Machiavelli 101

[telebob x]

If the Prince is to hold power then he must know that he must be feared 
rather than loved.

And I quote....

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"Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether it is Better to be Loved than 
Feared

Upon this a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared or 
feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, 
because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be 
feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because 
this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, 
false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed they are yours 
entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as 
is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches, they 
turn against you. And that prince who, relying entirely on their promises, 
has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are 
obtained by payments, and not by nobility or greatness of mind, may indeed 
be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied 
upon; and men have less scruples in offending one who is beloved than one 
who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing 
to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; 
but fear preserved you by a dread of punishment which never fails.

Nevertheless a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that, if he does 
not win love, he avoids hatred; because he can endure very well being feared 
whilst he is not hated, which will always be as long as he abstains from the 
property of his citizens and subjects and from their women.



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From: Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, ed. W. K. Marriott. London: J. M. 
Dent and Sons, 1908, pp. 117-118, 129-131.


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