It’s time to look at how a ruler should behave with his subjects
and his friends. Given that a great deal has already been
written about this, I fear people may find my contribution
presumptuous, especially since, here more than elsewhere, the
code of conduct I’m offering will be rather controversial.
But since my aim was to write something useful for anyone
interested, I felt it would be appropriate to go to the real truth
of the matter, not to repeat other people’s fantasies. Many
writers have dreamed up republics and kingdoms that bear
no resemblance to experience and never existed in reality;
there is such a gap between how people actually live and how
they ought to live that anyone who declines to behave as
people do, in order to behave as they should, is schooling
himself for catastrophe and had better forget personal secur-
ity: if you always want to play the good man in a world where
most people are not good, you’ll end up badly. Hence, if a
ruler wants to survive, he’ll have to learn to stop being good,
at least when the occasion demands.
So leaving aside things people have dreamed up about rulers
and concentrating instead on reality, let’s say that when we
talk about anyone, but especially about leaders, who are more
exposed than others to the public eye, what we point are the
qualities that prompt praise or blame. One man is thought
generous and another miserly; one is seen as benevolent,
another as grasping; one cruel, the other kind; one treacherous,
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what rulers are praised and blamed for 61
another loyal; one effeminate and fearful, another bold and
brave; one considerate, another arrogant; one promiscuous,
another chaste; one straightforward, another devious; one
stubborn, another accommodating; one solemn, another
superficial; one religious, another unbelieving, and so on.
And I’m sure we’d all agree that it would be an excellent
thing if a ruler were to have all the good qualities mentioned
above and none of the bad; but since it’s in the nature of life
that you can’t have or practise all those qualities all of the
time, a ruler must take care to avoid the disgrace that goes
with the kind of failings that could lose him his position. As
for failings that wouldn’t lead to his losing power, he should
avoid them if he can; but if he can’t, he needn’t worry too
much. In the same way, he mustn’t be concerned about the
bad reputation that comes with those negative qualities that
are almost essential if he is to hold on to power. If you think
about it, there’ll always be something that looks morally right
but would actually lead a ruler to disaster, and something else
that looks wrong but will bring security and success.
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