Because being loved depends on subjects while being feared depends on the prince, a wise ruler should build on fear—which he controls—while striving to avoid hatred.
By Niccolò Machiavelli, from The Prince
Key Arguments
- Love is externally contingent, resting with others; fear can be generated and sustained by the prince’s own actions.
- The earlier guidance on avoiding property violations and unnecessary bloodshed outlines how to prevent hatred while cultivating fear.
Source Quotes
But living as he did under the control of the Senate, this hurtful quality was not merely disguised, but came to be regarded as a glory. Returning to the question of being loved or feared, I sum up by saying, that since his being loved depends upon his subjects, while his being feared depends upon himself, a wise Prince should build on what is his own, and not on what rests with others. Only, as I have said, he must do his utmost to escape hatred.
Returning to the question of being loved or feared, I sum up by saying, that since his being loved depends upon his subjects, while his being feared depends upon himself, a wise Prince should build on what is his own, and not on what rests with others. Only, as I have said, he must do his utmost to escape hatred.
Key Concepts
- since his being loved depends upon his subjects, while his being feared depends upon himself, a wise Prince should build on what is his own, and not on what rests with others.
- Only, as I have said, he must do his utmost to escape hatred.
Context
Chapter 17, lines 1055-1113; concluding maxim tying the love–fear analysis to agency and the imperative to avoid hatred.