Ideas from Le Prince
209 ideas
Sample Ideas
- A prince’s prudence is revealed by his choice of ministers: capable and faithful ministers indicate a wise ruler, while unsuitable ones condemn his judgment.
- A prince with a strong city who is not hated is effectively unassailable; besiegers will fare badly because it is nearly impossible to maintain a year-long siege without interruption.
- Louis XII lost Lombardy because he failed to employ any of the established methods necessary to retain conquered provinces.
- Julius II’s resort to Spanish auxiliaries to take Ferrara exemplified the rashness of relying on foreign arms and would have left him a prisoner had not fortune intervened through the unexpected Swiss counterstroke after Ravenna.
- Fortune resembles a destructive flood that overwhelms where there are no preparations; prudent construction of barriers in fair weather mitigates her power.
- Ecclesiastical princedoms are uniquely easy to maintain—secured by religious ordinances rather than merit or fortune—so that their princes keep territories they do not defend and subjects they do not govern, rendering these princedoms singularly secure and happy.
- Before Charles VIII’s invasion, Italy’s balance-of-power system aimed to exclude foreign armies and prevent any single Italian power—especially the Pope or the Venetians—from aggrandizing.
- For cities or provinces formerly living under their own laws and in freedom, there are three ways to hold them: destroy them; reside there personally; or allow their laws while imposing tribute and ruling through a few dependent local citizens.
- In alliances and wars, avoid joining a stronger power unless compelled by necessity; since no course is perfectly safe, prudence consists in choosing the lesser evil.
- When a newly acquired state shares language and customs with the conqueror’s old dominions and is not accustomed to freedom, it is easy to retain if the old princely line is destroyed and laws and taxes remain unchanged.