Niccolò Machiavelli · Complete work
Chapter XIV
Chapter XIV of 27. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Italian
Quello che al Principe si appartenga circa la milizia.
Deve adunque un Principe non avere altro oggetto, nè altro pensiero, nè prendere cosa alcuna per sua arte, fuori della guerra, ed ordini e disciplina di essa; perchè quella è sola arte che si aspetta a chi comanda; ed è di tanta virtù, che non solo mantiene quelli che sono nati Principi, ma molte volte fa gli uomini di privata fortuna salire a quel grado. E per contrario si vede, che quando i Principi hanno pensato più alle delicatezze, che all’arme, hanno perso lo Stato loro. E la prima cagione che ti fa perdere quello, è il disprezzare questa arte; e la cagione che te lo fa acquistare, è l’essere professo di questa arte. Francesco Sforza, per essere armato, diventò di privato Duca di Milano; e li figliuoli, per fuggire le fatiche e i disagi dell’arme, di Duchi diventarono privati. Perchè tra le altre cagioni di male, che ti arreca l’essere disarmato, ti fa disprezzare; la quale è una di quelle infamie, dalle quali il Principe si debbe guardare, come di sotto si dirà. Perchè da uno armato a un disarmato non è proporzione alcuna; e la ragione non vuole che chi è armato ubbidisca volentieri a chi è disarmato, e che il disarmato stia sicuro tra i servitori armati. Perchè essendo nell’uno sdegno, e nell’altro sospetto, non è possibile operino bene insieme. E però un Principe che della milizia non s’intende, oltre all’altre infelicità, come è detto, non può essere stimato da’ suoi soldati, nè fidarsi di loro.
Non debbe pertanto mai levare il pensiero da questo esercizio della guerra, e nella pace vi si deve più esercitare, che nella guerra; il che può fare in due modi, l’uno con l’opere, l’altro con la mente. E quanto all’opere, deve, oltre al tener bene ordinati ed esercitati li suoi, star sempre in sulle caccie, e mediante quelle assuefare il corpo a’ disagi, e parte imparare la natura de’ siti, e cognoscere come sorgono i monti, come imboccano le valli, come giacciono i piani, ed intendere la natura de’ fiumi e delle paludi; ed in questo porre grandissima cura. La qual cognizione è utile in duoi modi. Prima si impara a cognoscere il suo paese, e può meglio intendere le difese di esso. Dipoi, mediante la cognizione e pratica di quelli siti, con facilità comprende un altro sito, che di nuovo gli sia necessario speculare; perchè li poggi, le valli, e piani, e fiumi, e paludi che sono, verbigrazia, in Toscana, hanno con quelle dell’altre provincie certa similitudine; tale che dalla cognizione del sito di una provincia, si può facilmente venire alla cognizione dell’altre. E quel Principe che manca di questa perizia, manca della prima parte che vuole avere un capitano; perchè questa insegna trovar il nemico, pigliare gli alloggiamenti, condurre gli eserciti, ordinare le giornate, campeggiare le terre con tuo vantaggio.
— Filopemene Principe degli Achei, tralle altre laudi, che dagli scrittori gli son date, è che ne’ tempi della pace non pensava mai se non a’ modi della guerra, e quando era in campagna con gli amici spesso si fermava e ragionava con quelli: se gli nimici fussero in su quel colle, e noi ci trovassimo qui col nostro esercito, chi di noi arebbe vantaggio? Come sicuramente si potrebbe ire a trovargli, servando gli ordini? Se noi volessimo ritirarci, come aremmo a fare? Se loro si ritirassero, come aremmo a seguirgli? E proponeva loro, andando, tutti i casi che in uno esercito possono occorrere, intendeva l’opinion loro, diceva la sua, corroboravala con le ragioni; talchè per queste continue cogitazioni non poteva mai, guidando gli eserciti, nascere accidente alcuno, che egli non vi avesse il rimedio. Ma, quanto all’esercizio della mente, deve il Principe leggere le istorie, ed in quelle considerare le azioni degli uomini eccellenti, vedere come si sono governati nelle guerre, esaminare le cagioni delle vittorie e perdite loro, per potere queste fuggire, quelle imitare; e sopra tutto fare come ha fatto per l’addietro qualche uomo eccellente, che ha preso ad imitare, se alcuno è stato innanzi a lui lodato e glorioso, e di quello che ha tenuto sempre i gesti ed azioni appresso di sè, come si dice che Alessandro Magno imitava Achille, Cesare Alessandro, Scipione Ciro. E qualunque legge la vita di Ciro scritta da Senofonte, riconosce dipoi nella vita di Scipione quanto quella imitazione gli fu di gloria, e quanto nella castità, affabilità, umanità, e liberalità Scipione si conformasse con quelle cose che di Ciro sono da Senofonte scritte. Questi simili modi deve osservare un Principe savio, nè mai ne’ tempi pacifici stare ozioso, ma con industria farne capitale, per potersene valere nelle avversità, acciocchè quando si muta la fortuna, lo trovi parato a resistere alli suoi colpi.
Musean translation
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Italian text of all 26 chapters and the dedication for fidelity, Machiavelli’s force and cadence, and modern clarity.
What a Prince Must Do Concerning Military Affairs
A Prince, then, must have no other object, no other thought, and no other profession than war, its organization, and its discipline. For this is the only art that belongs to one who commands, and it has such power that it not only preserves those born Princes but often raises men of private station to that rank. Conversely, when Princes have given more thought to luxury than to arms, we see that they have lost their states. The first cause of losing a state is neglect of this art; mastery of it is what enables you to gain one. Francesco Sforza rose from private citizen to Duke of Milan because he was armed; his sons, shunning the hardships and discomforts of military life, fell from dukes to private citizens. Among the other harms that come from being unarmed is contempt, one of the disgraces against which a Prince must guard, as I shall explain below. There can be no comparison between an armed man and an unarmed one. Nor is it reasonable to expect an armed man to obey an unarmed man willingly, or an unarmed ruler to feel safe among armed servants. With resentment on one side and suspicion on the other, they cannot work well together. A Prince ignorant of military affairs, therefore, suffers not only the other misfortunes already mentioned: his soldiers cannot esteem him, nor can he trust them.
He must never turn his thoughts away from the practice of war, and in peace he should practice it more than in wartime. He can do this in two ways: through action and through study. In action, besides keeping his men well organized and trained, he should always go hunting. In this way he accustoms his body to hardships and learns the nature of the terrain: how mountains rise, valleys open, plains lie, and rivers and marshes run. To these matters he must give the greatest care. This knowledge is useful in two ways. First, he learns to know his own country and can better understand how to defend it. Then, through familiarity with its terrain, he readily grasps the features of a new place that he needs to examine. The hills, valleys, plains, rivers, and marshes of Tuscany, for example, bear a certain resemblance to those of other provinces; knowledge of the terrain in one province thus makes it easy to understand another's. A Prince who lacks this skill lacks the first qualification of a commander. It teaches him how to find the enemy, choose campsites, move armies, order battles, and lay siege to towns to his advantage.
Among the praises writers give Philopoemen, leader of the Achaeans, is that even in peacetime he thought of nothing but the ways of war. When out in the country with his friends, he would often stop and ask them: “If the enemy were on that hill and our army stood here, which of us would have the advantage? How could we safely advance to meet them while keeping our formation? If we wanted to withdraw, how should we do it? And if they withdrew, how should we pursue them?” As they walked he would put to them every situation that might arise for an army, hear their opinions, give his own, and support it with reasons. By thinking continually in this way, he ensured that when he commanded armies no event could arise for which he had not already found a remedy. As for the exercise of the mind, a Prince should read histories and study in them the actions of outstanding men. He should see how they conducted themselves in war and examine the causes of their victories and defeats, so that he may avoid the latter and imitate the former. Above all, he should do as some great man of the past has done, taking as his model a predecessor praised and honored, and keeping that man's deeds and actions always before him. Thus Alexander the Great is said to have imitated Achilles, Caesar to have imitated Alexander, and Scipio to have imitated Cyrus. Anyone who reads Xenophon's account of Cyrus's life will recognize how much glory Scipio gained from that imitation, and how closely Scipio's chastity, courtesy, humanity, and generosity conformed to Xenophon's portrait of Cyrus. A wise Prince should follow these methods. He must never be idle in peacetime, but diligently turn it to account, so that he can use what he has learned in adversity and stand ready, when fortune changes, to withstand its blows.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Italian text of all 26 chapters and the dedication.
What a Prince Should Do About Military Affairs
A Prince, then, should have no goal or thought, and practice no profession, other than war and its organization and training. This is the only profession that belongs to a ruler. It has such power that it not only keeps people who were born Princes on their thrones, but often raises private citizens to that rank. By contrast, when Princes have cared more about comfort and luxury than arms, they have lost their states. The first thing that makes you lose a state is neglecting the art of war. The thing that lets you gain one is mastering that art. Francesco Sforza was a private citizen who became Duke of Milan because he was armed. His sons avoided the work and hardship of military life and went from being dukes to being private citizens. Being unarmed brings many troubles. One is that people look down on you. This is one of the forms of disgrace a Prince must avoid, as I will explain below. There is no comparison between an armed man and an unarmed one. It is unreasonable to expect the armed man to obey the unarmed man willingly, or the unarmed man to feel safe among armed servants. One will feel contempt, and the other suspicion, so they cannot work well together. A Prince who knows nothing about military affairs therefore suffers more than the other troubles I have mentioned: his soldiers cannot respect him, and he cannot trust them.
So he must never stop thinking about the practice of war. He should train for it more in peacetime than in wartime, in two ways: through action and through study. In practice, besides keeping his men well organized and trained, he should go hunting regularly. Hunting gets his body used to hardship and helps him learn the lay of the land: how mountains rise, how valleys open, how plains lie, and what rivers and marshes are like. He should pay close attention to all this. Such knowledge helps in two ways. First, he gets to know his own country and can better understand how to defend it. Second, once he has learned the terrain of his own country, he can more easily understand a new area that he needs to examine. The hills, valleys, plains, rivers, and marshes of Tuscany, for example, have things in common with those of other regions. Knowing the terrain of one region thus helps him understand that of others. A Prince without this skill lacks the first thing a commander needs. It teaches him how to find the enemy, choose campsites, lead armies, arrange battles, and lay siege to towns to his advantage.
Philopoemen, leader of the Achaeans, received many praises from writers. One was that even in peacetime he thought constantly about ways of making war. When he was out in the countryside with friends, he would often stop and ask them: "If the enemy were on that hill and our army were here, which side would have the advantage? How could we safely advance to meet them while keeping our formation? If we wanted to retreat, how should we do it? If they retreated, how should we pursue them?" As they walked, he put to his friends every situation that could arise for an army. He listened to their opinions, gave his own, and supported it with reasons. This constant thinking meant that when he led armies, nothing could happen for which he did not have an answer. As for study, a Prince should read histories and examine what outstanding people did. He should see how they acted in wars and study the reasons for their victories and defeats, so he can avoid the latter and copy the former. Above all, he should do what some great people before him did: choose an earlier figure who was praised and admired, and keep that person's deeds and actions constantly in mind as a model. Alexander the Great is said to have followed Achilles, Caesar to have followed Alexander, and Scipio to have followed Cyrus. Anyone who reads Xenophon's account of Cyrus's life can then see in Scipio's life how much honor he gained from following Cyrus. Scipio matched the chastity, friendliness, humanity, and generosity that Xenophon describes in Cyrus. A wise Prince should follow these methods. He should never be idle in times of peace, but should work hard to make them useful. Then, when fortune changes, he will be ready to withstand its blows.