Niccolò Machiavelli · Complete work
Chapter XXVI
Chapter XXVI of 27. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
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Esortazione a liberare la Italia da’ barbari.
Considerato adunque tutte le cose di sopra discorse, e pensando meco medesimo se al presente in Italia correvano tempi da onorare un Principe nuovo, e se ci era materia che desse occasione a uno prudente e virtuoso d’introdurvi nuova forma, che facesse onore a lui, e bene alla università degli uomini di quella, mi pare concorrino tante cose in beneficio d’un Principe nuovo, che non so qual mai tempo fusse più atto a questo. E se, come io dissi, era necessario, volendo vedere la virtù di Moisè, che il popolo d’Istrael fusse schiavo in Egitto, ed a conoscere la grandezza e l’animo di Ciro, che i Persi fussero oppressi da’ Medi, e ad illustrare l’eccellenza di Teseo, che gli Ateniesi fussero dispersi; così al presente, volendo conoscere la virtù di uno spirito Italiano, era necessario che l’Italia si conducesse ne’ termini presenti, e che la fusse più schiava che gli Ebrei, più serva che i Persi, più dispersa che gli Ateniesi, senza capo, senz’ordine, battuta, spogliata, lacera, corsa, ed avesse sopportato di ogni sorta rovine. E benchè infino a qui si sia mostro qualche spiraculo in qualcuno da poter giudicare che fusse ordinato da Dio per sua redenzione; nientedimanco si è visto come dipoi nel più alto corso delle azioni è stato dalla fortuna reprobato in modo, che, rimasa come senza vita, aspetta qual possa esser quello che sani le sue ferite, e ponga fine alle direpzioni, e a’ sacchi di Lombardia, alle espilazioni, e taglie del Reame, e di Toscana, e la guarisca di quelle sue piaghe già per lungo tempo infistolite.
Vedesi come la prega Dio che gli mandi qualcuno che la redima da queste crudeltà ed insolenzie barbare. Vedesi ancora tutta pronta e disposta a seguire una bandiera, purchè ci sia alcuno che la pigli. Nè si vede al presente in quale la possa più sperare che nella illustre Casa Vostra, la quale con la sua virtù e fortuna, favorita da Dio e dalla Chiesa, della quale è ora Principe, possa farsi capo di questa redenzione. E questo non vi sarà molto difficile, se vi recherete innanzi le azioni e vite de’ soprannominati. E benchè quelli uomini siano rari e maravigliosi; nondimeno furono uomini, ed ebbe ciascuno di loro minore occasione, che la presente; perchè l’impresa loro non fu più giusta di questa, nè più facile; nè fu Dio più a loro amico, che a voi. Qui è giustizia grande, perchè quella guerra è giusta, che gli è necessaria; e quelle armi sono pietose, dove non si spera in altro, che in elle. Qui è disposizione grandissima; nè può essere, dove è grande disposizione, grande difficultà; purchè quella pigli delli ordini di coloro che io vi ho proposto per mira. Oltre a questo, qui si veggono straordinari senza esempio, condutti da Dio: il mare s’è aperto, una nube vi ha scorto il cammino, la pietra ha versato l’acqua; qui è piovuto la manna, ogni cosa è concorsa nella vostra grandezza; il rimanente dovete far voi. Dio non vuole far ogni cosa, per non ci torre il libero arbitrio, e parte di quella gloria che tocca a noi. E non è maraviglia, se alcuno de’ prenominati Italiani non ha possuto far quello che si può sperare facci la illustre Casa Vostra, e se in tante revoluzioni d’Italia, e in tanti maneggi di guerra, e’ pare sempre che in quella la virtù militare sia spenta; perchè questo nasce che gli ordini antichi di quella non erano buoni, e non ci è suto alcuno che abbia saputo trovare de’ nuovi. Nessuna cosa fa tanto onore ad uno uomo che di nuovo surga, quanto fanno le nuove leggi e nuovi ordini trovati da lui. Queste cose quando sono ben fondate, ed abbino in loro grandezza, lo fanno reverendo e mirabile, e in Italia non manca materia da introdurvi ogni forma. Qui è virtù grande nelle membra, quando ella non mancasse ne’ capi. Specchiatevi nelli duelli, e nei congressi de’ pochi, quanto gl’Italiani siano superiori con le forze, con la destrezza, con l’ingegno. Ma come si viene agli eserciti, non compariscono; e tutto procede dalla debolezza de’ capi, perchè quelli che sanno, non sono ubbedienti, ed a ciascuno par sapere, non ci essendo infino a qui suto alcuno che si sia rilevato tanto e per virtù e per fortuna, che gli altri cedino. Di qui nasce che in tanto tempo, in tante guerre fatte ne’ passati venti anni, quando gli è stato un esercito tutto Italiano, sempre ha fatto mala prova; di che è testimone prima il Taro, dipoi Alessandria, Capua, Genova, Vailà, Bologna, Mestri.
Volendo dunque la illustre Casa Vostra seguitare quelli eccellenti uomini, che redimerono le provincie loro, è necessario innanzi a tutte le altre cose, come vero fondamento d’ogni impresa, provvedersi d’armi proprie; perchè non si può avere nè più fidi, nè più veri, nè migliori soldati. E benchè ciascuno di essi sia buono, tutti insieme diventeranno migliori, quando si vedranno comandare dal loro Principe, e da quello onorare ed intrattenere. È necessario pertanto prepararsi a queste armi, per potersi con virtù Italiana difendere dagli esterni. E benchè la fanteria Svizzera, e Spagnuola sia stimata terribile; nondimanco in ambedue è difetto, per il quale uno ordine terzo potrebbe non solamente opporsi loro, ma confidare di superargli. Perchè gli Spagnuoli non possono sostenere i cavalli, e gli Svizzeri hanno ad aver paura de’ fanti, quando gli riscontrino nel combattere ostinati come loro. Donde si è veduto, e vedrassi per isperienza, gli Spagnuoli non poter sostenere una cavalleria Francese, e gli Svizzeri essere rovinati da una fanteria Spagnuola. E benchè di questo ultimo non se ne sia vista intera sperienza; nientedimeno se ne è veduto uno saggio nella giornata di Ravenna, quando le fanterie Spagnuole si affrontarono con le battaglie Tedesche, le quali servano il medesimo ordine che i Svizzeri, dove gli Spagnuoli con l’agilità del corpo, e aiuti de’ loro brocchieri erano entrati tra le picche loro sotto, e stavano sicuri ad offendergli, senza che li Tedeschi vi avessino rimedio; e se non fusse la cavalleria che gli urtò, gli arebbono consumati tutti. Puossi adunque, cognosciuto il difetto dell’una e dell’altra di queste fanterie, ordinarne una di nuovo, la quale resista a’ cavalli, e non abbia paura de’ fanti; il che lo farà non la generazione delle armi, ma la variazione degli ordini. E queste sono di quelle cose che di nuovo ordinate danno riputazione, e grandezza a un Principe nuovo. Non si deve adunque lasciar passare questa occasione, acciocchè la Italia vegga dopo tanto tempo apparire un suo redentore. Nè posso esprimere con quale amore ei fussi ricevuto in tutte quelle provincie che hanno patito per queste illuvioni esterne, con qual sete di vendetta, con che ostinata fede, con che pietà, con che lacrime. Quali porte se gli serrerebbono? Quali popoli li negherebbono la obbidienza? Quale invidia se gli opporrebbe? Quale Italiano gli negherebbe l’ossequio? Ad ognuno puzza questo barbaro dominio. Pigli adunque la illustre Casa Vostra questo assunto con quello animo, e con quelle speranze che si pigliano l’imprese giuste, acciocchè sotto la sua insegna questa patria ne sia nobilitata, e sotto i suoi auspicii si verifichi quel detto del Petrarca:
Virtù contro al furorePrenderà l’armi, e fia il combatter corto;Chè l’antico valoreNegli Italici cuor non è ancor morto.
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.
An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians
Having considered all the matters discussed above, and asking myself whether the times now at hand in Italy might honor a new Prince, whether there is material here that would give a prudent and able man the opportunity to establish a new order, bringing honor to himself and benefit to all her people, I find so many circumstances working in favor of a new Prince that I cannot imagine a time better suited to the task. And if, as I have said, the people of Israel had to be enslaved in Egypt for the ability of Moses to be revealed, the Persians oppressed by the Medes for the greatness and spirit of Cyrus to be known, and the Athenians scattered for the excellence of Theseus to shine forth, so now, for the ability of an Italian spirit to be known, Italy had to be brought to her present condition: more enslaved than the Hebrews, more subjugated than the Persians, more scattered than the Athenians, leaderless and without order, beaten, stripped, torn, overrun, and made to endure ruin of every kind. And although before now some glimmer appeared in one man or another, enough to make us think he was appointed by God to redeem her, we have seen him afterward, at the height of his endeavors, cast aside by fortune. Italy, left as though lifeless, now waits for someone to heal her wounds, to put an end to the plunder and sack of Lombardy, the pillage and exactions inflicted on the Kingdom of Naples and Tuscany, and to cure the sores that have festered in her for so long.
We see her praying to God to send someone to redeem her from these barbarian cruelties and outrages. We see her ready and willing to follow a banner, if only someone will take it up. Nor can she now place greater hope in anyone than in your illustrious house, which, through its ability and fortune, favored by God and by the Church, whose head is now one of your own, may lead this redemption. This will not be very difficult for you if you set before yourselves the deeds and lives of the men named above. Though those men were rare and marvelous, they were men nonetheless, and each of them had a lesser opportunity than this one. Their undertaking was neither more just nor easier than yours, nor was God a better friend to them than to you. Here there is the highest justice, for a war is just when it is necessary, and arms are sacred when they are the only hope. Here there is the greatest readiness; and where readiness is great, difficulty cannot be great, provided your house adopts the methods of those whom I have held up as models for you. Beyond this, we see here wonders without precedent, brought about by God: the sea has opened, a cloud has shown you the way, the rock has poured forth water, manna has rained down here. Everything has come together for your greatness; the rest you must do yourselves. God does not wish to do everything, lest he take from us our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us. And it is no wonder that none of the Italians named before has been able to do what we may hope your illustrious house will do, or that, amid so many upheavals in Italy and so many campaigns, her military ability has always seemed extinguished. The reason is that her old institutions were no good, and no one has yet known how to devise new ones. Nothing brings so much honor to a man rising to power as the new laws and institutions he devises. When these are well founded and have greatness in them, they make him revered and admired; and in Italy there is no lack of material on which to build an order of any kind. There is great ability in her members, if only it were not lacking in her leaders. Look at duels and encounters between small numbers: the Italians are superior in strength, agility, and ingenuity. But when it comes to armies, they make no showing; and this all comes from the weakness of their commanders, for those who have knowledge will not obey, while everyone thinks he has it, and no one has yet risen so far through ability and fortune that the rest will yield to him. Hence, in all this time and all the wars fought over the past twenty years, whenever an army has been wholly Italian it has always performed badly. The Taro bears witness to this first, then Alessandria, Capua, Genoa, Vailà, Bologna, and Mestre.
If, then, your illustrious house wishes to follow those excellent men who redeemed their countries, it must, before all else, as the true foundation of every undertaking, provide itself with arms of its own; for no soldiers can be more loyal, more trustworthy, or better. And though each of them is good in himself, together they will become better still when they see themselves commanded by their own Prince, and honored and maintained by him. You must therefore prepare these forces, so that Italian ability can defend Italy against outsiders. And although Swiss and Spanish infantry are held to be formidable, both have a weakness, so that a third formation might not only withstand them but expect to overcome them. The Spaniards cannot stand against cavalry, and the Swiss have reason to fear infantry that confronts them with a resolve equal to their own. Thus experience has shown, and will show, that the Spaniards cannot withstand French cavalry and that the Swiss can be defeated by Spanish infantry. And although this last point has not been fully proved, there was a demonstration of it at the battle of Ravenna, when the Spanish infantry faced the German battalions, which use the same formation as the Swiss. The Spaniards, by agility of body and with the help of their bucklers, got in beneath the Germans' pikes and could strike them safely, while the Germans had no remedy; and if the cavalry had not charged the Spaniards, they would have destroyed them all. Knowing, then, the weakness of each of these kinds of infantry, one can organize a new force that will withstand cavalry and have no fear of infantry. This will be achieved not by a different kind of weapon, but by a change in formations. Such innovations, when established, bring reputation and greatness to a new Prince. Let this opportunity not pass, then, so that after so long Italy may see a redeemer of her own appear. I cannot express with what love he would be welcomed in all those regions that have suffered from these foreign floods, with what thirst for vengeance, what steadfast loyalty, what devotion, what tears. What gates would be closed to him? What people would refuse him obedience? What envy could stand against him? What Italian would withhold allegiance? The stench of this barbarian rule offends everyone. Let your illustrious house, then, take up this charge with the spirit and the hopes with which just undertakings are embraced, so that under its banner our country may be ennobled, and under its auspices these words of Petrarch may come true:
Virtue against furyWill take up arms, and the fight will be brief;For ancient valorIs not yet dead in Italian hearts.
Plain English translation
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Italian text of all 26 chapters and the dedication.
An Appeal to Free Italy from the Foreigners
After considering everything discussed above, I have asked myself whether this is a time in Italy when a new Prince could win honor. Is there an opportunity for a wise and capable man to establish a new order that would bring him honor and benefit the people of Italy as a whole? So many things seem to favor a new Prince that I cannot imagine a better time. As I said, the people of Israel had to be enslaved in Egypt for Moses to show his ability. The Persians had to be oppressed by the Medes for Cyrus to show his greatness and courage. The Athenians had to be scattered for Theseus to show his excellence. In the same way, for the ability of an Italian leader to become clear today, Italy had to reach its present state. It had to be more enslaved than the Hebrews, more subject than the Persians, and more scattered than the Athenians. It had to be leaderless and without order, beaten, robbed, torn apart, overrun, and subjected to every kind of ruin. Until now, there have been signs of hope in certain men who seemed chosen by God to save Italy. Yet we have seen fortune turn against them at the height of their efforts. Italy is left almost lifeless. She waits for someone to heal her wounds, put an end to the plunder and sacking of Lombardy and the pillaging and extortion of the Kingdom and Tuscany, and cure the sores that have festered for so long.
We can see her praying to God to send someone to free her from these foreign acts of cruelty and arrogance. We can also see that she is ready and willing to follow a banner, if only someone will raise it. Today she can place her hopes in no one more than in your illustrious house. With its ability and fortune, and with the support of God and the Church, which it now leads, your house can lead this liberation. This will not be very difficult if you keep in mind the deeds and lives of the men I named above. Those men were rare and remarkable, but they were men. Each had less of an opportunity than you have now. Their cause was no more just or easy than yours, and God was no more on their side than on yours. Justice is strongly on your side here, because a war is just when it is necessary. Taking up arms is right when there is no other hope. The people are completely ready. When they are so ready, the task cannot be very difficult, provided your house follows the methods of the men I have held up as examples. Beyond this, we can see extraordinary signs from God, with no earlier examples: the sea has opened, a cloud has shown you the way, water has flowed from a rock, and manna has rained down here. Everything has worked toward making your house great. What remains is for you to act. God does not want to do everything, because that would take away our free will and our share of the glory. It is no surprise that the Italians I mentioned earlier could not do what we may hope your illustrious house will do. Nor is it surprising that, despite so many upheavals in Italy and so many military campaigns, the country's military ability always seems to have died out. Its old military methods were no good, and no one has yet known how to devise new ones. Nothing brings a man newly come to power more honor than new laws and new institutions of his own making. When they have sound foundations and are great in scope, they make him respected and admired. Italy has ample material for any new form of organization. There is great ability among its ordinary people, if only its leaders had the same. Look at duels and fights between small groups: Italians surpass others in strength, skill, and resourcefulness. But when it comes to whole armies, they fail to stand out. This is entirely due to weak leaders. Those who know what they are doing will not obey, and everyone thinks he knows best. No one has yet risen so far above the others through ability and fortune that they will give way to him. That is why, through all the wars of the last twenty years, an entirely Italian army has always performed badly. The battles of the Taro, Alessandria, Capua, Genoa, Vailà, Bologna, and Mestri bear witness to this, in that order.
If your illustrious house wants to follow the great men who freed their countries, it must first, as the foundation of every undertaking, provide itself with troops of its own. No soldiers can be more loyal, more dependable, or better. Each will be good on his own, but together they will become even better when they see that their own Prince commands, honors, and supports them. You must prepare such forces so that Italians can use their own ability to defend themselves against outsiders. Swiss and Spanish infantry are feared, but each has a weakness. A third kind of force could stand against both and could reasonably expect to defeat them. The Spaniards cannot stand up to cavalry, while the Swiss have reason to fear foot soldiers who fight as stubbornly as they do. Experience has shown, and will show again, that the Spaniards cannot stand up to French cavalry and that Spanish infantry can destroy the Swiss. We have not yet seen the latter happen fully, but we got a glimpse of it at the battle of Ravenna. There, Spanish infantry faced German formations that used the same methods as the Swiss. The Spaniards, moving quickly and protected by their small shields, got in under the German pikes and could attack safely. The Germans had no answer. If cavalry had not charged the Spaniards, they would have wiped out all the Germans. Once you know the weaknesses of both kinds of infantry, you can create a new force that can stand up to cavalry and has no reason to fear other infantry. This does not call for a new kind of weapon, but for a change in the way troops are organized. Innovations of this kind give a new Prince a great reputation and make him powerful. So this opportunity must not be allowed to pass. After so long, Italy should see someone come to free her. I cannot express how warmly he would be welcomed in every region that has suffered from these foreign invasions. People would thirst for revenge and greet him with steadfast loyalty, devotion, and tears. What doors would be closed to him? What people would refuse to obey him? Who would envy him enough to stand in his way? What Italian would refuse to honor him? Everyone is sick of this foreign rule. Let your illustrious house take up this cause with the spirit and the hopes that belong to a just undertaking. Then this country can gain honor under its banner, and under its leadership the words of Petrarch can come true:
Courage will take up arms against fury,And the fight will soon be over;For the old strengthHas not yet died in Italian hearts.