive stratagems useful in battle?
Machiavelli notes such contrivances should be formidable as well as seem so, since real danger hides weak points longer. If they are mostly pretence, either dispense with them or keep them in the background, as Sulpitius did with his mule-mounted camp followers, so they are not readily found out. Brought near, their weakness is discovered, as with Semiramis's fake elephants and the Fidenates' fiery spears, which harmed their contrivers.
Chapter 46
CHAPTER XV.—_How the Samnites, as a last resource in their…4 cards
Why did the Samnites turn to religion after their defeats?
After being decisively routed by the Romans in Etruria, with commanders slain and allies like the Etruscans, Umbrians, and Gauls also defeated, the Samnites could no longer trust their own strength or foreign aid. Yet they refused to give up the liberty they had unsuccessfully defended, preferring new defeats to inglorious submission. They revived an ancient sacrificial rite to inspire stubborn courage in their soldiers.
Chapter 47
What oath did Samnite soldiers swear, and under what threat?
At the instance of high priest Ovius Paccius, captains swore between slain victims and smoking altars never to abandon the war. Common soldiers, brought one by one before the altars and ringed by centurions with drawn swords, first swore not to reveal what they saw or heard, then vowed to follow their captains, never turn back from battle, and kill anyone they saw turn back. Those who refused in terror were slain on the spot.
Chapter 47
How did Papirius counter the effect of the Samnite oath on his troops?
Papirius told his soldiers that feathers made no wounds and that a Roman spear would pierce a painted shield, mocking the Samnites' white-clad, plumed appearance. He also argued the oath must distract rather than strengthen those bound by it, since they had to fear their enemies, their comrades, and their gods at once. In the ensuing battle the Samnites were routed near Aquilonia.
Chapter 47
What does Machiavelli conclude from the Samnites' recourse to religion?
Machiavelli argues that in the Samnites' own judgment they had no other refuge or remedy for restoring their broken hopes, which he calls strong testimony to the spirit religion rightly used can arouse. He notes their firmness from religion and oath was balanced by Roman valour and terror from past defeats. He also explains he includes this foreign affair because it connects to an important Roman institution.
Chapter 47
CHAPTER XV.—That weak States are always dubious in their…4 cards
What advice did Annius the praetor give the Latin council about words and resolves?
Annius told the council that it mattered far more to consider what they were to do than what they were to say, since once their resolves were formed it would be easy to clothe them in fit words. The author calls this sound advice that every prince and republic should lay to heart, because doubt about what to do makes it impossible to suit words to conduct.
Chapter 48
According to the chapter, what causes tardy resolves and what harm do they do?
The author argues tardy resolves arise from want of spirit or want of strength, or from the perversity of those who decide, who are moved by a secret desire to overthrow the government or serve a selfish purpose and so thwart all decision. Being late, they help no one and hurt the deciders themselves, especially when made on behalf of a friend.
Chapter 48
What happened to the Lavinians because they delayed deciding whether to aid the Latins?
Urged by the Latins to aid them against Rome, the Lavinians delayed so long that as their army finally left the gates, word came that the Latins were defeated. Their praetor Millionius said the short march would cost them dear with the Romans. Had they decided at once, they would either have avoided offending Rome or shared a timely victory.
Chapter 48
How did Florentine delay cost the city in dealing with Louis XII of France?
The author argues the Florentines, had they remembered the Lavinian example, might have avoided losses when Louis XII came into Italy against Lodovico of Milan. Their envoys arranged neutrality and protection with a month allowed to ratify, but men favouring Lodovico delayed ratification until the king was near victory; he then refused their constrained consent, costing Florence dear and nearly her freedom.
Chapter 48
CHAPTER XV.—_That one and not many should head an Army: and…3 cards
What happened when three Roman tribunes jointly led troops against Fidenae and Veii?
The three tribunes quarreled and disagreed in their counsels, so they returned discredited though without loss, since the soldiers' valor prevented defeat. The senate, seeing that divided command caused the trouble, appointed a dictator so one man could correct what three had confused.
Chapter 49
How did Luca d'Antonio Albizzi behave while sharing command with Giovambattista Ridolfi at Pisa?
Because Giovambattista was older and more renowned, Luca deferred entirely, showing his jealousy through silence and indifference rather than open opposition—giving no help by word or deed during the siege. Once Giovambattista returned to Florence, Luca in sole charge displayed great courage, prudence, and zeal.
Chapter 49
What does Livy say about supreme authority in great affairs?
Machiavelli quotes Livy's remark, made when Agrippa arranged that Quintius should conduct the war against the Equians, that 'most wholesome is it that in affairs of great moment, supreme authority be vested in one man.' Machiavelli uses this to support his argument against divided commands.
Chapter 49
CHAPTER XVI.—_That a People accustomed to live under a…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli compare a newly freed people to a caged wild animal?
The author argues that a people long governed by others, like an animal reared in confinement, does not know how to act for itself, find its own food, or defend itself. Set free, it falls prey to the first who seeks to recapture it, returning under a yoke often heavier than before. Machiavelli limits this to states where corruption has not made great progress.
Chapter 50
Why does a newly free state gain bitter enemies but not warm friends?
Machiavelli argues that all who flourished on the tyrant's wealth become bitter enemies, since losing the causes of their power drives them to restore the tyranny. Meanwhile free government grants honours by fixed rules and merit, so recipients feel no obligation, and the common benefits of security and liberty go unrecognized because no one confesses obligation to one who merely refrains from injury.
Chapter 50
What remedy does Machiavelli prescribe for the disorders of a newly free state?
He says there is no more potent, wholesome, and necessary remedy than to slay the sons of Brutus, who conspired because the privileges they held under the kings were withheld under the consuls. Anyone who controls a people and does not make sure work with all hostile to the new institutions, whether prince or head of a commonwealth, founds a government that cannot last.
Chapter 50
How does Machiavelli say a prince should handle a people who desire freedom?
The author argues the people desire two things: vengeance on the cause of their servitude, which the prince can fully grant, and freedom, which he can only partly grant. He should examine who wants freedom: only forty or fifty citizens seek office, and these can be eliminated or honoured, while the countless rest want only to live securely under laws, as in France.
Chapter 50
CHAPTER XVI.—_That the Soldiers of our days depart widely…4 cards
How did the Romans arrange their three divisions to allow repeated renewal of the fight?
The hastati stood in front in close order; behind them the principes in open file, then the triarii with ranks still more open. When the hastati were driven back they retired within the principes' loose ranks, and both renewed the fight; if routed again they fell back into the triarii, all three forming one body. If that last line failed, the battle was lost.
Chapter 51
What proverb arose from the triarii being the last division employed?
Because the army was in jeopardy whenever the triarii had to be used, the saying arose, "Res redacta est ad triarios," equivalent to "playing a last stake." Machiavelli uses it to mark the moment when no further reserves remain to restore the fight.
Chapter 51
Why does Machiavelli say modern armies cannot renew their strength in battle?
He argues modern armies are drawn up in one of two faulty ways: divisions side by side in a wide but shallow line, or in columns with no provision for one line to be received into another. If the front breaks it jostles the second, the second the third, and confusion ruins the army. He cites Ravenna as an example.
Chapter 51
What does Machiavelli claim about friendly cavalry causing Florentine defeats?
He says Florentine defeats at S. Regolo and elsewhere in the Pisan war came from their own cavalry, posted in front, being repulsed and falling back onto the infantry, throwing them into confusion. Ciriaco del Borgo reportedly said he was never routed by any cavalry but his own. The Swiss therefore place themselves on the flank.
Chapter 51
CHAPTER XVI.—_That in Times of Difficulty true Worth is…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say worthy citizens are neglected in peaceful times?
The author argues that in tranquil times many citizens, envying the reputation great men have justly earned, seek to be regarded as their equals or superiors. As a result, republics lightly esteem their worthiest citizens, who are denied the place they deserve while unworthy men of lesser ability are considered as much or more.
Chapter 52
What two remedies does Machiavelli propose for neglecting worthy citizens?
The author proposes two remedies: first, to keep the citizens poor, so that wealth without worth corrupts neither them nor others; second, to be so prepared for war as always to be ready to make war, so that worthy citizens are always needed, as in early Rome, which kept armies constantly in the field.
Chapter 52
How does Nicias's argument against the Sicilian expedition illustrate the chapter's theme?
Nicias, one of Athens's best-esteemed citizens, opposed the expedition and gave as his strongest reason that his advice was not for his own advantage: in peace, numberless citizens were ready to take precedence over him, but in war none would rank before him or be looked on as his equal.
Chapter 52
How does Antonio Giacomini's treatment in Florence illustrate the chapter?
The author argues that while dangerous wars lasted, rivalry was suspended and Giacomini was chosen unopposed; but when the siege of Pisa promised honour with little risk, competitors multiplied, three commissaries were chosen, and Antonio was left out. Machiavelli conjectures that had he been sent, Pisa would have been forced to surrender rather than bought.
Chapter 52
CHAPTER XVII.—_That a corrupt People obtaining Freedom can…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Rome could regain liberty after expelling its kings?
Machiavelli argues Rome succeeded because its people were not yet corrupted when the Tarquins were driven out; only the head was tainted while the trunk remained sound. Later, after Caesar, Caligula, and Nero, the utterly corrupt people could not establish freedom even with Brutus's authority and the legions of the East.
Chapter 53
What does Machiavelli claim about a corrupted city under a prince?
He asserts as most certain that a corrupted city living under a prince can never recover its freedom, even if the prince and all his line are exterminated. One prince is simply replaced by another until a new lord is established, unless some single citizen's goodness and valour maintains freedom—but only for his lifetime, as with Dion and Timoleon in Syracuse.
Chapter 53
What does Machiavelli infer about tumults in a sound versus corrupted people?
He infers that where the body of the people is still sound, tumults and like disorders do little hurt, since their object is good and they benefit the commonwealth. Where the people are corrupted, however, even well-devised laws are of no advantage unless imposed by someone with paramount authority to enforce them until the community is restored to health.
Chapter 53
CHAPTER XVII.—_What importance the Armies of the present…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, is artillery more harmful to the attacker or the defender?
The author argues artillery is far more hurtful to the defender than to the attacker. A small town falls once its walls are battered down, and a large town's defender cannot raise guns high enough to match the besieger's, since confined spaces prevent large guns and strong protective works. So city defense must revert to hand-to-hand fighting, leaving the defender worse off than before.
Chapter 54
What does Machiavelli claim about massed infantry assaulting a breach under artillery fire?
He argues that where men advance rapidly in massed numbers, artillery cannot check them; though some must fall, not enough to prevent victory. Loose skirmishers advancing singly, by contrast, are destroyed. He cites the French recovery of Brescia, where M. de Foix dismounted and marched through the Venetian batteries, taking the town with no considerable loss.
Chapter 54
How does Machiavelli answer the claim that artillery prevents armies from joining battle?
He calls it utterly untrue. A good army must be trained to close to sword-thrust and rely more on infantry than horse. Infantry can escape artillery fire by using uneven ground or lying down, and once the engagement begins artillery cannot harm them. He cites the Swiss at Novara in 1513, who routed the entrenched French without suffering from their fire.
Chapter 54
Does Machiavelli think artillery reduced opportunities for personal valor?
He partly concedes that men exposing themselves singly, as in escalades, face more risk, and that commanders can be reached by enemy fire. But he says such losses are not extraordinary, noting few Italian commanders killed by artillery in twenty-four years, and argues the decline in individual prowess stems from faulty discipline and weak armies, not from artillery.
Chapter 54
CHAPTER XVII.—_That we are not to offend a Man, and then…3 cards
Why did Claudius Nero risk Rome by marching to join the other consul?
Claudius Nero had earlier been outwitted by Hasdrubal in Spain, losing the chance to destroy him, and was thereafter discredited by senate and people. Made consul and sent against Hannibal, he took a hazardous course to join his colleague and attack Hasdrubal. Asked why he staked Rome's existence, he said success would restore his lost credit, while failure would revenge him on the city and citizens who had wronged him.
Chapter 55
What lesson does Machiavelli draw from Claudius Nero's conduct?
Machiavelli argues a republic should think twice before giving an important command to a citizen who has suffered notable wrong at the hands of fellow-citizens. If resentment for such an offence moved a Roman citizen while Rome was still uncorrupted, he reasons, it will act even more strongly on citizens of states not constituted as Rome then was.
Chapter 55
What does Machiavelli conclude about founding a lasting republic?
Because no certain remedy can be applied when such disorders arise in republics, Machiavelli concludes it is impossible to establish a republic that shall endure always. In a thousand unforeseen ways, he argues, ruin may overtake it. The Claudius Nero episode serves as his illustration of how private grievance in a public commander can endanger the whole state.
Chapter 55
CHAPTER XVIII.—_How a Free Government existing in a corrupt…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say new laws fail in a corrupt city?
The author argues that laws need good customs to be respected, while good customs need good laws for support. Since a city's original institutions rarely change even as its laws are altered, unchanged institutions corrupt the new laws, making legal reform useless on its own.
Chapter 56
How did Rome's elective institutions become harmful after corruption set in?
Originally only worthy men sought office, since rejection was disgraceful. After Rome subdued Africa, Asia, and Greece and felt secure, the consulship went to those who courted favor, then to those with most influence, excluding good men. Similarly, law proposals fell to the powerful, with no one daring to speak against them.
Chapter 56
Why does Machiavelli call both gradual and sudden institutional reform nearly impossible?
Gradual reform needs a sagacious man who sees mischief in the germ, but such a man may not exist or may fail to persuade others attached to old ways. Sudden reform of visible defects requires extraordinary means, violence and arms, and becoming prince, which presupposes a bad man unlikely to use power virtuously.
Chapter 56
What remedy does Machiavelli propose for a corrupt city?
The author argues that a corrupt city should be given a monarchical rather than a popular form, so that men too arrogant for laws may be checked by near-absolute power. He cites Cleomenes killing the Ephori and Romulus killing his brother and Titus Tatius, noting neither faced a people as corrupt as the one he describes.
Chapter 56
CHAPTER XVIII.—_That the authority of the Romans and the…4 cards
Why did the Romans make their cavalry dismount at the battle near Lake Regillus?
According to Machiavelli, the Romans made their horsemen dismount to steady their wavering ranks and renew the combat on foot, and by doing so they obtained victory over the Latins. He uses this to show the Romans had more confidence in themselves fighting on foot than on horseback, and that in their sorest need they found infantry their surest stay.
Chapter 57
What reasons does Machiavelli give for infantry being superior to cavalry?
Machiavelli argues infantry can go where horses cannot, can be taught to keep rank and recover from disorder, whereas horses are hard to keep in line and impossible to reform once disordered. He also notes courage varies between horse and rider, causing confusion. He adds that infantry in column can break cavalry easily but are not easily broken by it, and cites ancient and modern examples.
Chapter 57
How does Machiavelli explain Italy's reliance on cavalry over infantry?
The author argues this error came from the craft of captains and ignorance of rulers. Condottieri without lands of their own, seeking to maintain credit cheaply, took pay for a few hundred horsemen rather than large numbers of foot-soldiers, since small infantry forces gave them no importance. They claimed all merit for horsemen, leaving armies with only a small sprinkling of infantry, weakening Italy's militia.
Chapter 57
What happened when Carmagnola first attacked the Swiss, and how did he win?
Carmagnola first charged the sixteen thousand Swiss with his horsemen, expecting to rout them, but found them immovable and withdrew after losing many men. He then reinforced his company, made all his men-at-arms dismount, placed them in front of his foot-soldiers, and attacked again. Fighting on foot and well armed, his men penetrated the Swiss ranks and cut them down, sparing only those his humanity allowed.
Chapter 57
CHAPTER XVIII.—_That it is the highest Quality of a Captain…4 cards
What did Epaminondas say was most useful and necessary for a commander?
Epaminondas the Theban said nothing was so useful and necessary for a commander as the ability to see through the intentions and designs of his adversary. Machiavelli adds that because this knowledge is hard to obtain directly, the more credit is due to whoever reaches it by conjecture. He also notes it is sometimes easier to fathom an enemy's designs than to construe his actions, especially actions done in our presence.
Chapter 58
How did mistaken belief about victory at Philippi lead to Brutus and Cassius's defeat?
At Philippi, Brutus was victorious with his wing while Cassius's wing was beaten. Cassius believed the entire army defeated, gave way to despair, and slew himself, and Machiavelli says it was from this sort of mistake that Brutus and Cassius lost the battle. The error was judging the whole army's fate from one wing's outcome.
Chapter 58
How did Tempanius turn the Romans' mutual confusion with the Equians to victory?
After a battle lasting till nightfall, both Romans and Equians believed themselves nearly defeated and withdrew to the hills, each supposing the other victorious, so neither guarded its camp. Tempanius, retreating with the second Roman division, met wounded Equians who revealed their commanders had fled and abandoned camp. He returned, secured the Roman camp, sacked the Equians' camp, and went back victorious to Rome.
Chapter 58
How did an old woman's news give the Florentines victory over the Venetians near Marradi in 1498?
Both armies, short of supplies and neither daring to attack, resolved to retreat at daybreak. As both began removing baggage, an old woman left Marradi and came to the Florentine camp to visit kinsfolk, revealing the Venetians were retreating. The Florentines took courage, changed plan, pursued the enemy, and sent word to Florence of a victory. Machiavelli says the victory was wholly due to having notice first; had the Venetians learned first, the result would have been reversed.
Chapter 58
CHAPTER XIX.—_After a strong Prince a weak Prince may…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, why was Rome fortunate in its first three kings?
The author argues Rome was fortunate because its first king, Romulus, was fierce and warlike; its second, Numa, peaceful and religious; and its third, Tullus, high-spirited and disposed to war. A ruler was needed first to found civil life, but afterward rulers had to return to Romulus's virtues, or the city would grow feeble and fall prey to neighbors.
Chapter 59
What examples does Machiavelli give of a weak prince inheriting a strong predecessor's state?
Machiavelli cites Solomon, who though unskilled in war maintained the tranquil state David left him by the arts of peace, and Bajazet, sultan of the Turks, a man of peace rather than war, who enjoyed the labors of his father Mahomet. Both retained kingdoms established by warlike predecessors.
Chapter 59
What happens when two feeble princes rule in succession, and what exception does Machiavelli allow?
Machiavelli affirms that after a valiant prince a feeble prince may maintain himself, but no kingdom can stand when two feeble princes follow in succession, unless, as in the case of France, it is supported by its ancient ordinances. By feeble princes he means those not valiant in war.
Chapter 59
How does Machiavelli use Rehoboam and Selim to illustrate succession?
Solomon could not transmit his inheritance to Rehoboam, who resembled neither his grandfather in valor nor his father in good fortune, and with difficulty kept a sixth of the kingdom. Had Selim resembled his father Bajazet rather than his grandfather, the Turkish monarchy must have been overthrown; instead Selim seems likely to outdo his grandsire's fame.
Chapter 59
CHAPTER XIX.—_That Acquisitions made by ill-governed States…4 cards
What does Machiavelli say happens to states that acquire territory without increasing their strength?
The author argues that any state which adds to its dominions without increasing its strength must be ruined. He cites Venice, feebler since acquiring Lombardy, and Florence, feebler since acquiring Tuscany, than when each was content with a small domain. He attributes this to eagerness to acquire without knowing the right method, which they could have learned from the Romans.
Chapter 60
Why does Machiavelli say the free German communities can remain peaceful and small?
The author argues these communities stay contented within narrow confines because of conditions peculiar to Germany found nowhere else: reverence for the Imperial authority, which mediates disputes, and the constant presence of an enemy ready to exploit internal divisions, forcing unity. Since other nations lack these conditions, they cannot adopt this peaceful mode of life and must extend power by leagues or Roman methods.
Chapter 60
How does Machiavelli illustrate the danger of conquering luxurious cities?
The author argues conquests can harm even well-governed states when the acquired city abounds in luxury, infecting the conqueror's manners. He cites Capua, which corrupted Roman soldiers' discipline, quoting Livy that it turned their minds from remembrance of country. Had Rome been closer to remedy or already corrupt, the acquisition would have ruined her. He adds Juvenal's line that luxury avenged the conquered world.
Chapter 60
What methods does Machiavelli list for aggrandizing a state and extending empire?
The author argues the true ways are: to increase the number of citizens, take other states as companions rather than subjects, send out colonies to defend acquired territory, hold spoils in the common stock, overcome enemies by inroads and pitched battles rather than sieges, enrich the public purse, keep down private wealth, and zealously maintain military exercises. States unwilling to follow these should set bounds to ambition and look only to defence.
Chapter 60
CHAPTER XIX.—_Whether Indulgence or Severity be more…4 cards
Why did Appius Claudius fail while Quintius succeeded in command?
Appius, by his harshness and severity toward his soldiers, was so ill obeyed that after nearly suffering defeat he had to resign his command. Quintius, by contrast, kept his men obedient through kindly and humane treatment and returned victorious to Rome. The chapter uses this contrast to open the question of whether indulgence or severity better controls a multitude.
Chapter 61
How does Machiavelli reconcile Tacitus's preference for punishment with Quintius's success?
Machiavelli distinguishes the governed: those who regard you as an equal, and those long subject to you. Over equals you cannot rely wholly on punishment or severity, so considerate captains often achieved more. Over subjects of the kind Tacitus describes, punishment rather than compliance is needed to prevent insolence. Tacitus's opinion is thus approved only when duly restricted.
Chapter 61
What limit does Machiavelli place on a prince's use of punishment?
Punishment should be moderate in degree, since making himself hated is never in any prince's interest. To avoid hatred, a prince must chiefly guard against tampering with his subjects' property; where nothing is to be gained, he will not desire to shed blood unless constrained by necessity. But where advantage is to be gained, blood will always flow.
Chapter 61
Whom does Machiavelli judge more deserving of praise, Quintius or Appius?
Machiavelli states that Quintius was more deserving of praise than Appius. Yet he also holds that Tacitus's opinion, properly restricted and not applied to a case like Appius's, merits approval. The chapter then turns to show how a single act of humanity availed more than arms with the citizens of Falerii.
Chapter 61
CHAPTER XX.—_That the consecutive Reigns of two valiant…3 cards
What advantage did Rome gain by expelling her kings, according to the chapter?
Machiavelli says Rome was freed from the danger of a weak or wicked prince succeeding to power. Government then devolved chiefly on consuls, who took authority not by inheritance, craft, or ambitious violence, but by the free suffrages of fellow-citizens, and were always men of signal worth. Through their valour and good fortune Rome reached the height of her greatness in the same number of years she had lived under her kings.
Chapter 62
What example does Machiavelli give of two valiant princes producing great results?
He cites Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander, saying that two successive reigns of valiant princes suffice to conquer the world. From this he argues that a commonwealth, which can choose not two excellent rulers only but an endless number in succession, should find such conquest still easier. The example is used to show the cumulative power of consecutive capable leaders.
Chapter 62
Why does Machiavelli think a commonwealth can outperform two valiant princes?
Because a commonwealth has it in its power to choose not two excellent rulers only, but an endless number in succession. Where a monarchy depends on the accident of two good reigns in a row, a well-ordered commonwealth can provide for a continuous succession of valiant rulers, by whose valour and good fortune its power and growth are rapidly extended.
Chapter 62
CHAPTER XX.—_Of the Dangers incurred by Princes or…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli consider auxiliary troops the most pernicious of all troops?
The author argues auxiliaries are the most pernicious because the prince or republic using them has no authority over them; only the sender does. If victorious, they often plunder both the party they were hired to help and the enemy, sometimes at the sender's instigation, sometimes from their own ambition.
Chapter 63
What happened to the people of Regium at the hands of a Roman legion?
Machiavelli cites Regium as a second example: another Roman legion sent to protect the Regians deprived them of their city and their lives. He offers it alongside Capua as evidence of what auxiliaries can do to those who rely on them for safety.
Chapter 63
What does Machiavelli advise princes and republics about hiring auxiliaries for defense?
He advises that princes and republics resort to any other expedient for defending their states before calling in hired auxiliaries when their entire hope of safety rests on them. He argues that for one who succeeds with such help, hundreds are betrayed, and that no better opportunity for usurping a city exists than being asked to defend it.
Chapter 63
CHAPTER XX.—_How one humane act availed more with the men…4 cards
What did Camillus do when the Falerii schoolmaster offered the boys as ransom?
Camillus rejected the offer, had the schoolmaster stripped and his hands tied behind him, gave each boy a scourge, and ordered them to lead the man back to town whipping him. The citizens of Falerii, pleased by his humanity and integrity, surrendered without further defense.
Chapter 64
According to Machiavelli, what can a humane act accomplish that armed force cannot?
The author argues that a humane and kindly action may touch men's minds more than harsh or cruel measures, and that cities which weapons and violence failed to force open may be thrown open by a single act of tenderness, mercy, chastity, or generosity. He cites many examples beyond Camillus.
Chapter 64
Which two Roman examples besides Camillus does Machiavelli cite for generosity?
Fabritius disclosed to Pyrrhus the plot of his slave to poison him, moving Pyrrhus to leave Italy when Roman arms could not drive him out. Scipio gained more reputation in Spain by restoring a young and beautiful wife unviolated to her husband than by capturing New Carthage.
Chapter 64
Why does Machiavelli mention Hannibal at the end of the chapter?
Machiavelli notes that Hannibal achieved splendid victories and great renown by methods wholly opposite to humane generosity. Because this seems to contradict his argument, he says he is bound to explain in the next chapter how this happened.
Chapter 64
CHAPTER XXI.—_That it is a great reproach to a Prince or to…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say a country with men but no soldiers is at fault?
The author argues the fault lies with the ruler, not with the situation or climate. He cites Tullus, who found no Roman had ever fought after forty years of peace, yet raised an army from his own countrymen rather than hiring Samnites or Etruscans, and soon made them admirable soldiers.
Chapter 65
What recent example does Machiavelli give of a king invading with home-raised troops?
The King of England invaded France with an army raised wholly from his own people, despite thirty years of peace leaving him without men or officers who had faced an enemy. He attacked a kingdom well supplied with officers and soldiers seasoned in the Italian wars, which Machiavelli credits to the king's prudence and England's ordinances that never relax wartime discipline in peace.
Chapter 65
How do Pelopidas and Epaminondas illustrate that warriors can come from any country?
After freeing Thebes from tyrants and Spartan control, they found a city used to servitude and an effeminate people. Yet they armed these men and led them out to conquer the Spartan forces. The author says this shows warriors are not bred in Lacedæmon alone but wherever men exist, if someone arises who can direct them to arms.
Chapter 65
What does Machiavelli claim Virgil's line about Tullus expresses?
Machiavelli says Virgil could not better express the opinion, or show more fitly that he was convinced of its truth, than in the line that Tullus would rouse his sluggish warriors to arms. The quotation supports the chapter's argument that a capable leader can turn untrained countrymen into soldiers.
Chapter 65
CHAPTER XXI.—_That Capua was the first City to which the…4 cards
Which city first received a Roman praetor, and why?
Capua was the first city to which the Romans sent a praetor, and not from Roman ambition but at the Capuans' own request: they were at variance with one another and thought a Roman citizen was needed to restore unity and good order. Antium, urged by the same need, was next to ask for a praetor.
Chapter 66
What did Livy observe about Rome's new method of governing?
Livy observed that not the arms only but also the laws of Rome now began to exert an influence, showing how much this course promoted the growth of Roman authority. The chapter ties this to the praetors sent to Capua and Antium after the Romans passed beyond Italy's confines.
Chapter 66
Why does the author argue invisible government satisfies free cities better?
The author argues cities used to freedom rest better satisfied with a government they do not see, even if it involves some oppression, than with one constantly before their eyes that seems to reproach them daily with servitude. He adds the prince benefits too, since judges not under his control cannot throw discredit or hatred upon him.
Chapter 66
How does Florence's treatment of Pistoia versus Pisa, Lucca, and Siena illustrate the argument?
Pistoia submitted voluntarily to Florence, while Pisa, Lucca, and Siena long resisted, not because Pistojans valued freedom less, but because Florence acted toward Pistoia as brothers and toward the others as foes. The author argues Florence could have been mistress of Tuscany had she won these neighbors over instead of exasperating them.
Chapter 66
CHAPTER XXI.—_How it happened that Hannibal pursuing a…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Hannibal and Scipio achieved the same results by opposite methods?
The author argues that both succeeded because each possessed transcendent valour and a great name, which cloaked errors in being too loved or too feared. He adds that men love change, and are moved by love and fear, so either method can command obedience when the captain is exceptionally valiant.
Chapter 67
What injury did Scipio suffer from being loved rather than feared?
In Spain his soldiers, together with certain allies, rose against him for no other reason than that they did not fear him. Machiavelli says men are so restless that the smallest opening for ambition makes them forget a prince's kindness, so Scipio was forced to use a cruelty foreign to his nature to correct the mischief.
Chapter 67
What disadvantage did Hannibal's cruelty and perfidy bring him?
Machiavelli says no specific instance shows his cruelty directly hurting him, and towns like Naples likely stayed loyal to Rome out of dread of him. But his inhumanity made the Romans detest him more than any other enemy: they surrendered a poisoner to Pyrrhus, yet never forgave Hannibal until they compassed his death.
Chapter 67
What great gain did Hannibal's feared character secure for him?
Though his army was made up of men of every race and country, no dissensions broke out among the soldiers and no mutiny arose against their leader. Machiavelli ascribes this to the awe his character inspired, joined with the great name his valour had won, which kept his soldiers quiet and united.
Chapter 67
CHAPTER XXII.—_What is to be noted in the combat of the…3 cards
What three points does Machiavelli draw from the Horatii and Curiatii combat?
Machiavelli notes three points: first, we should never peril our whole fortunes on the success of only a part of our forces; second, in a well-governed State merit should never be allowed to balance crime; third, those covenants are never wise which we cannot or should not expect to be observed. He says he will discuss the last two points in the next two chapters.
Chapter 68
Why does Machiavelli say the covenant between Tullus and Metius was unwise?
Machiavelli argues that for a State to be enslaved is so terrible a calamity that it should never have been supposed either king or nation would rest content under slavery resulting from the defeat of only three men. Metius confirmed this by seeking to circumvent the Romans in the first joint expedition against Veii, as though perceiving too late his rash part.
Chapter 68
How was the surviving Horatius treated after killing his sister?
The surviving Horatius returned victorious to Rome and, meeting his sister, who was wife to one of the dead Curiatii, bewailing her husband's death, slew her. Tried for this crime, he was after much contention liberated, rather on the entreaties of his father than for his own deserts. Machiavelli uses this to illustrate that merit should not balance crime.
Chapter 68
CHAPTER XXII.—_That in matters of moment Men often judge…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say men often judge matters amiss?
The author argues that unless deliberations are guided by men of great ability, conclusions are likely wrong. In corrupt or quiet republics, capable men are often pushed aside by jealousy, so bad measures get judged good or are promoted by those seeking favor rather than public advantage. Such errors are exposed later in adversity, when those forgotten in peacetime must be recalled.
Chapter 69
What false hope did Numitius give the Latins after their defeat?
Numitius, the Latin praetor, proclaimed throughout Latium that the moment had come to attack the Romans, claiming they were exhausted by a victory that was in name only and still suffering the ills of defeat, so any fresh force could crush them. The Latins believed him, raised a new army, and were routed with the losses that always await those who follow such counsel.
Chapter 69
What did Pope Leo's advisers argue about staying neutral?
They urged it was not to the Church's advantage to have powerful strangers, French or Swiss, in Italy, and that to restore Italy's ancient freedom both must be expelled. Since conquering both was impossible, one should overthrow the other, then the Church and her friends could fall on the weakened victor—an unmatched opportunity, they claimed, to make the Pope supreme in Lombardy and Italy.
Chapter 69
Why was the Pope's expectation of a weakened victor baseless?
Machiavelli argues that a victorious captain rarely loses many men, since losses occur in battle, not flight, and battles are short with few falling. Even if many of the victor's army are slain, the reputation and terror of victory outweigh that loss. So an enemy attacking the victor expecting weakness is mistaken, unless strong enough to fight him before or after.
Chapter 69
Chapter XXII.—_That the severity of Manlius Torquatus and…4 cards
Why did Manlius Torquatus need severity while Valerius Corvinus could govern gently?
Machiavelli argues Manlius's harsh nature led him to impose unusually difficult commands, which must be enforced with sternness or they will be disobeyed. Valerius, content that soldiers did only what Roman custom required, needed no extraordinary punishments; good customs maintained discipline, so any punishment fell to the ordinary rules rather than to his severity.
Chapter 70
Which method does Machiavelli prefer for a citizen in a republic, and why?
The author argues Manlius's severity is more praiseworthy and less dangerous for a republican citizen. Harshness toward all alike, aimed only at the common good, wins no partisans and leaves no suspicion of personal ambition. Valerius's kindness, though equally effective publicly, risks the personal devotion that can threaten liberty, as Venice's treatment of its popular captain showed.
Chapter 70
How does Machiavelli distinguish the usefulness of Valerius's methods for a prince versus a private citizen?
He argues Valerius's affability suits a prince, who should gain both love and obedience from soldiers and subjects, as Xenophon describes of Cyrus. But for a private citizen it is pernicious: it paves the way to tyranny, and fellow-citizens, growing suspicious, protect themselves to his hurt. Manlius's severity, conversely, is hurtful in a prince but useful in a citizen.
Chapter 70
What happened in Venice when a former fleet commander calmed rioting sailors?
Machiavelli recounts that after a dispute between sailors and the people led to armed violence no officers or magistrates could quell, a gentleman who had commanded the sailors the year before appeared and was instantly obeyed out of love. This deference aroused such jealousy and suspicion in the Venetian senators that they soon got rid of him by death or exile.
Chapter 70
CHAPTER XXIII.—_That we should never hazard our whole…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say defending a defile is often harmful?
The author argues that unless a strong place can hold almost your entire army, defending it is mischievous, since confined, sterile ground allows room and subsistence for only a few. An enemy in force can push past, while you must linger there; losing the pass then spreads panic and you are beaten without using all your resources.
Chapter 71
What risk did Tullus and Metius run, according to Machiavelli?
They staked the existence of their country and the credit of their armies on the valour and fortune of only three soldiers each, an insignificant fraction of their forces. The author argues this was reckless, since all their predecessors' work in building free institutions could be ruined by so small a number.
Chapter 71
How did the Romans meet Hannibal rather than hold the Alps?
The Romans awaited Hannibal first on the banks of the Ticino and then on the plain of Arezzo, choosing ground that at least gave a chance of victory over mountain fastnesses where the terrain itself might destroy the army. The author argues few capable commanders attempt to hold such passes.
Chapter 71
How did Francis I's 1515 invasion illustrate the futility of guarding passes?
Those opposing him relied on the Swiss to stop him in the mountains, but he left two or three guarded defiles aside, took an unknown pass, and reached Italy and his enemies before they knew. They fled to Milan in terror, and Lombardy, its expectation disappointed, went over to him. The author argues mountains have many by-ways.
Chapter 71
CHAPTER XXIII.—_That in chastising their Subjects when…4 cards
What did Camillus tell the senate about dealing with the defeated Latins?
Camillus said the gods left it to the senate to decide whether Latium should survive, and that a lasting peace could be secured either by clemency or severity: they could blot out the whole Latin nation, or, following ancestral custom, admit the vanquished to citizenship and so strengthen Rome. He argued that the strongest government is the one its subjects rejoice to obey, and urged the senate to act while minds were intent on what would happen.
Chapter 72
How did the Roman senate actually carry out Camillus's advice on the Latin cities?
The senate resolved to take each city separately, destroying utterly or treating tenderly the more important Latin towns. Cities dealt with leniently received exemptions, privileges, and citizenship with their welfare secured. The others were razed, colonies planted in their place, and inhabitants removed to Rome or so scattered that they could never again harm Rome by arms or counsel.
Chapter 72
What answer did the man of Privernum give the senate, and how did the senators respond?
Asked what punishment his fellow citizens deserved, he replied: such punishment as those deserve who deem themselves worthy of freedom. Asked what peace could be hoped for if punishment were remitted, he said a firm and lasting peace if granted on fair terms, but brief if unfair. The wiser senators, hearing the voice of freedom and manhood, admitted Privernum to Roman citizenship with all rights, declaring such men worthy to be Romans.
Chapter 72
What half-measure did the Samnites take at the Caudine Forks, and what does Machiavelli conclude from it?
The Samnites had the Romans shut up in the Caudine Forks but rejected the old man's counsel either to send the captives away honorably or put them all to death. Instead they disarmed them, made them pass under the yoke, and let them go disgraced and angered. Machiavelli concludes that powerful states used to freedom must be destroyed utterly or treated with much indulgence, and that half-measures are the most pernicious course.
Chapter 72
CHAPTER XXIII.—_Why Camillus was banished from Rome._4 cards
Why did Camillus's soldiers both admire and hate him, according to Livy?
Livy says Camillus's virtues were "at once hated and admired by his soldiers." They admired his care for their safety, prudence, magnanimity, and good order in command. They hated him because he was more stern to punish than bountiful to reward. Livy cites three grievances: applying Veientine sale money to public use instead of dividing it, riding a chariot drawn by four white horses, and recovering a vowed tenth of the plunder from his soldiers.
Chapter 73
What three specific circumstances does Livy give as causes of hatred toward Camillus?
First, Camillus applied money from selling the goods of the Veientines to public purposes rather than dividing it with the rest of the spoils. Second, at his triumph he had his chariot drawn by four white horses, which people said was pride seeking to equal the sun god. Third, he had vowed to Apollo a tenth of the Veientine plunder, which he then had to recover from soldiers already holding it.
Chapter 73
What does Machiavelli identify as the chief cause making a prince hateful to his people?
Machiavelli argues the chief cause is depriving the people of some advantage. He says a man deprived of what is useful to him never forgets it, and every trifling occasion recalls the loss, and since such occasions recur daily he is reminded daily. Machiavelli also warns against appearing haughty and proud, which he says is especially distasteful to a free people.
Chapter 73
Why does Machiavelli say a prince should avoid all shows of pride?
Machiavelli argues that nothing is more distasteful to a people, especially a free people, than appearing haughty and proud. He notes that although such pride and haughtiness do the people no actual hurt, they still detest anyone displaying these qualities. Therefore, he argues a prince should shun every show of pride as he would a rock, since to invite hatred without resulting advantage is utterly rash and futile.
Chapter 73
CHAPTER XXIV.—_That well-ordered States always provide…2 cards
According to Machiavelli, how should a well-ordered state treat a citizen's past services versus later crimes?
The author argues a well-ordered state never balances services against misdeeds: it rewards good actions and punishes bad ones separately, chastising a man for later crimes without regard to former deserts. When these ordinances are observed, a city lives long in freedom; when neglected, it soon comes to ruin.
Chapter 74
What rewards does Machiavelli cite as given to Horatius Cocles and Mutius Scævola?
For their splendid deeds—Cocles holding the bridge while it was cut down, and Scævola burning his hand after his mistaken attempt on Porsenna's life—each received two ploughgates of public land. The author notes that even a poor republic should not withhold a small reward, which the recipient esteems most honourable.
Chapter 74
CHAPTER XXIV.—_That, commonly, Fortresses do much more Harm…3 cards
According to Machiavelli, what two methods can a ruler use to keep a people under control?
The author argues a ruler must either, like the Romans, always be able to bring a strong army into the field, or else dissipate, destroy, and disunite the subject people so they can never combine against him. Merely stripping wealth leaves arms (spoliatis arma supersunt); taking weapons leaves rage (furor arma ministrat); killing chiefs only multiplies heads like the Hydra.
Chapter 75
What happened at Genoa that Machiavelli calls the most noteworthy proof about fortresses?
The French built a strong citadel at Genoa in 1507. In 1512 the Genoese rebelled again; Ottaviano Fregoso reduced the citadel by famine over sixteen months, then dismantled it rather than keep it. The author argues this cost him nothing: formerly a thousand foot-soldiers could change Genoa's government, but since then enemies with ten thousand have failed to harm him.
Chapter 75
How does Machiavelli answer the objection that Tarentum and Brescia were recovered by citadels?
He replies that Tarentum needed a consular army under Fabius Maximus sent after a year, and Capua was retaken with no citadel at all. Brescia's citadel only helped because M. de Foix marched a French army there in three days. The author argues such cases are rare and inconclusive, since many fortresses have been taken and retaken like open country.
What two causes does Machiavelli identify as leading to the break-up of the Roman republic?
The author argues that two causes led to the break-up of the Roman republic: the dissensions arising from the agrarian laws, and the prolongation of commands. He says that if these matters had been rightly understood from the first and remedies applied, Roman freedom would have lasted far longer and been less disturbed.
Chapter 76
How did Lucius Quintius respond when the senate proposed extending his consulship?
When the commons prolonged the tribunes' authority for a year, the senate, out of rivalry, proposed extending Quintius's consulship. He refused absolutely, insisting new consuls be appointed, and told them they should seek to discredit evil examples, not add to them by setting worse. The author presents his prudence and virtue as a notable example.
Chapter 76
Who was the first military commander whose term was extended, and how?
Publius Philo was the first military commander whose term was extended. While besieging Palæopolis and about to see his consulship expire, the senate, seeing victory in his hands, would not displace him with a successor but appointed him Proconsul—an office he was the first to hold. The author says this act, though meant for the public good, in time brought Rome to slavery.
Chapter 76
What two disadvantages did prolonged commands produce, according to Machiavelli?
The author argues prolonged commands produced two disadvantages: first, fewer men were trained to command; second, a captain's long continuance gave him so much influence over his soldiers that they came to hold the senate of no account and looked only to him. This enabled Sylla and Marius to find adherents and Cæsar to overthrow his country's liberties.
Chapter 76
CHAPTER XXV.—_That he who would reform the Institutions of…4 cards
What must a reformer of a free state preserve to gain general approval?
The reformer must preserve at least the semblance of existing methods, so the people do not perceive a change in the old order, even though the new ordinances differ altogether from those they replace. Machiavelli argues that the mass of mankind accept what seems as what is, and are often touched more nearly by appearances than by realities.
Chapter 77
How did the Romans replace the king's lictors while limiting consuls?
When the Romans appointed two consuls in place of a single king, they would not permit the consuls more than twelve lictors, so that the old number of the king's attendants might not be exceeded. This is Machiavelli's example of preserving the semblance of old ways at the outset of Roman civil freedom.
Chapter 77
Why was a Rex sacrificulus appointed in Rome?
A sacrificial rite was solemnized yearly in Rome that only the king in person could perform. So the people would not remark the absence of the king and desire his return, a priest called Rex sacrificulus was appointed to celebrate the rite, placed under the orders of the chief priest.
Chapter 77
What does Machiavelli say a tyrant must do, unlike a constitutional reformer?
Machiavelli says he who would establish a constitutional government, whether a commonwealth or a kingdom, should preserve ancient names and semblances. But he who would create an absolute government of the kind political writers term a tyranny must renew everything, as explained in the following chapter.
Chapter 77
CHAPTER XXV.—_That he who attacks a City divided against…4 cards
Why did the Veientines' attack on divided Rome backfire?
The Veientines and Etruscans believed Rome's internal strife made it vulnerable, so they invaded. But their taunts and abuse so incensed the Romans that the commons and nobles reconciled, gave battle, and defeated them. Machiavelli concludes that ease and tranquillity cause division, while fear and war cause union—so attacking a divided city tends to reunite it against the attacker.
Chapter 78
What peaceful method does Machiavelli recommend for exploiting a divided city?
The author argues the best approach is to gain the confidence of both factions and mediate between them as arbiter while they refrain from blows. Once they resort to open violence, you should give tardy aid to the weaker side, deepening hostilities so both exhaust their forces—without showing so much strength that they suspect you intend to ruin them and become their master.
Chapter 78
How did Florence gain control of Pistoja, according to Machiavelli?
Machiavelli says Pistoja was won over to the Florentine republic by no other artifice than alternately favoring one faction and then the other. This kept Florence free of suspicion from either side while driving both factions to such extremities that, wearied by their harassed life, they voluntarily threw themselves into Florence's arms.
Chapter 78
What happened when Filippo Visconti attacked the Florentines relying on their divisions?
Machiavelli states that Duke Filippo Visconti of Milan repeatedly set wars on foot against the Florentines, relying on their divisions, and always failed. He would lament that the mad humours of the Florentines had cost him two million gold with nothing to show for it. Machiavelli uses this to warn that anyone relying on similar grounds against a divided people will be deceived.
Chapter 78
CHAPTER XXV.—_Of the poverty of Cincinnatus and of many…4 cards
Why did poverty persist in Rome for four hundred years after its founding?
The author argues that no ordinance benefits a commonwealth as much as one enforcing poverty on citizens. Though he cannot identify the specific law, he assumes nothing helped so much as the knowledge that the path to honours was closed to none and merit was sought wherever found—this made riches less courted.
Chapter 79
What did Cincinnatus do after defeating the enemy and freeing Minutius?
Cincinnatus refused to let the rescued army share in the spoils, saying he would not have them share the plunder of those to whom they had nearly fallen prey. He deprived Minutius of the consulship and reduced him to subaltern rank until he learned how to command. Earlier he had made the impoverished Lucius Tarquininus master of the knights.
Chapter 79
What two lessons does the author draw from Marcus Regulus seeking leave to tend his farm?
First, the poverty of these men and their contentment under it, their sole study being renown from war while leaving its advantages to the State—had they sought enrichment, wasted fields would have troubled them little. Second, their magnanimity: surpassing princes when commanding armies, yet humble, frugal, and reverential to superiors in private life.
Chapter 79
What does the silver cup given to Paulus Emilius's son-in-law demonstrate?
Paulus, while enriching Rome by his triumphs, himself remained poor. When he rewarded his son-in-law with a silver cup, it was the first vessel of silver ever seen in his house—showing how greatly poverty was still esteemed in the days of Paulus Emilius, almost the last happy days of the republic.
Chapter 79
CHAPTER XXVI.—_A new Prince in a City or Province of which…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what is the best way for a new prince to preserve his state?
The author argues a new prince, especially one whose position is too insecure for constitutional government as a republic or monarchy, should renew the whole institutions of the state: create new magistracies with new names, confer new powers, employ new men, exalt the humble and depress the great, and leave nothing as he found it.
Chapter 80
Which historical example does Machiavelli cite for a prince remaking a state?
Machiavelli cites Philip of Macedon, father of Alexander, who by such means rose from a petty prince to monarch of all Greece. It was written of him that he shifted men from province to province as a shepherd moves his flocks from one pasture to another.
Chapter 80
How does Machiavelli judge the cruel expedients he recommends?
He calls them most cruel, contrary to every Christian and civilized rule of conduct, and says every man should shun them, preferring a private life to being a king on terms so hurtful to mankind. But whoever will not keep to the path of virtue must enter the path of evil to maintain himself.
Chapter 80
What does Machiavelli say of men who choose neither wholly good nor wholly bad?
He says men who do not know how to be wholly good or wholly bad choose certain middle ways for themselves, which of all others are the most pernicious. He promises to show this by an instance in the following chapter.
Chapter 80
CHAPTER XXVI.—_That Taunts and Abuse breed Hatred against…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say threats and abuse are useless against an enemy?
The author argues that abuse and menace take nothing from an adversary's strength: threats only make him more cautious, while insults inflame his hatred and push him to look harder for ways to harm you. He calls such words weapons that wound those who use them, and urges prudent commanders to forbid them.
Chapter 81
What happened at the siege of Amida after Gabade decided to withdraw?
Gabade, the Persian general, had wearied of the long siege and begun striking camp. The townspeople, elated, came onto the walls to taunt the enemy with cowardice and abuse. Stung by these insults, Gabade reversed his decision, renewed the siege furiously, and in a few days stormed and sacked the town.
Chapter 81
How did the Veientines' taunts affect the Roman soldiers?
The Veientines added verbal abuse to the war, advancing to the palisade of the Roman camp to revile the soldiers and harassing them more with tongues than swords. The Romans, at first most unwilling to fight, were so provoked that they forced the consuls to lead them to attack, and the Veientines paid the penalty for their insolence.
Chapter 81
What measures did the Romans take against insults among their own troops?
After the legions at Capua mutinied and were suppressed by Valerius Corvinus, the settlement declared that anyone who upbraided a soldier for taking part in the mutiny would face the severest punishment. Similarly, Tiberius Gracchus made it a capital offense to reproach his slave-soldiers with their servile origin, showing how mischievous the Romans thought insulting words.
Chapter 81
CHAPTER XXVI.—_How Women are a cause of the ruin of States._3 cards
What dispute in Ardea led to outside intervention?
A feud over the marriage of an heiress: her guardian wanted her to wed a plebeian, her mother a noble. The dispute escalated to arms, with nobles backing the noble suitor and plebeians the plebeian. The defeated plebeians sought Volscian help, the nobles sought Roman help; Rome besieged the Volscians into surrender, then executed the ringleaders and restored order.
Chapter 82
Which historical examples does Machiavelli cite of women causing political upheaval?
Machiavelli cites the violence done to Lucretia, which drove the Tarquins from their kingdom, and the violence done to Virginia, which broke the power of the decemvirs. He also notes that among the chief causes Aristotle assigns for the downfall of tyrants are wrongs done to subjects regarding their women—adultery, rape, or similar injury to honour—as discussed in the chapter on conspiracies.
Chapter 82
What lesson does Machiavelli draw for rulers from Ardea's fate?
The author argues that neither absolute princes nor rulers of free states should underrate such matters, but should heed disorders and remedy them while remedies can still be used without discredit. Ardea's rulers, by letting citizen rivalry come to a head, promoted division and then needed foreign help to reunite—than which nothing sooner leads to servitude.
Chapter 82
CHAPTER XXVII.—_That Men seldom know how to be wholly good…3 cards
Why did Pope Julius II enter Perugia without troops in 1505?
Machiavelli recounts that Julius II went to Bologna to expel the Bentivogli and also intended to remove Giovanpagolo Baglioni, tyrant of Perugia. Coming to Perugia with this known resolve, he entered the town attended only by his bodyguard, not waiting for sufficient forces, driven by the impetuosity that stamped all his actions. He then carried Baglioni away with him, leaving a governor to hold the town for the Church.
Chapter 83
Why did Baglioni fail to seize the chance to destroy the Pope?
Machiavelli argues it could not be goodness or conscience that restrained him, since he lived in incest with his sister and had killed nephews and kinsmen to gain the princedom. The only inference is that men do not know how to be splendidly wicked or wholly good, and shrink from crimes stamped with inherent greatness. Baglioni could not, or more truly durst not, do a deed all would have admired.
Chapter 83
What does Machiavelli conclude from Baglioni's inaction?
Machiavelli draws the general inference that men know not how to be splendidly wicked or wholly good, and so shrink from such crimes as are stamped with inherent greatness or disclose a nobility of nature. He argues Baglioni, who thought nothing of incest or murdering kinsmen, still durst not seize a fair occasion to do a deed all would have admired, winning deathless fame by teaching prelates how little such rulers are esteemed.
Chapter 83
CHAPTER XXVII.—_That prudent Princes and Republics should…3 cards
What did Hanno advise the Carthaginian senate to do after Cannae?
Hanno, an aged and wise citizen, advised Carthage to use its victory prudently by making peace with Rome while it could do so on favourable terms as conqueror, rather than waiting to negotiate after a defeat. He argued they should show Rome they were strong enough to fight, but not risk the victory already won in hopes of a greater one. The senate rejected this advice, and its wisdom was seen later when the opportunity was gone.
Chapter 84
Why did Alexander besiege and destroy Tyre?
Tyre offered Alexander obedience but refused to admit him or his soldiers within its walls. Displeased that one city would close its gates to him, Alexander rejected the overture and besieged it. After four months he offered the same terms the Tyrians had sought, but they, puffed up by success, refused and killed his envoy. Alexander then took and destroyed the city, slaying or enslaving its inhabitants.
Chapter 84
What general rule does the author draw about refusing terms?
The author argues that a prince attacked by a far more powerful enemy makes no greater mistake than refusing to treat, especially when overtures are made, since even poor terms contain some advantage the acceptor can construe as partial success. Men err by not setting bounds to their hopes and, without measuring their strength, rush headlong to destruction. He cites Hannibal, who sued for peace rather than hazard his country's last stake in battle.
Chapter 84
CHAPTER XXVII.—_How a divided City may be reunited, and how…4 cards
What three courses does Machiavelli say are open to reunite a divided city?
Machiavelli names three: put the ringleaders of the disturbances to death, banish them, or bind the citizens to live at peace with one another by taking security for good behaviour. He calls the last method the most hurtful, most uncertain, and least effectual, because a peace imposed by compulsion cannot endure between men who meet daily and can find fresh cause of contention.
Chapter 85
How did the Florentines eventually settle the feuds in Pistoja?
After long trying the third method, binding the factions to peace, and finding it only produced more tumult, the Florentines turned to the second: they imprisoned some ringleaders of both the Panciatichi and Cancellieri and banished others. Machiavelli says a sort of settlement resulted that still held in his day, though he insists the first method, putting the leaders to death, would have been surest.
Chapter 85
Why does Machiavelli argue a prince or republic cannot hold a subject city by keeping it divided?
The author argues it is impossible for a ruling power to be friends with both factions, since human nature takes a side. If one party is unfriendly, the city is lost in war, with enemies within and without. For a republic, controlling a divided city corrupts its own citizens and spreads faction, as Biondo says of Florence and Pistoja: seeking to unite Pistoja, the Florentines fell out.
Chapter 85
What did M. de Lant criticize about the men claiming to be of the Marzocco party?
Sent by the King of France in 1501 to restore the lost towns to Florence, de Lant found men claiming to belong to the Marzocco party and greatly blamed the distinction. He observed that in France anyone saying he was of the king's party would be punished, since the phrase implied a party hostile to the king, whereas the king wished all subjects united without party distinction.
Chapter 85
CHAPTER XXVIII.—_Whence it came that the Romans were less…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Rome was less ungrateful to citizens than Athens?
The author argues Rome had less occasion to suspect its citizens, since from the expulsion of the kings until Sylla and Marius no citizen subverted Roman liberty. Athens, by contrast, had been deprived of freedom by Pisistratus under a false show of goodwill, and after regaining liberty became a relentless chastiser of even the shadow of an offence.
Chapter 86
What did Athens' experience of tyranny produce, according to Machiavelli?
Remembering its former bondage and wrongs, Athens became the relentless chastiser not only of offences by citizens but even of the shadow of an offence. Hence the banishment and death of many excellent men, the law of ostracism, and other violent measures directed against her foremost citizens. Machiavelli endorses the maxim that a people which has recovered its freedom bites more fiercely than one which always preserved it.
Chapter 86
What Roman examples does Machiavelli give of harshness toward citizens?
After the kings were expelled, Collatinus was sent into exile solely because he bore the name Tarquin, though he had taken part in Rome's liberation. Publius Valerius was suspected, and nearly banished, merely for building a house on the Caelian hill. Machiavelli uses these to argue Rome was harsh and suspicious too, and would have matched Athens had it been wronged early.
Chapter 86
How does Machiavelli judge Athens and Rome in this matter?
He says anyone weighing the matter will not condemn Athens nor commend Rome, but refer all to the necessity arising from the different conditions of the two states. Careful reflection shows that had Rome been deprived of freedom as Athens was, it would not have been a whit more tender to its citizens. He promises to finish the ingratitude question in the next chapter.
Chapter 86
CHAPTER XXVIII.—_That to neglect the redress of Grievances…3 cards
Why did the Gauls attack Rome after the Fabii incident?
Roman envoys, the three Fabii, fought alongside the Etruscans against the Gauls, violating the law of nations. When the Gauls demanded the Fabii be surrendered in atonement, the senate refused to punish them and instead elected them tribunes with consular powers. The Gauls, seeing offenders honoured rather than chastised, took this as insult and marched on Rome, which they captured except the Capitol.
Chapter 87
What does Machiavelli conclude about neglecting to redress grievances?
The author argues that the Roman disaster came entirely from disregard of justice, since envoys who deserved punishment were honoured instead. He concludes that princes and commonwealths must carefully avoid wronging communities or particular men, because a deeply wronged man who is not avenged will seek revenge, even at the cost of ruin to his country or himself.
Chapter 87
How did Philip of Macedon's treatment of Pausanias lead to his death?
Pausanias, a high-born youth of Philip's court, was foully dishonoured by Attalus, a leading man of the royal household. He repeatedly complained, but Philip put him off with promises and eventually made Attalus governor of Greece. Seeing his enemy honoured and unpunished, Pausanias turned his resentment against Philip and slew him at his daughter's wedding.
Chapter 87
CHAPTER XXVIII.—_That a Republic must keep an eye on what…4 cards
Why did the Roman senate have Spurius Melius put to death?
During a famine, the wealthy citizen Spurius Melius privately imported corn to feed the people at his own expense, gaining great favor with the commons. The senate, fearing his bounty could have dangerous consequences, appointed a dictator to crush him before he grew too powerful and had him put to death.
Chapter 88
What two ways does Machiavelli say citizens acquire credit or reputation?
The author identifies two routes: public credit, gained by advising well or acting for the common advantage, which should be encouraged with rewards; and secret credit, gained through private favors like lending money, helping a daughter marry, or shielding someone from magistrates. Public credit is safe, while secret credit is most perilous and prejudicial.
Chapter 88
How should a well-governed republic treat citizens who seek favor by open versus secret means?
The author argues a well-governed republic should throw wide the door to those seeking public favor by open courses, rewarding good counsel and good actions, while closing it against those who ingratiate themselves by underhand means. Rome rewarded public service with triumphs and honors, and ordained accusations and impeachment against secret intriguers, resorting to a dictator when those proved insufficient.
Chapter 88
What does Machiavelli say happens if conduct like Melius's goes unchastised?
The author argues that actions seeming good and harmless often become hurtful and, unless corrected in time, most dangerous for a republic. If conduct like Melius's is suffered to pass unchastised, it may well ruin a republic, because men, when such examples are set before them, are not easily led back into the right path.
Chapter 88
CHAPTER XXIX.—_Whether a People or a Prince is the more…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what two sources does ingratitude have?
Machiavelli affirms that the vice of ingratitude has its source either in avarice or in suspicion. When a captain earns a great name through success, his prince or people are bound to reward him; if moved by avarice they withhold reward or disgrace him, committing an error without excuse that brings undying infamy. If instead offense comes from suspicion rather than avarice, the prince or people may deserve some excuse.
Chapter 89
Why does a victorious captain provoke suspicion in his prince?
Machiavelli argues that a captain who wins new dominions gains such credit with his own soldiers, the enemy, and the prince's subjects as cannot be agreeable to the master who sent him. Since men are ambitious and jealous, the prince's suspicion is inflamed by some arrogant act or word of the captain, so the prince seeks to kill him or strip him of credit, claiming the victory came from fortune or enemy cowardice.
Chapter 89
How were Antonius Primus and Gonsalvo of Cordova rewarded for their conquests?
Machiavelli cites both as examples of ingratitude from suspicion. Antonius Primus defeated two armies for Vespasian and occupied Rome, but Mutianus deprived him of his army command and diminished his authority until, coldly received by Vespasian, he put himself to death. Gonsalvo of Cordova conquered Naples for Ferdinand of Aragon, who then deprived him of the army, the fortresses, and carried him back to Spain, where he soon died in disgrace.
Chapter 89
Why does Machiavelli call the Romans the least ungrateful of powerful peoples?
Machiavelli argues the Romans had no instance of ingratitude to cite save Scipio. Coriolanus and Camillus were banished for wrongs they inflicted on the commons; Camillus was recalled and honored as a prince for life. The ingratitude toward Scipio arose from suspicion caused by the greatness of his enemy, his fame, the suddenness of his victories, and his remarkable qualities, which even Cato opposed, saying no city containing a citizen feared by the magistrates could be deemed free.
Chapter 89
CHAPTER XXIX.—_That Fortune obscures the minds of Men when…4 cards
According to Livy, why did Fortune cause the Fabii to act amiss?
Livy says Heaven willed that the Romans should feel its power, so it first caused the Fabii, sent as envoys to the Gauls, to act amiss; their misconduct then stirred the Gauls to war on Rome. Machiavelli cites this as evidence that Heaven influences men's actions, and notes that if this happened in valourous Rome, it is far more common elsewhere.
Chapter 90
What failures of Roman preparation does Machiavelli list before the Allia?
Machiavelli notes the Romans failed to create a dictator as they had against the Volscians, raised a weak army with no signal effort, were so dilatory they barely met the enemy at the Allia ten miles off, camped without choosing ground or building trench or palisade, and drew up weak, widely separated columns. The battle was bloodless: the Romans fled before being attacked.
Chapter 90
How does Fortune both humble Rome and preserve it, per Machiavelli?
Machiavelli argues Fortune, to raise Rome, had to humble but not destroy it: she caused Camillus to be banished, not killed; let Rome be taken, but not the Capitol; and made Romans neglect the city's defence while carefully defending the citadel. She drew the routed army to Veii, removing means of defence, yet assembled forces there and Camillus at Ardea for recovery.
Chapter 90
What does Machiavelli conclude about men's power against Fortune?
Machiavelli concludes men may aid Fortune but not withstand her; they may interweave their threads with her web but cannot break it. Yet they must never lose heart, since not knowing their end and moving by cross-roads and untravelled paths, they always have room for hope and ought never abandon it, whatever befalls or into whatever straits they come.
Chapter 90
CHAPTER XXIX.—_That the Faults of a People are due to its…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, to whom should a prince's people's faults be ascribed?
Machiavelli argues that a prince should not complain of his people's faults, since these must be ascribed either to his negligence or to his own similar defects. Peoples become given to robbery and other crimes by copying their rulers. He cites Romagna under its lords before Pope Alexander VI. as a nursery of crimes, caused by the wickedness of the lords, not the subjects' evil disposition.
Chapter 91
How did the lords of Romagna extort money, and what effect did it have?
Being poor yet choosing to live as if rich, the lords resorted to cruelties and shameful devices to extort money. They passed laws prohibiting certain acts, then were first to give occasion for breaking them, and did not punish offenders until many were involved. They punished not from zeal for law but from greed for the penalty. The people, impoverished but not corrected, then preyed on those weaker than themselves.
Chapter 91
How does Timasitheus, prince of Lipari, illustrate Machiavelli's point?
Roman envoys carrying the Veientines' spoils as an offering to Apollo were seized by Lipari corsairs. Timasitheus, learning the offering's nature, destination, and senders, behaved as a Roman might, showing his people the sacrilege of intercepting it. By general consent the envoys proceeded with all their possessions. Livy observes that the multitude, who take their colour from their ruler, were filled by Timasitheus with religious awe.
Chapter 91
What saying does Machiavelli attribute to Lorenzo de' Medici about princes and peoples?
Machiavelli quotes Lorenzo de' Medici: 'A prince's acts his people imitate; For on their lord the eyes of all men wait.' He offers this as support for the same claim, that the multitude takes its colour from its ruler, matching Livy's observation about Timasitheus and the people of Lipari.
Chapter 91
CHAPTER XXX.—_How Princes and Commonwealths may avoid the…4 cards
How can a prince avoid the vice of ingratitude toward his captains?
The author argues a prince should personally lead his wars, as early Roman emperors and the Turk did. When the prince conquers himself, glory and gain are his own; when absent, the captain's glory seems to rob him, making him ungrateful and unjust. The author says a prince who stays home through indolence or poor foresight already knows his own remedy.
Chapter 92
What two courses does the author counsel a victorious captain facing ingratitude?
Either quit his command at once after victory, place himself in the prince's hands, and avoid all vainglorious or ambitious acts so the prince is freed from suspicion; or boldly take the opposite course—conciliate soldiers and citizens, form new friendships with neighbouring potentates, place adherents in fortified towns, and corrupt or remove chief officers—to punish the master's expected ingratitude.
Chapter 92
Why does the author say captains usually fail between these two courses?
The author argues men know not how to be wholly good or wholly bad. So a captain will neither quit his army modestly after victory nor venture the hardy methods that carry some strain of greatness. Remaining undecided, he is crushed while he still wavers and doubts.
Chapter 92
Why was the Roman republic less ungrateful than other commonwealths?
A commonwealth must send a citizen rather than go itself, so it risks ingratitude. The author argues Rome avoided this because nobles and commons alike took part in her wars, producing so many valiant successful soldiers that their number, each checking another, kept the nation from jealousy of any one man; and they behaved uprightly, so the first to lay down his dictatorship won most glory.
How does Machiavelli say strong states treat neighbors versus weak ones?
The author argues a strong state receives tribute from neighbors seeking its friendship, while a weak state pays subsidies to neighbors. He cites Rome receiving tribute from Massilians, Eduans, Rhodians, and Hiero, contrasted with Florence paying Romagna lords and others, concluding strength is shown by others buying your friendship, not you buying theirs.
Chapter 93
What did Hanno ask Hannibal's envoys after Cannae, and why?
Hanno asked whether any Roman had sued for peace and whether any Latin or colonial town had revolted from Rome. When the envoys answered no to both, he concluded the war was no nearer its end than at its start. The author uses this to show Rome's strength lay in the guarded heart—the Roman people and Italian confederates.
Chapter 93
What error does Machiavelli attribute to Florence, Venice, and France?
The author argues these states disarmed their subjects to wring money from them, subsidizing frontier princes instead of guarding the heart of the state. He says such states resist only at their confines, and once an enemy passes them, all is lost—citing Venice nearly undone and France tottering when the English invaded in 1513.
Chapter 93
What happened when the Romans nearly bought off the Gauls with gold?
Besieged in the Capitol and pressed by famine, the Romans agreed to ransom themselves with gold from the Gauls. As the gold was being weighed, Camillus arrived with his army. The author says Fortune contrived this so the Romans would not live thereafter as men ransomed for a price, and notes Rome never purchased peace with money.
Chapter 93
CHAPTER XXX.—_That a Citizen who seeks by his personal…3 cards
How could envy be extinguished according to Machiavelli, besides the death of rivals?
The author argues envy can be extinguished by the approach of some flagrant danger, when everyone, seeing themselves likely to be overwhelmed, sets aside private ambition and willingly obeys the man whose valour can rescue them. He cites Camillus, who had given many proofs of ability and served three times as dictator for the public good, so men feared nothing from his advancement.
Chapter 94
Why did Machiavelli say Savonarola and Soderini failed to overcome envy?
The author argues Savonarola lacked the needed authority because he was a friar, and his followers who might have exercised it did not rightly understand his teaching. Soderini believed time and gentleness could allay envy, not knowing that time stays not, worth suffices not, fortune shifts, and malice is not won over by benefits. Both came to their downfall.
Chapter 94
What precaution did Camillus take for Rome's defense, and why?
Camillus ordered three armies enrolled: one under himself against the Etruscans, one under Servilius to face the Latins and Hernicians, and one under Lucius Quintius to protect the city, gates, and Curia. Machiavelli notes he would not let an undisciplined multitude take up arms; those not enrolled were to stay in their houses for its defense.
Chapter 94
CHAPTER XXXI.—_That the Roman Captains were never punished…4 cards
How did Rome punish generals who erred through ignorance rather than intent?
The author argues Rome did not punish errors made through ignorance; instead it honored and rewarded such captains. The reasoning given is that commanders already face grave anxieties, and adding fear of execution for lost battles would prevent them from acting with vigor and decision. The mere ignominy of defeat was thought punishment enough.
Chapter 95
What did Sergius and Virginius do during the siege of Veii, and how were they punished?
Sergius commanded against the Etruscans while Virginius watched Veii. Attacked by the Faliscans, Sergius preferred defeat to asking Virginius for aid, and Virginius preferred to see the army destroyed rather than relieve his rival unasked. The Romans fined them money rather than executing them, though the author says other republics would have put them to death.
Chapter 95
How did Rome treat Varro after his defeat at Cannae?
Varro's rashness caused the Roman defeat by Hannibal at Cannae, where the republic nearly lost its liberty. Because he acted through ignorance and without evil design, the Romans did not punish him but honored him: the whole senate went out to meet him, thanking him not for fighting but for returning and not despairing of his country's fortunes.
Chapter 95
What did Fabius's father argue against Papirius Cursor's demand to execute Fabius?
Papirius Cursor wanted Fabius put to death for fighting the Samnites contrary to orders. Among the father's arguments against the dictator's insistence was that the Romans had never done to any defeated captain what Papirius wished done on the occasion of a victory. The author cites this as evidence of Roman leniency toward commanders.
Chapter 95
CHAPTER XXXI.—_Of the Danger of trusting banished Men._4 cards
What happened to Alexander of Epirus after trusting the banished Lucanians?
Invited into Italy by banished Lucanians who promised him the country, Alexander of Epirus entered relying on their assurances. Their fellow-citizens then offered to restore the exiles on condition of his death, and the exiles put him to death. Machiavelli uses this as Livy's memorable illustration of the danger of trusting exiles.
Chapter 96
Why does Machiavelli say exiles' promises and faith are unreliable?
Machiavelli argues that exiles will abandon you whenever they can return home by other means, whatever covenants they made. Their longing for return also makes them believe untrue things and deliberately misrepresent others, so you are filled with false impressions. Building on these, your labour is vain and your enterprise ends in ruin.
Chapter 96
What became of Themistocles after his promises to Darius failed?
Themistocles, proclaimed a traitor, fled to Darius in Asia and made lavish promises to induce him to attack Greece. When he could not fulfil them, whether from shame or fear of punishment, he poisoned himself. Machiavelli adds this second example to show that even a great man like Themistocles made this mistake, so feebler men will err more greatly.
Chapter 96
What lesson does Machiavelli draw for princes about exiles?
Machiavelli concludes that a prince should be careful how he embarks on any enterprise on the representations of an exile. Otherwise he is likely either to be put to shame or to incur the gravest calamities. The author argues this from the examples of Alexander of Epirus and Themistocles, noting that feebler men, swayed more by feeling and wishes, will err even more.
Chapter 96
CHAPTER XXXI.—_That strong Republics and valiant Men…4 cards
What does Camillus's saying about his courage teach about a great man?
The historian attributes to Camillus the words "My courage came not with my dictatorship nor went with my exile." The author argues this shows a great man stays constant through all changes of Fortune: though she exalts or depresses him, he remains unchanged, keeping a mind so unmoved and in accord with his nature that Fortune has no dominion over him.
Chapter 97
How did the Romans behave after the defeat at Cannae?
Though Cannae was momentous and their third great defeat, the Romans were undaunted: they kept sending out armies, refused to ransom prisoners as contrary to custom, and sent no envoy to Hannibal or Carthage to sue for peace. They thought always of war, even arming old men and slaves. Hanno warned the Carthaginian senate not to overrate their victory.
Chapter 97
How did Venice's conduct after the half-defeat at Vailà contrast with Rome's?
The Venetians, thinking their fortune due to valour they lacked, had grown insolent, addressing the French king as "Son of St. Mark" and dreaming of a Roman-style empire. After a half-defeat at Vailà, with only half their forces engaged and 25,000 men escaping to Verona, they lost their dominions mainly by base surrender, sending servile letters to the Pope and offering to become the Emperor's tributaries.
Chapter 97
Why does the author insist on a well-trained citizen army for a republic?
The author argues a good militia is the foundation of all States, and without it there can be neither good laws nor anything good. Since no army is good unless thoroughly trained, and a State cannot always be at war, training must happen in peace—affordable only with an army raised from your own subjects. A captain cannot be everywhere, so untrained troops mean certain defeat.
Chapter 97
CHAPTER XXXII.—_That a Prince or Commonwealth should not…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli warn against waiting until danger to grant benefits?
The author argues the people will credit the concession to the enemies, not the ruler, and fear it will be revoked once danger passes, so they feel no obligation. He adds that the Roman case succeeded only because the state was new and unsettled, and like conditions seldom recur.
Chapter 98
What prior conditions made the Roman concession credible to the commons?
Machiavelli says the state was still new and unsettled. The people knew laws already passed in their favor, such as the appeal to the tribunes, so they could believe the benefits came from the senate's goodwill rather than the enemy's approach. The memory of wrongs suffered under the kings was also still fresh.
Chapter 98
What general lesson does Machiavelli draw for princes and republics?
Rulers should think beforehand of adverse times and what help they will need, living with their people as they would wish to be treated in calamity. Whoever instead relies on winning men over by benefits after danger strikes, the author argues, deceives himself and will not merely lose his place but hasten his downfall.
Chapter 98
CHAPTER XXXII.—_In how many Ways the Romans gained…4 cards
Why did the Romans generally avoid besieging towns?
The author argues the Romans avoided siege warfare because its expense and inconvenience outweighed any advantage. Instead they preferred to reduce towns by assault or surrender, and during their long wars there are very few instances of them proceeding by siege.
Chapter 99
What were the two main categories of Roman town capture?
The Romans trusted either to assault or to surrender. Assaults were carried out by open force or by force combined with stratagem. Surrenders were either voluntary, as when Capua submitted to the Romans, or compulsory, resulting from protracted siege or from a country being continually wasted by incursions and forays.
Chapter 99
How did defenders counter mines, towers, and earth mounds?
Against mines, defenders dug counter-mines, fighting the enemy at the sword or choking them with burning feather-filled casks whose smoke and stench drove them out. Against towers they used fire. Against earth mounds they dug holes at the wall's base and carried off the earth thrown up outside, so the mound made no progress.
Chapter 99
Why did the Romans prefer wearing down neighbors to siege or stratagem?
The author argues the Romans mainly trusted to wasting the country by incursions and defeating enemies in the open field, establishing influence through treaties. Siege meant expense and delay, assault difficulty and danger, secret practice uncertainty and doubt. A kingdom might be gained in a single day by defeating a hostile army, while one obstinate city could consume years.
Chapter 99
CHAPTER XXXII.—_Of the methods which some have used to make…4 cards
What plan does Machiavelli call the surest way to prevent reconciliation?
The author argues there is no surer or more effectual plan than to incite a prince or people to inflict grave wrong on the party you would keep them from reconciling with. The fear of deserved punishment then keeps the two sides permanently apart, since those who committed the wrong believe they can never be forgiven.
Chapter 100
How did the leaders of Cære and Velitræ block peace with Rome?
After the Latins were routed and hope of help ended, many townsmen wanted envoys sent to Rome to make peace with the senate. Those who had been the prime movers of the revolt, fearing the whole punishment would fall on them, defeated the proposal by inciting the multitude to take up arms and raid Roman territory.
Chapter 100
Why did Spendio and Mato kill Hasdrubal and the Carthaginian prisoners?
The mutinous soldiers, dissatisfied with pay, had seized towns subject to Carthage. Carthage sent Hasdrubal to mediate, hoping his former command would give him influence. Spendio and Mato, to extinguish any hope of peace and leave the mutineers no alternative but war, persuaded them to torture and kill Hasdrubal and the other Carthaginian prisoners, proclaiming the same fate for any Carthaginian captured thereafter.
Chapter 100
What effect did the mutineers' proclamation have on their hostility?
The author states that the advice and its consummation rendered the mutineers relentless and inveterate in their hostility to the Carthaginians. By crowning their wickedness with a proclamation that every Carthaginian captured thereafter would meet the same fate, they closed off reconciliation entirely, exactly as the plan to prevent peace intended.
Chapter 100
CHAPTER XXXIII.—_When a Mischief has grown up in, or…4 cards
What does Machiavelli advise when a disorder in a state has grown alarming?
The author argues it is safer to temporize with a mischief that has grown so large it alarms the whole community than to try to quell it by violence. Those who attempt violent suppression, he says, usually add fuel to the flame and hasten the impending ruin, since such disorders more often arise from internal causes than external ones.
Chapter 101
Why is it hard to recognize these disorders in their beginnings?
Machiavelli says it seems natural for men to look with favour on the beginnings of things. This favour is especially attracted by actions that seem to have a quality of greatness or are performed by the young. When a young man of rare excellence appears, all citizens honour him, and if he has any ambition this raises him to power before the mistake is seen.
Chapter 101
What happened when Cosimo de' Medici was banished from Florence?
Nicolò da Uzzano, judging that crushing Cosimo would ruin the State, would not permit the attempt while he lived. After his death, others disregarded his counsels, combined against Cosimo and banished him. Cosimo's angry partisans soon recalled him and made him prince of the republic, a dignity Machiavelli says he never would have reached but for this open opposition.
Chapter 101
What effect did the league of forty nations have on Rome?
Machiavelli says the league only made the Romans more united and resolute, and led them to devise new expedients that advanced their power faster. Among these was the creation of a dictator, which enabled them to surmount the immediate danger and afterwards helped them escape many calamities. He argues it would have been safer for the neighbours to soothe Rome by peaceful arts.
Chapter 101
CHAPTER XXXIII.—_That the Romans intrusted the Captains of…4 cards
What powers did the Roman senate reserve when sending out consuls and dictators?
According to the chapter, the senate sent consuls, dictators, and other captains forth with the fullest powers, reserving to itself only the prerogative of declaring war and making peace. Everything else—whether to fight or decline battle, which city to attack—was left to the consul's discretion and determination once war had been resolved upon.
Chapter 102
How did the senate react to Fabius's plan to cross the Ciminian forest?
Fabius routed the Etruscans near Sutrium and intended to pass through the Ciminian forest without informing the senate. The senate, hearing of his victory and deeming the invasion inexpedient, sent two messengers to warn him not to enter Etruria. They arrived only after Fabius had crossed and won a second victory, so they returned to Rome announcing his glory instead of opposing him.
Chapter 102
Why does the author argue that broad consular authority was wisely accorded?
The author argues that if the senate required a consul to proceed step by step on its direction, he would become less cautious and more dilatory, since the credit of victory would be shared rather than wholly his. The senate would also have to advise on matters it could not understand, being absent from the field and ignorant of particulars. The love of fame, he holds, spurs and curbs the consul to act well.
Chapter 102
How does the author contrast modern republics like Venice and Florence with Rome?
The author observes that modern republics such as the Venetian and Florentine view the matter differently: when their captains, commissaries, or provedditori have a single gun to place in position, the authorities at home must be informed and consulted. He judges this course deserving the same approval as their other methods, which, taken together, have brought Italy to her present condition—a sarcastic condemnation.
Chapter 102
CHAPTER XXXIII.—_That to insure victory in battle you must…4 cards
What conditions does Machiavelli say give an army confidence to win?
The author argues an army must be convinced it will prevail. This confidence comes from being well armed and disciplined, and from soldiers knowing one another—conditions he says are only found united in soldiers born and bred in the same country. Confidence in the captain also matters: he must seem prudent, care for his men's welfare, keep his word, and make victory look easy.
Chapter 103
How did the Romans use religion to inspire confidence in soldiers?
The Romans inspired confidence through religion: consuls were appointed, armies enrolled, soldiers marched, and battles begun only when auguries and auspices were favourable. Machiavelli says no prudent captain would fight without these observances, since soldiers must believe the gods are on their side. A leader who fought contrary to the auspices was punished, as happened to Claudius Pulcher.
Chapter 103
What happened when the men of Praneste chose the Allia battlefield?
The men of Praneste encamped near the river Allia, where the Romans had been routed by the Gauls, hoping the ground would inspire their own side and dishearten the enemy. The author argues the result showed true valour is not daunted by trifling disadvantages. The dictator told his master of the knights to rely on discipline and valour and strike the enemy centre.
Chapter 103
What device did Fabius use to encourage his army in Etruria?
Before first leading his army into Etruria against a new foe, Fabius judged encouragement especially needed. After reciting many reasons to expect victory, he told his men he could have mentioned other favourable circumstances making victory certain, had it not been dangerous to disclose them. Machiavelli calls this device dexterously used and worthy of imitation.
Chapter 103
CHAPTER XXXIV.—_That the authority of the Dictator did good…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli reject the claim that the dictatorship caused Rome's tyranny?
The author argues the office itself did not bring Rome to servitude; rather, certain citizens gained influence by prolonging their term of power. He notes that power can readily give titles, but titles cannot give power, so even without the name Dictator some other title would have served the usurpers' ends.
Chapter 104
What limits kept Roman dictators from harming the republic?
Machiavelli states the dictator was not created for life but for a fixed term and only to meet the emergency. He could decide measures, act without consultation, and punish without appeal, but could not diminish the senate's or people's privileges, subvert ancient institutions, or introduce new ones. Combined with brief tenure, limited authority, and an uncorrupted people, this made abuse impossible.
Chapter 104
Why does Machiavelli say every republic needs a dictator-like safeguard?
The author argues ordinary institutions work slowly, since no council or magistrate acts alone and time is needed to reconcile differences, making remedies dangerous when delay is fatal. He cites Venice, which reserves urgent authority to a few citizens who agree among themselves. Without such a safeguard, a republic must either be ruined by constitutional forms or break them.
Chapter 104
Why did the Romans let the consuls appoint the dictator?
Machiavelli explains the Romans saw that a dictatorship humiliated the consuls, reducing them from heads of state to obedience like everyone else. To avoid offence, they gave the appointment power to the consuls, thinking they would act willingly and feel less aggrieved since the injury came from their own hands. Injuries self-inflicted by choice pain a man far less than those inflicted by another.
Chapter 104
CHAPTER XXXIV.—_By what reports, rumours, or surmises the…3 cards
According to Machiavelli, what three things create popular prepossession in a citizen's favor?
Machiavelli lists descent (the presumption a man resembles his distinguished ancestors), manners and company (frequenting grave and virtuous associates), and some remarkable noteworthy action. He ranks the third as most effectual, since inherited excellence often misleads and reputation built on opinion alone may readily change, while actions give a name only destroyed by many contrary deeds.
Chapter 105
How does Machiavelli illustrate the value of renewing one's fame through actions?
He cites Titus Manlius, whose three actions—defending his father, slaying the Gaul and taking the golden collar, and executing his own son for fighting without leave—gave him greater renown than all his triumphs. Machiavelli explains that in victories Manlius had many rivals, but in these particular actions he stood almost or entirely alone.
Chapter 105
Why does Machiavelli think a people errs less than a prince in awarding honours?
The author argues a people judges by the surest indications available—descent, manners, or notable actions—and when many noble deeds have made a man known, there is hardly room for mistake. A prince, though less likely to be deceived because advisers warn him, is matched by republics that let any citizen publicly declare a candidate's defects, as Fabius did against Titus Ottacilius.
Chapter 105
CHAPTER XXXV—_Why the Creation of the Decemvirate in Rome…4 cards
Why did the decemvirate harm Roman liberty despite being freely elected?
The author argues the harm came from the mode and term of the authority, not the vote itself. The Ten were given unrestricted power to make laws with the whole authority of the people, while consuls and tribunes were abolished and no appeal to the people remained. With no check upon them, and spurred by Appius's ambition, they grew insolent in their second year.
Chapter 106
How did the dictator's power differ from that of the Ten?
When a dictator was appointed, the tribunes, consuls, and senate all remained with undiminished authority. He could strip one man of his consulship or another of senatorial status, but he could not abolish the senatorial rank or pass new laws. These surviving offices checked him and kept him on the right road, unlike the Ten, who replaced consuls and tribunes entirely.
Chapter 106
What condition does the author attach to the claim that publicly conferred authority is never harmful?
The author argues the claim assumes the people will never confer authority without due limitations or for longer than a reasonable term. If they are deceived or blinded and bestow authority imprudently, as the Romans did on the Ten, it will always fare with them as it did with Rome. Uncontrolled authority corrupts a people quickly, even if the people are not yet corrupt.
Chapter 106
Which republics does the author cite as controlling long-term authority with checks?
The author points to the Spartans with their kings and the Venetians with their doges. In both cases the authority was controlled by checks that made abuse impossible, showing how well-governed republics act when conferring authority for an extended period. By contrast, where authority is uncontrolled, the people's incorruptibility offers no security, since absolute authority corrupts them quickly.
Chapter 106
CHAPTER XXXV.—_Of the Danger incurred in being the first to…4 cards
What does Machiavelli say happens to those who first promote grave new measures?
The author argues that because men judge by results, any evil following such measures is imputed to their author; even if good ensues, the gain is as nothing compared to the possible loss. He cites Selim, whose bashaw advised war on the Sofi and was put to death after pestilence and famine ruined the army.
Chapter 107
What happened to the bashaw who urged Selim to attack the Sofi?
Selim, the present sultan, was urged by a bashaw stationed on the Persian frontier to make war on the Sofi. He advanced with a vast army into a plain of deserts and few streams, suffered pestilence and famine like ancient Roman armies, and though victorious in battle lost much of his force. Enraged, he put the advising bashaw to death.
Chapter 107
How did the plebeian consul law's promoters fare when the first consul was routed?
Certain Roman citizens actively forwarded a law allowing a plebeian to be consul. When the first plebeian consul led the armies out and was routed, the law's promoters would have fared badly had not the party in whose behalf the law was made been extremely powerful. The author uses this to show promoters risk blame when measures turn out badly.
Chapter 107
What remedy does Machiavelli recommend for escaping the danger of advising?
The author recommends advising discreetly: state your opinion without heat, support it temperately and modestly, so the prince or city adopts it of good-will rather than being dragged in. You lose the glory of standing alone, but escape danger, and if your advice is rejected and others' counsel brings mischief, your credit is enhanced. Silence is no safe course, as Perseus slew a companion who spoke too late.
Chapter 107
CHAPTER XXXVI.—_That Citizens who have held the higher…4 cards
What Roman practice does Machiavelli praise regarding higher and lower offices?
Machiavelli praises Rome for citizens who, though eager for glory, were never ashamed to obey those they had once commanded, or to serve in ranks they had once led. He cites Q. Fabius, a former consul killed while serving under his brother the consul, as evidence of this custom.
Chapter 108
How does Venice's practice differ from Rome's, according to the chapter?
In Venice, the notion obtains that a citizen who has filled a great office should be ashamed to accept a lesser one, and the State permits him to decline it. Machiavelli says this may lend lustre to individuals but plainly disadvantages the community, which should value more the citizen who descends from high office to low.
Chapter 108
Why does Machiavelli trust a citizen descending to lower office more than one rising?
He argues the community has more reason to hope from and trust a citizen who descends from a high office to a lower one than one who rises from low to high. In the latter, no confidence can reasonably be placed unless others of credit and worth surround him to correct his inexperience.
Chapter 108
What harms does Machiavelli say would have followed had Rome barred ex-consuls from serving except as consul?
He says numberless results detrimental to Rome's free institutions would have followed: mistakes caused by the inexperience of new men, and ambition having a freer course because no respected men were near whom they feared to offend, making them less scrupulous, so the public service would have suffered grave harm.
Chapter 108
CHAPTER XXXVI.—_Why it has been and still may be affirmed…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what are the three kinds of armies?
Machiavelli says armies are of three kinds: those with discipline plus bravery (like the Romans), those with impetuosity but no discipline (like the Gauls), and those lacking both natural spirit and trained valour—which he says describes the Italian armies of his own time, calling them worthless.
Chapter 109
Why does Machiavelli think the Gauls faded in prolonged combat?
The author argues the Gauls' courage came from impetuosity and fury without discipline. If their first attack failed, that impetuosity cooled since disciplined valour did not support it, leaving nothing to rely on. The Romans, by contrast, kept hope through discipline and grew fiercer the longer the fight went on.
Chapter 109
How does Machiavelli describe Roman discipline in camp and field?
He claims the Roman army, which conquered the world, maintained excellent discipline through constant training, so that none ate, slept, bought, sold, or did anything else, military or private, without orders from the consul. Armies acting otherwise, he argues, are not true armies, and any success they have comes from fury rather than steady valour.
Chapter 109
What does Papirius Cursor's speech warn would follow Fabius's absolution?
Machiavelli cites Livy's Papirius Cursor warning that absolving Fabius means neither God nor man is revered, orders and auspices are disregarded, soldiers roam without leave, abandon standards, fight when they choose, and keep no ranks—so armies would go from a solemn, consecrated company to a dark, fortuitous gathering of cut-throats.
Chapter 109
CHAPTER XXXVII.—_Of the Mischief bred in Rome by the…4 cards
What two provisions did the Agrarian Law contain?
One provision limited how many acres any citizen could hold; the other required that lands taken from the enemy be distributed among the whole people. Both struck at the nobles, who held more land than the limit allowed and who saw the road to wealth closed by the distribution. The mere mention of the law, the author says, convulsed the whole city.
Chapter 110
How did the nobles resist the Agrarian Law?
The author says the nobles temporized, seeking to prevail by patience and address: sometimes calling out the army, sometimes setting one tribune against the tribune promoting the law, and sometimes compromising by sending a colony into the lands meant for division, as with the territory of Antium. Livy notes hardly anyone in Rome would join that colony, so eager were the commons for gain at home.
Chapter 110
Why did the Agrarian Law finally overthrow Roman liberty?
The author argues the measure lay dormant until the Gracchi revived it, and then, finding its adversaries' power doubled, it kindled hatred between commons and senate until they took up arms. Magistrates could not remedy matters, so each faction sought a chief: the commons backed Marius, the nobles Sylla, and later Cæsar and Pompey renewed the strife, ending in tyranny.
Chapter 110
Why does the author still defend the commons' Agrarian agitation?
Though the law ended in slavery, the author says he does not alter his view that the struggle between commons and senate preserved Roman liberty. He argues the ambition of the great is so pernicious that unless counteracted it ruins a city quickly; had the commons not restrained the nobles through this law and other demands, Rome would likely have been enslaved far sooner than three hundred years.
Chapter 110
CHAPTER XXXVII.—_Whether a general engagement should be…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what risk do pre-battle skirmishes carry for a commander?
Machiavelli argues that while skirmishes can accustom troops to a new enemy and reduce their dread, there is great danger: if soldiers fare badly in these encounters, their alarm and self-distrust may increase, producing the opposite of the intended effect. He therefore says skirmishes are generally to be avoided unless fought at great advantage with certainty of victory.
Chapter 111
How did Marius prepare his army to face the Cimbrians before a decisive battle?
Machiavelli recounts that Marius, judging it necessary to lessen his men's dread of the Cimbrians, posted them at points where the enemy must pass. From the safety of their entrenched camp, the Romans grew familiar with the Cimbrians' appearance, saw them as a disorderly rabble encumbered with baggage and lacking formidable weapons, and so took courage and grew eager to fight.
Chapter 111
Why did Philip of Macedon lay waste to territory rather than defend it against the Romans?
Machiavelli reports that Philip, father of Perseus, on being invaded by the Romans, laid waste and relinquished much territory he thought he could not defend. He judged it more hurtful to his reputation to lose land after attempting to defend it than to abandon it as something he cared little to retain. Machiavelli cites this approvingly as the wiser course.
Chapter 111
What general rule does Machiavelli draw about defending towns and passes?
Machiavelli argues no attempt should be made to defend passes into your country unless your whole army can cooperate, and no towns should be defended except those whose loss necessarily involves your ruin. In defended towns, garrison and field army must be arranged so all forces can be employed. All other towns should be left undefended, since a kept-together army loses no reputation by voluntarily abandoning them.
Chapter 111
CHAPTER XXXVIII.—_That weak Republics are irresolute and…4 cards
How did the Roman senate respond when the Latins and Hernicians sought help during a pestilence?
The Romans, sorely afflicted by pestilence, told the Latins and Hernicians to defend themselves with their own forces, since Rome could not succour them. The author argues this shows the senate's prudence: though they had earlier forbidden these nations to arm themselves, they reversed course rather than let necessity drive their subjects into disobedience by choice.
Chapter 112
What mistake does Machiavelli attribute to Florence when Duke Valentino requested passage through Tuscany?
A council in Florence refused Valentino's request for passage, though the Florentines were so bare of troops they could not have prevented it. The author argues it would have been more to their credit to seem to consent than to be passed through by force, since discredit was incurred either way but less by acceding.
Chapter 112
Why does Machiavelli criticize Florence's rejection of the Pisans' offer in 1500?
The Pisans offered to surrender to the French if the king promised not to hand the city to Florence for four months. The Florentines rejected this out of distrust of the king's good faith, not reflecting that it was better for Beaumont to enter Pisa and either restore it or reveal his designs, than to remain outside with promises. The siege failed disgracefully.
Chapter 112
What does Machiavelli conclude about irresolute republics from the Beaumont and Imbalt episodes?
The author argues irresolute republics never follow wise courses unless compelled, because weakness prevents them from resolving doubts. He notes Florence later saw that had Beaumont acted as Imbalt did—settling terms himself and entering the town—they would have gained Pisa as well as Arezzo.
Chapter 112
CHAPTER XXXVIII.—_Of the Qualities of a Captain in whom his…4 cards
What qualities does Livy's speech say a trusted captain must have?
The captain must not be great only in exhorting or bold only in words and unpractised in arms. He should know how to use his spear, march before the eagles, and fight in the thickest of the fight. Soldiers should follow his deeds, not his words, and look to him for example rather than commands. Corvinus cites his own right hand as winning him three consulships and unsurpassed renown.
Chapter 113
According to Machiavelli, what happens to captains who gain rank by chance or intrigue?
Machiavelli argues that advancement due to chance or intrigue rather takes away than brings reputation. Such a man will soon discover this, since it is men who give lustre to titles and not titles to men. A captain's true merit must come from his own deeds and skill in arms, not from fortune or scheming.
Chapter 113
How did Gracchus and Epaminondas overcome the terror of untried troops?
Machiavelli says these captains overcame the difficulties through supreme prudence. Their method was to train their men for some months in mimic warfare, accustoming them to discipline and obedience. After this training they employed them with complete confidence on actual service. With untried troops they defeated the most practised veterans, showing that unfamiliar enemies inspire greater terror in untrained men.
Chapter 113
What does Machiavelli conclude about a prince who has subjects but lacks soldiers?
Machiavelli concludes that no man of warlike genius need despair of creating a good army if only he has the men. A prince who has many subjects and yet lacks soldiers has only his own inertness and want of foresight to thank. He must not complain of the cowardice of his people, since the fault lies with his own failure to train them.
Chapter 113
CHAPTER XXXIX.—_That often the same Accidents are seen to…2 cards
What does Machiavelli claim comparing past and present reveals about cities and nations?
The author argues that in all cities and nations the same desires and passions prevail as always have. Therefore one who carefully examines past events can foresee what will happen in any republic and apply remedies the ancients used, or devise new ones if none exist. Because readers neglect or misunderstand these lessons, and rulers do not know them, the same disorders recur in all times.
Chapter 114
How did the Roman commons' grievance against consuls end, and how does it parallel Florence?
The commons blamed the nobles for endless wars and backed the tribune Terentillus's proposal for five men to regulate consular power. The nobles resisted, but the tribunes persisted until the consular title was abolished and tribunes with consular powers were appointed instead—showing greater hatred of the name than the thing. Eventually the commons saw their mistake and restored the consuls, as Florence restored the Ten.
Chapter 114
CHAPTER XXXIX.—_That a Captain should have good knowledge…4 cards
What does Machiavelli say is the best exercise for a captain to learn places?
The author argues that knowledge of places, both general and particular, is essential in a good captain, and that this particular knowledge is sooner acquired in the chase than in any other exercise. He cites ancient historians who say the heroes who ruled the world were bred in the woods and trained to the chase, which also teaches countless other lessons needful in war.
Chapter 115
How does Xenophon compare Cyrus's Armenian expedition to hunting?
Xenophon relates that Cyrus, assigning each follower a part in the expedition against the King of Armenia, reminded them it differed little from hunting expeditions they had often shared. He likened those lying in ambush in the mountains to men spreading toils on hilltops, and those overrunning the plain to beaters starting game from its lair to drive it into the toils.
Chapter 115
Why does Machiavelli say familiarity with one country helps in strange countries?
The author argues that all countries and their districts have a certain resemblance to one another, so from knowledge of one we can pass easily to knowledge of another. One without practical acquaintance with some country gains knowledge of another only with difficulty and after long time, while one who has it can take in at a glance how a plain spreads, a mountain slopes, and a valley winds.
Chapter 115
How did Publius Decius use knowledge of place to save the Roman army?
As military tribune under consul Cornelius against the Samnites, Decius saw the army entering a defile and noted a steep hill overhanging the enemy camp, hard for heavy-armed troops but easy for light-armed. He urged seizing it, was sent with three thousand men, and saved the army. Disguised in a common soldier's cloak, he surveyed enemy guards and exits by night.
Chapter 115
CHAPTER XL.—_Of the creation of the Decemvirate in Rome…4 cards
Why did the senate and people consent to create the decemvirate with absolute power?
Machiavelli says both factions consented for self-interested reasons: the senate wanted to abolish the tribunes' authority, and the commons wanted to end the consular name. Each hoped the decemvirs would strike at the faction it hated. The author argues this excessive love of liberty in the people and eagerness to govern in the nobles are the same causes that commonly produce tyrannies in cities.
Chapter 116
What mistake does Machiavelli say Appius made in pursuing tyranny?
The author argues Appius took the opposite course from successful tyrants: he made himself obnoxious to the people who had conferred his power and destroyed his friends among them, while seeking support from the nobles who could never all be satisfied. Machiavelli holds that a tyrant with the people as friends and nobles as enemies is more secure, since that support is the stronger.
Chapter 116
How did the decemvirs first behave, and how did their rule change?
At first the decemvirs behaved discreetly, attended by only twelve lictors, citing a citizen accused of murder before the people, and publishing their ten tables for public review before passing them. After being reappointed, Appius dropped the mask, infected his colleagues, and they appointed one hundred and twenty lictors, attacking high and low alike and later intriguing with the senate against the commons.
Chapter 116
What does Machiavelli compare men to when blinded by their aims?
Quoting King Ferrando, the author says men often behave like certain smaller birds so intent on the prey nature urges them toward that they do not discern the eagle hovering overhead to destroy them. He applies this to the Romans, blinded by the senate's desire to remove the tribunes and the commons' desire to remove the consuls, so they fell into all the ensuing disorders.
Chapter 116
CHAPTER XL.—_That Fraud is fair in War._4 cards
According to Machiavelli, when is fraud praiseworthy and glorious?
The author argues that although fraud is hateful in other affairs, in the operations of war it is praiseworthy and glorious, so that one who defeats an enemy by fraud is as much extolled as one who prevails by force. He cites writers on great warriors who praise Hannibal and other captains noted for acting this way.
Chapter 117
What limit does Machiavelli place on glorious fraud in war?
The author argues that no fraud is glorious which leads you to break your plighted word or depart from covenants you have agreed to. Such conduct may sometimes gain territory and power, but it can never gain glory. The fraud he praises is directed only at an enemy who places no trust in you and concerns military operations.
Chapter 117
How did Pontius the Samnite deceive the Romans at the Caudine Forks?
Pontius hid his forces behind the hills and sent soldiers disguised as herdsmen driving cattle across the plain. Captured by the Romans and questioned about the Samnite army, they all said, as Pontius had taught them, that it had gone to besiege Nocera. The consuls believed this and advanced into the Caudine Valley, where the Samnites beset them.
Chapter 117
What advice did Herennius give Pontius after trapping the Romans?
Herennius urged that the Romans should either be set at liberty unconditionally or all put to death, and that a mean course which neither gains friends nor gets rid of foes should be avoided. The author calls this sound advice, since in affairs of moment a mean course is always hurtful. Pontius did not take it.
Chapter 117
CHAPTER XLI.—_That it is unwise to pass at a bound from…2 cards
Why does Machiavelli say Appius's sudden change of character ruined him?
The author argues that a man who has seemed good and later turns bad for his own ends should change slowly, so that before his new nature costs him old favor he has gained equal new favor. Appius changed so rapidly that all recognized his doubleness, leaving him unmasked and friendless, and so undone.
Chapter 118
What does Machiavelli advise about passing from leniency to severity?
The author argues it is unwise to pass at a bound from leniency to severity, or from a humble bearing to a haughty one. One who has seemed good and later chooses to become bad for his own ends ought to change by slow degrees as opportunity serves, so his influence suffers no diminution.
Chapter 118
CHAPTER XLI.—_That our Country is to be defended by Honour…2 cards
What did Lucius Lentulus argue the Romans should do?
Lentulus argued they should decline no course by which their country might be saved, since Rome's very existence depended on preserving her army. The army must be saved at any sacrifice, for whether the means be honourable or ignominious, all is well done that is done for the defence of the country. If the army were destroyed, Rome and her freedom would perish with it.
Chapter 119
What principle does Machiavelli draw from the Roman surrender?
The author argues that when the entire safety of the country is at stake, no consideration of what is just or unjust, merciful or cruel, praiseworthy or shameful must intervene. Every other consideration being set aside, only the course that preserves the country's existence and maintains its liberty must be taken. He says this deserves to be pondered by every citizen called on to advise his country.
Chapter 119
CHAPTER XLII.—_That Promises made on Compulsion are not to…4 cards
Why did Spurius Posthumius argue the Caudine terms should not be observed?
Posthumius argued that the Roman people were not bound by the terms, though he himself and the others who promised peace were. He proposed that he and the rest be handed over as prisoners to the Samnites so the people could be free of every engagement. The senate adopted this view and sent them back to Samnium, protesting the peace was not binding.
Chapter 121
According to the chapter, can glory be won through defeat?
Yes. The author notes that glory commonly follows victory but may also follow defeat, if the defeat happened through no fault of your own, or if you directly afterward perform some valiant action that cancels it. He cites Posthumius, who despite defeat was held in higher honor by the Romans than the victorious Pontius was by his countrymen.
Chapter 121
What does the chapter say about promises extorted by force?
The author argues there is no disgrace in not observing promises wrung from you by force. Promises thus extorted that affect the public welfare will always be broken once the pressure is withdrawn, without shame to the breaker. He adds that among princes, not only compulsory promises but all promises are disregarded when the causes behind them no longer operate.
Chapter 121
Where does the author say he already treated whether princes should follow such methods?
The author says the question of whether breaking such promises is commendable, and whether princes ought to follow these methods, was already considered by him in his 'Treatise of the Prince.' For that reason he declines to say more on the subject in this chapter, referring readers to that earlier work instead.
Chapter 121
CHAPTER XLIII.—_That Men fighting in their own Cause make…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say mercenary troops are worthless?
The author argues mercenaries have no motive to stay loyal beyond the pay they receive, and that pay can never inspire the fidelity and devotion needed to make soldiers willing to die for you. Without attachment to the cause, they lack the valour to withstand even a moderately brave enemy.
Chapter 122
How do the Romans under consuls and decemvirs illustrate Machiavelli's point?
Machiavelli notes the Romans were always victorious under the consuls but always defeated under the decemvirs. Their ancient valour had not diminished, but they no longer fought with the same good will, so they did not exert themselves. Once the decemvirate ended and they fought as free men, their old spirit returned.
Chapter 122
What does Machiavelli conclude a prince or commonwealth must do to preserve itself?
Since the attachment and devotion needed for reliable soldiers cannot be expected from anyone except your own subjects, Machiavelli concludes you must arm the natives of your own country if you would preserve your dominions or maintain your commonwealth or kingdom. He says all who achieved great things in war did this.
Chapter 122
CHAPTER XLIII.—_That Men born in the same Province retain…4 cards
What general principle does Machiavelli say the wise use to forecast future events?
The author argues that whoever would forecast what is about to happen should look to what has been, since all human events, present or to come, have their exact counterpart in the past. This is because events are brought about by men whose passions and dispositions remain the same in all ages, naturally producing the same effects, though their operation takes higher form in different provinces according to local training.
Chapter 123
According to the chapter, what four vices does Machiavelli attribute to the French and German nations?
The author says the French and German nations are overflowing with avarice, pride, cruelty, and perfidy, all four of which have at divers times wrought much harm to Florence. He offers their perfidy as an instance, noting how often money was paid to Charles VIII of France in return for restoring the fortresses of Pisa, which he never restored, thereby manifesting bad faith and grasping avarice.
Chapter 123
How did the emperor deceive Florence in its war with the Visconti?
Florence, lacking other resource, invited the emperor into Italy against the Visconti. He promised to come with a strong army on condition of a hundred thousand ducats on setting out and another hundred thousand on arriving in Italy. He received the first payment and, at Verona, the second, then turned back without effecting anything, alleging that certain persons had failed to fulfil their engagements.
Chapter 123
What did the Gauls do after taking Etruscan money, and what lesson does Machiavelli draw?
The Etruscans, overpowered by the Romans, paid the Gauls south of the Alps to campaign against Rome. The Gauls, after taking the money, refused to arm, alleging they had been paid only to refrain from pillaging Etruscan lands, not to make war on the Etruscans' enemies. Thus Etruria was defrauded of money and disappointed of help. Machiavelli concludes barbaric races have constantly followed the same methods, and princes should easily draw conclusions as to how far to trust them.
Chapter 123
CHAPTER XLIV.—_That the Multitude is helpless without a…3 cards
Why did the Roman commons on the Sacred Hill fail to answer the senate's messengers?
According to Livy, the commons were not at a loss for an answer but lacked anyone to answer for them, since they had no leaders. Machiavelli uses this to show how helpless a multitude is when it has no head. Virginius then had twenty military tribunes appointed as spokesmen to negotiate with the senate.
Chapter 124
What three demands did the commons make of Valerius and Horatius?
They demanded that tribunes of the people be appointed, that there be an appeal to the people from magistrates of every degree, and that all the decemvirs be handed over to be burned alive. Valerius and Horatius approved the first two but rejected the third as inhuman, warning the commons they were rushing into the very cruelty they had condemned in others.
Chapter 124
What does Machiavelli conclude about threatening and asking in the same breath?
The author argues it is foolish to ask a thing while declaring you intend to use it for injury. One should not reveal intentions beforehand but wait for the opportunity to act. It is enough to ask another for his weapons without adding that you mean to destroy him, since once you have them you can use them as you please.
Chapter 124
CHAPTER XLIV.—_That where ordinary methods fail, Hardihood…4 cards
Why did the Samnites march into Etruria instead of facing Rome in the field?
Unable to stand against the Romans in the field, the Samnites left garrisons in the towns of Samnium and passed with their main army into Etruria, which was then at truce with Rome. They hoped their actual armed presence might move the Etruscans to renew hostilities against Rome, something the Etruscans had refused when asked through envoys alone.
Chapter 125
What memorable words did the Samnites use to explain taking up arms?
In negotiations with the Etruscans, the Samnites explained the chief causes that led them to take up arms with the words that they had risen because peace is a heavier burden for slaves than war for freemen. Partly by these persuasions and partly by the presence of their army, they induced the Etruscans to join forces with them.
Chapter 125
What does Machiavelli say a prince should do to obtain something from another?
The author argues that when a prince would obtain something from another, he ought, if the occasion allows, to leave him no time to deliberate, contriving that the other sees the need to resolve at once. This works because refusal or delay will draw sudden and dangerous resentment, as shown by Pope Julius II with France and Venice, and by M. de Foix with the Marquis of Mantua.
Chapter 125
How did M. de Foix get the Marquis of Mantua to grant passage?
Needing the short route to recover Brescia, De Foix waited until his men were already on the march before telling the marquis he desired leave to pass through his country, leaving no time to deliberate. The marquis, though in league with the Venetians and the Pope and with a son in the Pope's hands, was taken aback and gave the leave he would otherwise have refused.
Chapter 125
CHAPTER XLV.—_That it is of evil example, especially in the…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli condemn Virginius for jailing Appius without the appeal?
Machiavelli argues that although Appius's wicked life deserved punishment, it was impolitic to violate the law, especially one just passed. He says nothing gives a worse example in a republic than making a law and not keeping it, most of all when the lawmaker himself breaks it. Appius had abolished the appeal he then claimed.
Chapter 126
How did Savonarola's broken appeal law damage his standing in Florence?
After 1494 Savonarola helped reform Florence and pushed through a law allowing appeal to the people from State-offence sentences by the Eight and the Signory. Soon after, five citizens condemned by the Signory were denied that appeal. Machiavelli argues this violation, more than any other mischance, lessened the Friar's credit, since he neither blamed nor excused the breaker.
Chapter 126
What did Marcus Duilius do to stop the prosecutions after the decemvirate?
After the decemvirate ended, decemvirs and other citizens were accused and condemned at different times, spreading alarm among the nobles, who feared the prosecutions would not cease until their order was exterminated. Marcus Duilius the tribune issued an edict forbidding anyone, for a year, to cite or accuse any Roman citizen, which reassured the nobility.
Chapter 126
What general rule does Machiavelli draw about inflicting injuries in a state?
Machiavelli argues no course is more pernicious than keeping subjects in constant alarm through continually renewed punishments and violence, since men fearing for their safety seize every opportunity, growing more daring and less scrupulous. He concludes that injuries should either be avoided altogether or inflicted all at once, after which the ruler should reassure men's minds and let them settle.
Chapter 126
CHAPTER XLV.—_Whether in battle it is better to await and…4 cards
How did Fabius's battle tactics differ from Decius's against their enemies?
Decius attacked his enemy at once with the utmost fury and his whole strength. Fabius at first merely maintained his ground, judging that more was to be gained by a later attack, and reserved his forces for a final effort once the enemy's ardour had cooled and his energy was spent.
Chapter 127
What happened to Decius when his first onset failed?
Decius, exhausted by his first onset and seeing his ranks begin to waver, sought to secure by death the glory he could no longer hope from victory. Following his father's example, he sacrificed himself to save the Roman legions.
Chapter 127
How did Fabius respond when word of Decius's death reached him?
To gain, while he yet lived, as much honour as the other had earned by his death, Fabius pushed forward all the troops he had reserved for his final effort, and so obtained an unexampled victory.
Chapter 127
Which method does the author judge safer and more worthy of imitation?
The author argues that of the two methods, that of Fabius was the safer and the more deserving of imitation. The event showed Fabius more successful in his tactics than Decius, whose army was exhausted by his first onset.
Chapter 127
CHAPTER XLVI.—_That Men climb from one step of Ambition to…4 cards
According to Livy, what happened whenever either the commons or nobles were humble?
Livy says that whenever either the commons or the nobles were humble, the other grew haughty. If the commons kept within bounds, young nobles began injuring them, and the tribunes were little able to give redress. The nobles, though aware of their young men's excesses, were pleased that excesses came from their own faction rather than the commons.
Chapter 128
How does Machiavelli describe the ambitious citizen's first step toward power?
The author argues the ambitious citizen first seeks security against injury from private persons and magistrates, so he gains friends through means honourable in appearance—supplying money or protecting them from the powerful. Because this seems praiseworthy, everyone is readily deceived and no remedy is applied, letting him proceed without hindrance.
Chapter 128
What does Sallust's Caesar say about the origin of all ill actions?
Machiavelli cites Sallust's words put in Caesar's mouth: "all ill actions have their origin in fair beginnings" (Quod omnia mala exempla ex bonis initiis orta sunt, Sall. Cat. 51). He uses this to explain how men climb from one step of ambition to another, beginning with apparently honourable self-protection.
Chapter 128
Once an ambitious citizen is feared by citizens and magistrates, what does Machiavelli say must be done?
The author argues that when the citizen and even magistrates fear to offend him and his friends, one must either crush him at the risk of immediate ruin, or, unless death or like accident intervenes, incur inevitable slavery by letting him alone. Little further effort then enables him to proscribe and ruin whom he pleases.
Chapter 128
CHAPTER XLVI.—_How the Characteristics of Families come to…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli say family traits are not wholly due to blood?
Machiavelli argues that family characteristics cannot be attributed wholly to blood, since blood changes through repeated intermarriages. Instead he ascribes them chiefly to the different training and education given in different families, stressing that what a child of tender years hears spoken well or ill of makes an impression that influences his whole later conduct.
Chapter 129
Which Roman families does Machiavelli cite as examples of distinct family character?
Machiavelli cites the Manlii as always stern and stubborn, the Valerii as kindly and courteous, and the Claudii as haughty and ambitious. He says many other families were similarly distinguished by their peculiar qualities, and he claims such differences appear not only between cities but between families within the same city, with many Roman instances in the histories.
Chapter 129
How does the censor's refusal to resign illustrate Claudian character?
Machiavelli recounts that a Claudian censor refused to lay down his magistracy when his colleague did so after eighteen months, as the law prescribed. He claimed entitlement to five years under the original law regulating the censorship. His refusal bred great controversy, tumult, and disturbance, yet no means could be found to depose him, and he retained office against the will of the entire commons and a majority of the senate.
Chapter 129
CHAPTER XLVII.—_That though Men deceive themselves in…4 cards
Why did the Roman commons elect all nobles as tribunes with consular power?
The commons had demanded access to the consulship in the abstract, believing their numbers and wartime sacrifices entitled them. But when choosing particular men from their own order, they recognized individual defects, were ashamed, and gave the honours to nobles instead. Livy admires the modesty and moderation this displayed.
Chapter 130
How did Pacuvius Calavius reconcile Capua's senate and people?
He locked the senators in the palace, then told the people they could replace each senator before executing him. As each name was drawn, the crowd denounced the senator, but every commoner nominated as a substitute was jeered and judged unworthy. Pacuvius then suggested reconciliation, and the people, seeing their error in particulars, agreed.
Chapter 130
What does Machiavelli conclude about the people judging particulars?
He argues that men deceive themselves in generalities but judge truly in particulars, and that a people errs in the abstract yet quickly discovers its mistake when faced with particulars. He adds that in distributing honours and dignities, the people are either never mistaken or far seldomer than a small number of persons would be.
Chapter 130
What Florentine example illustrates the proverb about the marketplace and the palace?
After the 1494 banishments in Florence, citizens blamed ambitious individuals for the city's disorders and promised to expose them once in the Signory. But those who rose to magistracy saw the disorders came from the times, not particular men, and changed their conduct. Onlookers attributed this to corruption, producing the proverb that men have one mind in the marketplace, another in the palace.
Chapter 130
CHAPTER XLVII.—_That love of his Country should lead a good…3 cards
Why did the senate send messengers to Fabius regarding the dictatorship?
Manlius was wounded fighting the Samnites, endangering his army, so the senate decided to send Papirius Cursor as dictator. Since only Fabius, the other consul stationed in Etruria, could nominate him, and Fabius was Papirius's enemy, the senate feared Fabius might refuse and sent two messengers to urge him to set aside private animosity for the public good.
Chapter 131
How did Fabius respond to the senate's request, and how did he show his feelings?
Moved by love of his country, Fabius made the nomination the public interest required, despite Papirius being his enemy. Yet he let it be known that compliance was distasteful, both by his silence and by many other signs. The chapter presents this conduct as the example all who would be thought good citizens should follow.
Chapter 131
What lesson does the chapter draw from Fabius's conduct?
The chapter states that from Fabius's conduct at this juncture, all who would be thought good citizens should take example. Specifically, love of country should lead a good citizen to forget private wrongs: Fabius set aside his enmity toward Papirius and made the nomination the public interest demanded, even though doing so was plainly distasteful to him.
Chapter 131
CHAPTER XLVIII.—_He who would not have an Office bestowed…3 cards
What two methods did the senate use to prevent tribunes with consular powers from being chosen only from the commons?
The senate either caused the office to be solicited by the most distinguished citizens, or bribed some base and ignoble fellow to attach himself to the better-quality plebeians seeking the office and become a candidate alongside them. The first device made the people ashamed to refuse; the second made them ashamed to give.
Chapter 132
How did each senatorial device affect the people's sense of shame?
When the most distinguished citizens sought the office, the people were ashamed to refuse them. When a base and ignoble fellow was bribed to run alongside worthier plebeians, the people were ashamed to give him the office. Thus one device worked through shame at refusal, the other through shame at granting.
Chapter 132
What general principle about the people does this chapter confirm?
The chapter confirms what Machiavelli said in the preceding chapter: that the people deceive themselves in generalities but not in particulars. The senate's devices exploited this, since the people could be shamed either into refusing or into giving an office depending on who was put before them.
Chapter 132
CHAPTER XLVIII.—_That on finding an Enemy make what seems a…2 cards
In the Etruscan episode, what did Fulvius do when he saw the disguised shepherds near his camp?
Fulvius, left in charge of the Roman army in Etruria while the consul was at Rome, marveled at the shepherds' unaccountable audacity and hit upon a device that detected the Etruscan artifice and defeated their design. The Etruscans had planted an ambush near the camp and sent soldiers disguised as shepherds driving large flocks past the Roman army.
Chapter 133
How did the Gauls react to Rome's open, unguarded gates after the Allia?
After defeating the Romans on the Allia and hastening to Rome, the Gauls found the gates open and unguarded. Fearing a stratagem and unable to believe the Romans could be so foolish and cowardly as to abandon their city, they waited outside the gates the whole of that day and the following night without daring to enter.
Chapter 133
XLIX.4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say a commonwealth needs new ordinances to preserve freedom?
The chapter's title asserts that a commonwealth, to preserve its freedom, has constant need of new ordinances. Machiavelli frames this as a recurring necessity rather than a one-time founding act, implying that institutions must be renewed or adapted over time if liberty is to endure.
Chapter 134
Whom does Machiavelli dedicate the Discourses to, and why them rather than a prince?
Machiavelli dedicates the work to Zanobi Buondelmonti and Cosimo Rucellai. He says he avoids the hackneyed custom of inscribing works to a Prince and praising him as full of every virtue out of hope for favour or reward. He prefers those who deserve to be Princes by merit, though lacking the power to reward him.
Chapter 134
How does Machiavelli contrast Hiero of Syracuse with Perseus the Macedonian?
He says historians award higher praise to Hiero of Syracuse when in a private station than to Perseus the Macedonian when a King. The former lacked nothing a Prince should have save the name; the latter had nothing of the King but the kingdom. Machiavelli uses this to argue men should esteem those who know how to govern kingdoms rather than those who merely possess them.
Chapter 134
What does Machiavelli say about judging men and about authors who flatter princes?
Machiavelli argues that men, if they would judge justly, should esteem those who are generous in themselves rather than those whose means merely enable generosity, and likewise those who know how to govern kingdoms rather than those who hold government without such knowledge. He criticizes authors who, blinded by hopes of favour or reward, praise a Prince as possessing every virtue.
Chapter 134
CHAPTER XLIX.—_That if Cities which, like Rome, had their…4 cards
Why did Rome keep needing new ordinances despite its early lawgivers?
The chapter says that although Rome received ordinances first from Romulus, then Numa, Tullus Hostilius, Servius, and lastly the Ten, new needs kept arising in actual government that required new ordinances. The creation of the censors is given as an example of an office devised to meet such needs and to retard Rome's progress toward corruption.
Chapter 135
What mistake did Mamercus correct about the censorship, and how was he treated?
The censorship's term was first fixed at five years. The dictator Mamercus passed a law reducing it to eighteen months. The censors then in office resented this and deprived Mamercus of his rank as senator. The chapter says this was much blamed by both commons and Fathers, and that since no redress is recorded, either the historian omitted something or Rome's laws were defective.
Chapter 135
Why does the author argue cities that began in subjection struggle to live free?
The author argues that if cities beginning in freedom, like Rome, had great difficulty framing laws to preserve liberty, cities that began in subjection find it not merely difficult but impossible. Florence is his example: long servitude meant no thought for herself, and later laws blended with bad ancient ordinances could not be good, so for two hundred recorded years she kept patching institutions without becoming a true commonwealth.
Chapter 135
How did Rome, Florence, and Venice handle the power of life and death?
In Rome there was generally a right of appeal to the people, but in urgent cases a dictator could execute justice at once, a remedy used only in extremity. Florence gave this power to a foreign Captain, corruptible by powerful citizens, then to eight citizens, which the author calls worse. Venice appointed ten citizens to punish without appeal, plus a council of Forty and the Pregai, so a tribunal is never wanting.
Chapter 135
CHAPTER XLIX.—_That a Commonwealth to preserve its Freedom…4 cards
What did Quintius Fabius do as censor about new citizens?
Observing that Rome's readiness to grant citizenship to foreigners had brought in so many new citizens with a large share of the suffrage that the government began to alter its accustomed courses, Fabius, as censor, classed all those new citizens into four Tribes. By reducing them within this narrow limit, they could not corrupt the entire State. The author argues this was a wisely contrived measure that introduced no violent change and gained Fabius the name Maximus.
Chapter 136
Why did the Romans consider decimation an effective punishment for a whole army?
When a multitude offends and the ringleaders are unknown, all cannot be punished because their number is too great, while punishing only some is unjust to those punished and encourages the rest to offend again. By putting to death a tenth chosen by lot, where all equally deserve death, the one punished blames his unlucky fortune, while the one who escapes fears the lot may fall to him next time and is careful not to repeat the offence.
Chapter 136
What two conspiracies does Machiavelli cite as strange disorders in Rome?
Machiavelli cites the conspiracy of the Roman wives, who appeared to have conspired to murder their husbands, with many found to have actually administered poison and many others to have drugs in readiness for the purpose. Of like nature was the conspiracy of the Bacchanals, discovered during the Macedonian war, in which many thousands of both men and women were implicated and which, had it not been found out, must have proved perilous for the city.
Chapter 136
How does Machiavelli distinguish ordinary disorders from disorders in the State itself?
Machiavelli says that although disorders like the poisonings and the Bacchanals occasion mischievous results in a commonwealth, they are not fatal, since there is almost always time to correct them. But no time is given in the case of disorders in the State itself, which, unless treated by some wise citizen, will always bring a city to destruction. He illustrates this with Fabius's remedy for the citizenship problem.
Chapter 136
CHAPTER L.—_That neither any Council nor any Magistrate…4 cards
What did the Roman senate do when the consuls' quarrel halted public business?
The senate moved to create a dictator to do what the consuls would not. But the consuls, though opposed in everything else, united to resist the appointment, leaving the senate no remedy but to seek the tribunes' help; supported by the tribunes' authority, the consuls were forced to yield.
Chapter 137
What does Machiavelli conclude about granting power to a council or magistrate?
The author argues that if you grant a council authority to distribute honours and offices, or a magistrate power to administer public business, you must either oblige the duty to be performed or ordain that another may do it on failure. Otherwise the arrangement is defective and dangerous, as Rome would have shown without the tribunes.
Chapter 137
What disorder arose in Venice from its great council's refusal to appoint successors?
More than once the great council, from ill-humour or bad advice, declined to appoint successors to magistrates at home or abroad. City and subject provinces were suddenly deprived of lawful governors, with no redress until the majority was pacified or undeceived. The disorder would have ended badly had wiser citizens not passed a law that no magistracy is vacated until a successor is appointed.
Chapter 137
What law did wiser Venetian citizens pass to prevent magistracies from lapsing?
Finding a fit opportunity, certain wiser citizens passed a law that no magistracy, whether within or without the city, should ever be deemed vacated until it was filled by the appointment of a successor. This deprived the council of its facility for stopping public business to the danger of the State.
Chapter 137
CHAPTER LI.—_What a Prince or Republic does of Necessity…4 cards
Why did the Roman senate grant soldiers pay from the public purse?
The senate perceived that under the old system, where soldiers served at their own charges, Rome could maintain no long war, undertake no siege, or lead an army far from home. Finding it necessary to do both, they decided to grant the pay. The author presents this as a case of necessity rather than free choice.
Chapter 138
How did the senate make the pay concession seem a free gift?
Though the senate acted from necessity, it granted the pay in a way that earned the people's thanks. The concession was so well received that all Rome was intoxicated with delight, since it seemed a boon beyond anything the people had hoped for or dreamed of demanding.
Chapter 138
How did the senate distribute the new taxes, and with what effect?
The senate imposed the heavier and greater taxes on the nobles, along with those that had to be paid first. This distribution further increased the people's gratitude. The author uses it to show how prudent men conciliate good-will even in actions forced upon them.
Chapter 138
How did the tribunes try to undermine the people's gratitude, and did it work?
The tribunes sought to make light of the benefit by showing the people that their burdens would be increased rather than diminished, since taxes would be imposed to fund the soldiers' stipend. They could not persuade the people to view the measure otherwise than with gratitude.
Chapter 138
CHAPTER LII.—_That to check the arrogance of a Citizen who…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what is the safest way to oppose an ambitious citizen?
The author argues that in a commonwealth, especially a corrupted one, there is no better, easier, or less objectionable method of opposing a citizen's ambition than to anticipate him in the very paths by which he is seen to advance toward his ends. This deprives him of his most effective weapon without violence or tumult, as the enemies of Cosimo de' Medici could have done instead of banishing him.
Chapter 139
Why does Machiavelli excuse Piero Soderini for not forestalling his enemies?
Machiavelli excuses Soderini because it would have been difficult for him to act so, and because for him such a course would not have been honourable. The paths where his danger lay were those favouring the Medici, and he could not preserve his fair fame while joining in destroying the liberty he was put forward to defend.
Chapter 139
What error does Machiavelli attribute to Tullius (Cicero) regarding Antonius?
Tullius, seeking to diminish Marcus Antonius's power, counselled the senate to invest Octavianus with full authority and send him against Antonius with the consuls and army, expecting Caesar's veterans to desert Antonius for Caesar's nephew. Instead, Antonius persuaded Octavianus to join him and throw over the senate, bringing about the senate's ruin—a result Machiavelli says could easily have been foreseen.
Chapter 139
What general rule does Machiavelli draw about weighing risks before acting?
The author argues that men ought to look to the risks and dangers of any course before them, and not engage in it when it is plain the dangers outweigh the advantages, even if others advise it as the most expedient way. Otherwise they fare as Tullius did, who, in seeking to diminish Antonius's power, added to it.
Chapter 139
CHAPTER LIII.—_That the People, deceived by a false show of…2 cards
According to Machiavelli, what kinds of proposals easily persuade a people, and which are hard to sell?
The author argues that proposals appearing to offer gain or a spirited course are always easily adopted, even if hidden loss or national ruin lies behind them. Conversely, courses wearing the appearance of disgrace or loss are always hard to persuade, even when safety and advantage are bound up with them. He cites Fabius Maximus, unable to convince the people to avoid battle with Hannibal.
Chapter 140
What does Machiavelli say happens to commanders who fail in daring enterprises the people demanded?
The author argues that suggesting daring courses is the readiest way to ruin a republic where the people hold power, since such proposals are always welcomed and opponents can find no remedy. It also ruins the commanders: the people, anticipating victory, blame defeat on the commander's cowardice or incapacity rather than short means or ill fortune, and commonly put him to death, imprison, or banish him. Past successes count for nothing.
Chapter 140
CHAPTER LIV.—_Of the boundless Authority which a great Man…4 cards
According to Machiavelli, what most effectively restrains an excited multitude?
Machiavelli states that nothing restrains an excited multitude so much as the reverence felt for a grave person clothed with authority who stands forward to oppose them. He cites Virgil's lines describing a reverend chief whose deeds and virtues make the crowd wait silently and listen. He therefore advises whoever commands an army or governs a city in tumult to assume the noblest bearing and wear all the ensigns of his station to make himself more revered.
Chapter 141
How does Machiavelli illustrate his point with the Florentine factions?
Machiavelli recounts that Florence split into the Frateschi and Arrabbiati factions, who came to open violence, and the Frateschi, including the reputable citizen Pagolo Antonio Soderini, were worsted. When an armed crowd came to plunder Soderini's house, his brother Messer Francesco, then bishop of Volterra and later cardinal, put on his best apparel with episcopal robes, went out to meet them, and by his words and mien stopped them; his conduct was praised for many days.
Chapter 141
What does Machiavelli conclude about restraining an unruly multitude?
Machiavelli draws the inference that there is no surer or more necessary restraint on the violence of an unruly multitude than the presence of someone whose character and bearing command respect. This conclusion follows from both Virgil's poetic example and the Florentine episode of the bishop confronting the armed crowd, which he offers as historical proof of the principle.
Chapter 141
How did the senate and grave citizens end the Veii controversy?
Machiavelli returns to the passage under consideration to note how stubbornly the people clung to transplanting themselves to Veii, thinking it to their advantage and not discerning the mischief involved. Besides the many dissensions it occasioned, actual violence would have followed had not the senate, aided by certain grave and reverend citizens, repressed the popular fury.
Chapter 141
CHAPTER LV.—_That Government is easily carried on in a City…4 cards
What did the Roman senate assume about the people when it ordered a tenth of the Veientine spoil?
The senate, unable otherwise to account for spoil that had fallen into the people's hands, passed an edict that every man should publicly offer one tenth of what he had taken. Machiavelli says this shows how completely the senate trusted the people's honesty, assuming no one would withhold any part; the people's only thought was to escape the law by openly showing displeasure, not to evade it by giving less.
Chapter 142
How do German Free States collect large public sums, and what does Machiavelli infer from it?
When a large sum is needed, magistrates impose a rate of one or two in the hundred on every man's estate. Each man appears before the collectors, swears to pay what is justly due, and throws his conscientious payment into a chest with no witness but himself. Machiavelli infers that each pays his just share, since otherwise the impost would not yield the estimated sum and the fraud would be detected.
Chapter 142
Why does Machiavelli say no commonwealth has ever existed in Naples, Romagna, and Lombardy?
Machiavelli defines gentlemen as those who live in opulence and idleness on estate revenues without cultivating them or other labor. Even more mischievous are those who also hold strongholds and castles with vassals and retainers. Naples, the country round Rome, Romagna, and Lombardy are full of both classes, and he argues such men are sworn foes to all free institutions, so no commonwealth or free government has ever existed there.
Chapter 142
What does Machiavelli conclude about founding a commonwealth where many gentlemen exist, or a princedom where equality prevails?
He concludes that to found a commonwealth where many gentlemen exist, one must first get rid of them. To found a monarchy where great equality prevails, one must raise up restless, ambitious men and make them gentlemen in reality by giving castles, lands, riches, and retainers, so they help maintain his power while others endure a yoke imposed by force. Founding either in the wrong soil requires rare intelligence and power, and few succeed.
Chapter 142
CHAPTER LVI.—_That when great Calamities are about to…4 cards
What signs does Machiavelli claim precede grave calamities to cities or countries?
Machiavelli says examples ancient and recent show that no grave calamity befalls a city or country without being foretold by vision, augury, portent, or some other Heaven-sent sign. He cites Savonarola foretelling Charles VIII's invasion, horsemen seen fighting over Arezzo, and lightning striking Florence's cathedral and palace before deaths and political downfalls.
Chapter 143
What did Marcus Ceditius report before the Gallic invasion of Rome?
According to Livy, the plebeian Marcus Ceditius told the senate that while passing by night along the Via Nova he heard a voice louder than mortal, bidding him warn the magistrates that the Gauls were on their way to Rome. Machiavelli offers this as his chief ancient instance of a warning preceding disaster.
Chapter 143
What examples from Florence does Machiavelli give of portents before disasters?
He notes that before the death of the elder Lorenzo de' Medici the highest pinnacle of the cathedral was rent by a thunderbolt, greatly injuring the building; and that shortly before Piero Soderini was deprived of his office and banished, the palace itself was struck by lightning. He also mentions Savonarola's prophecy of Charles VIII's coming.
Chapter 143
How does Machiavelli explain the causes of these forewarnings?
Machiavelli declines to explain them himself, saying the causes need someone versed in natural and supernatural causes, which he is not. He reports the view of certain wise men that the air is filled with intelligent beings able to forecast future events, who pity men and warn them beforehand. He concludes only that such warnings are given and disasters follow.
Chapter 143
CHAPTER LVII.—_That the People are strong collectively, but1 cards
Which two kinds of popular resentment does Machiavelli say are especially dangerous?
Machiavelli argues that most unfriendliness of a people is of little moment, except resentment at being deprived of liberty or of a beloved prince who still survives. The hostility from these two causes is more to be feared than any other and demands extreme severity to correct. Other untoward humors of the multitude, absent a powerful chief to foster them, are easily dealt with.
Chapter 144
CHAPTER LVIII.—_That a People is wiser and more constant…4 cards
Why does Machiavelli say the multitude is blamed for inconstancy?
Machiavelli argues that historians, including Livy, condemn the multitude as fickle, citing Rome's condemnation and later mourning of Manlius Capitolinus and the Syracusans' behavior after Hieronymus's murder. He contends this infirmity belongs equally to individual men, especially princes, since all uncontrolled by laws commit the same faults as an uncontrolled multitude.
Chapter 145
How does Machiavelli distinguish controlled versus uncontrolled peoples and princes?
Machiavelli says kings bound by constitutional laws, as in Egypt, Sparta, and France, should not be compared to an uncontrolled multitude. A law-regulated people, like Rome while uncorrupted, possesses the same virtues as such kings, neither serving abjectly nor domineering. Both prince and people err when they can act without regard to consequences.
Chapter 145
What does Machiavelli claim about a people's prudence and stability compared to a prince?
Machiavelli maintains that a people is more prudent, stable, and of better judgment than a prince, and that the voice of the people resembles the voice of God. In choosing magistrates a people chooses more honestly, and once it abhors something it stays of that mind for ages. Rome, he says, never made four appointments it repented.
Chapter 145
How does Machiavelli compare curing an unruly people versus a wicked prince?
Machiavelli argues that a turbulent people can be spoken to by a good man and readily brought back to good ways, while no one can speak to a wicked prince and no remedy exists but the sword. He infers the prince's disease is worse because it demands the more violent remedy. With peoples we fear what may result; with princes we dread present ill.
Chapter 145
CHAPTER LIX.—_To what Leagues or Alliances we may most…3 cards
Why does Machiavelli think commonwealths are more stable than princes in urgent cases?
The author argues that although commonwealths share the same passions as princes, their movements must be slower, making it harder for them to resolve on a course of action. For this reason they are less ready to break faith. He concludes that in cases of urgency a certain degree of stability is found sooner in commonwealths than in princes.
Chapter 146
What example shows a commonwealth refusing an advantageous but dishonourable proposal?
Themistocles told the Athenians he had advice of great advantage to the city but could not disclose it publicly. The Athenians appointed Aristides to hear it. Themistocles revealed that the united Greek navy could be gained or destroyed, making Athens master of the country. Aristides reported the plan as advantageous but dishonourable, and the people utterly refused it. Machiavelli contrasts Philip of Macedon, who would not have so acted.
Chapter 146
Which examples does Machiavelli give of commonwealths ruined by keeping faith with allies?
Machiavelli cites Saguntum in Spain, which awaited ruin in adhering to the fortunes of Rome, and Florence, which in 1512 stood steadfastly by the cause of the French. He compares these to Neapolitan princes who espoused the interests of France. He says such fidelity results from a like cause: despair of finding faith or friendship from the ally's enemies.
Chapter 146
CHAPTER LX.—_That the Consulship and all the other…3 cards
Why did Rome have to open the consulship to the commons, according to the chapter?
The author argues it was necessity: you cannot subject men to hardships without holding out rewards, nor safely withdraw rewards once promised. So Rome had to extend hope of the consulship to the commons, and later satisfy that hope, as every city seeking Rome's results must do.
Chapter 147
How does Machiavelli contrast Venice with Rome on plebeian office-holding?
He argues Venice, which employs no plebeians in undertakings where glory is gained, may treat them as it pleases. Cities that wish to do as Rome did cannot make that distinction; and if blood admits no distinction, neither can age, so the age distinction must cease.
Chapter 147
Why does Machiavelli oppose waiting for talented young men to grow old?
He argues that when the people advance a young man, it is for some noble action; if a city must wait until he is old, it loses the alacrity and vigour of youth. He cites Rome profiting from Valerius Corvinus, Scipio, and Pompey, who triumphed while very young.
Chapter 147
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