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Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII.
Of Those Who By Their Crimes Come to Be Princes
But since from privacy a man may also rise to be a Prince in one or
other of two ways, neither of which can be referred wholly either to merit or
to fortune, it is fit that I notice them here, though one of them may fall to
be discussed more fully in treating of Republics.
The ways I speak of are, first, when the ascent to power is made by
paths of wickedness and crime; and second, when a private person becomes
ruler of his country by the favour of his fellow-citizens. The former method
I shall make clear by two examples, one ancient, the other modern, without
entering further into the merits of the matter, for these, I think, should
be enough for any one who is driven to follow them.
Agathocles the Sicilian came, not merely from a private station, but from
the very dregs of the people, to be King of Syracuse. Son of a potter,
through all the stages of his fortunes he led a foul life. His vices,
however, were conjoined with so great vigour both of mind and body, that
becoming a soldier, he rose through the various grades of the service to be
Praetor of Syracuse. Once established in that post, he resolved to make
himself Prince, and to hold by violence and without obligation to others the
authority which had been spontaneously entrusted to him. Accordingly, after
imparting his design to Hamilcar, who with the Carthaginian armies was at
that time waging war in Sicily, he one morning assembled the people and
senate of Syracuse as though to consult with them on matters of public moment,
and on a preconcerted signal caused his soldiers to put to death all the
senators, and the wealthiest of the commons. These being thus got rid of, he
assumed and retained possession of the sovereignty without opposition on the
part of the people; and although twice defeated by the Carthaginians, and
afterwards besieged, he was able not only to defend his city, but leaving a
part of his forces for its protection, to invade Africa with the remainder,
and so in a short time to raise the siege of Syracuse, reducing the
Carthaginians to the utmost extremities, and compelling them to make terms
whereby they abandoned Sicily to him and confined themselves to Africa.
Whoever examines this man`s actions and achievements will discover
little or nothing in them which can be ascribed to Fortune, seeing, as has
already been said, that it was not through the favour of any, but by the
regular steps of the military service, gained at the cost of a thousand
hardships and hazards, he reached the princedom which he afterwards
maintained by so many daring and dangerous enterprises. Still, to slaughter
fellow-citizens, to betray friends, to be devoid of honour, pity, and
religion, cannot be counted as merits, for these are means which may lead to
power, but which confer no glory. Wherefore, if in respect of the valour with
which he encountered and extricated himself from difficulties, and the
constancy of his spirit in supporting and conquering adverse fortune, there
seems no reason to judge him inferior to the greatest captains that have ever
lived, his unbridled cruelty and inhumanity, together with his countless
crimes, forbid us to number him with the greatest men; but, at any rate, we
cannot attribute to Fortune or to merit what he accomplished without either.
In our own times, during the papacy of Alexander VI, Oliverotto of
Fermo,. who some years before had been left an orphan, and had been brought
up by his maternal uncle Giovanni Fogliani, was sent while still a lad to
serve under Paolo Vitelli, in the expectation that a thorough training under
that commander might qualify him for high rank as a soldier. After the death
of Paolo, he served under his brother Vitellozzo, and in a very short time,
being of a quick wit, hardy and resolute, he became one of the first soldiers
of his company. But thinking it beneath him to serve under others, with the
countenance of the Vitelleschi and the connivance of certain citizens of
Fermo who preferred the slavery to the freedom of their country, he formed
the design to seize on that town.
He accordingly wrote to Giovanni Fogliani that after many years of
absence from home, he desired to see him and his native city once more, and
to look a little into the condition of his patrimony; and as his one
endeavour had been to make himself a name, in order that his fellow-citizens
might see his time had not been mis-spent, he proposed to return honourably
attended by a hundred horsemen from among his own friends and followers; and
he begged Giovanni graciously to arrange for his reception by the citizens of
Fermo with corresponding marks of distinction, as this would be creditable
not only to himself, but also to the uncle who had brought him up.
Giovanni accordingly, did not fail in any proper attention to his
nephew, but caused him to be splendidly received by his fellow-citizens, and
lodged him in his house; where Oliverotto having passed some days, and made
the necessary arrangements for carrying out his wickedness, gave a formal
banquet, to which he invited his uncle and all the first men of Fermo. When
the repast and the other entertainments proper to such an occasion had come
to an end, Oliverotto artfully turned the conversation to matters of grave
interest, by speaking of the greatness of Pope Alexander and Cesare his son,
and of their enterprises; and when Giovanni and the others were replying to
what he said, he suddenly rose up, observing that these were matters to be
discussed in a more private place, and so withdrew to another chamber;
whitherhis uncle and all the other citizens followed him, and where they had
no sooner seated themselves, than soldiers rushing out from places of
concealment put Giovanni and all the rest to death.
After this butchery, Oliverotto mounted his horse, rode through the
streets, and besieged the chief magistrate in the palace, so that all were
constrained by fear to yield obedience and accept a government of which he
made himself the head. And all who from being disaffected were likely to
stand in his way, he put to death, while he strengthened himself with new
ordinances, civil and military, to such purpose, that for the space of a year
during which he retained the Princedom, he not merely kept a firm hold of the
city, but grew formidable to all his neighbours. And it would have been as
impossible to unseat him as it was to unseat Agathocles, had he not let
himself be overreached by Cesare Borgia on the occasion when, as has already
been told, the Orsini and Vitelli were entrapped at Sinigaglia; where he too
being taken, one year after the commission of his parricidal crime, was
strangled along with Vitellozzo, whom he had assumed for his master in
villany as in valour.
It may be asked how Agathocles and some like him, after numberless acts
of treachery and cruelty, have been able to live long in their own country in
safety, and to defend themselves from foreign enemies, without being plotted
against by their fellow-citizens, whereas, many others, by reason of their
cruelty, have failed to maintain their position even in peaceful times, not
to speak of the perilous times of war. I believe that this results from
cruelty being well or ill-employed. Those cruelties we may say are well
employed, if it be permitted to speak well of things evil, which are done
once for all under the necessity of self-preservation, and are not afterwards
persisted in, but so far as possible modified to the advantage of the
governed. Ill-employed cruelties, on the other hand, are those which from
small beginnings increase rather than diminish with time. They who follow the
first of these methods, may, by the grace of God and man, find, as did
Agathocles, that their condition is not desperate; but by no possibility can
the others maintain themselves.
Hence we may learn the lesson that on seizing a state, the usurper
should make haste to inflict what injuries he must, at a stroke, that he may
not have to renew them daily, but be enabled by their discontinuance to
reassure men`s minds, and afterwards win them over by benefits. Whosoever,
either through timidity or from following bad counsels, adopts a contrary
course, must keep the sword always drawn, and can put no trust in his
subjects, who suffering from continued and constantly renewed severities,
will never yield him their confidence. Injuries, therefore, should be
inflicted all at once, that their ill savour being less lasting may the less
offend; whereas, benefits should be conferred little by little, that so they
may be more fully relished.
But, before all things, a Prince should so live with his subjects that
no vicissitude of good or evil fortune shall oblige him to alter his
behaviour; because, if a need to change come through adversity, it is then
too late to resort to severity; while any leniency you may use will be thrown
away, for it will be seen to be compulsory and gain you no thanks.
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