Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius
NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI TO ZANOBI BUONDELMONTI AND
COSIMO RUCELLAI
BOOK I.
- PREFACE.
- CHAPTER I.--Of the Beginnings of Cities in general,
and in particular of that of Rome.
- CHAPTER II.--Of the various kinds of Government;
and to which of them the Roman Commonwealth belonged.
- CHAPTER III.--Of the Accidents which led in Rome to
the creation of Tribunes of the People; whereby the Republic was made
more perfect.
- CHAPTER IV.--That the Dissensions between the
Senate and Commons of Rome, made Rome free and powerful.
- CHAPTER V.--Whether the Guardianship of public
Freedom is safer in the hands of the Commons or of the Nobles; and
whether those who seek to acquire Power or they who seek to maintain it
are the greater cause of Commotions.
- CHAPTER VI.--Whether it was possible in Rome to
contrive such a Government as would have composed the Differences
between the Commons and the Senate.
- CHAPTER VII.--That to preserve Liberty in a State
there must exist the Right to accuse.
- CHAPTER VIII.--That Calumny is as hurtful in a
Commonwealth as the power to accuse is useful.
- CHAPTER IX.--That to give new Institutions to a
Commonwealth, or to reconstruct old Institutions on an entirely new
basis, must be the work of one Man.
- CHAPTER X.--That in proportion as the Founder of a
Kingdom or Commonwealth merits Praise, he who founds a Tyranny deserves
Blame.
- CHAPTER XI.--Of the Religion of the Romans.
- CHAPTER XII.--That it is of much moment to make
account of Religion; and that Italy, through the Roman Church, being
wanting therein, has been ruined.
- CHAPTER XIII.--Of the use the Romans made of
Religion in giving Institutions to their City, in carrying out their
Enterprises, and in quelling Tumults.
- CHAPTER XIV.--That the Romans interpreted the
Auspices to meet the occasion; and made a prudent show of observing the
Rites of Religion even when forced to disregard them; and any who
rashly slighted Religion they punished.
- CHAPTER XV.--How the Samnites, as a last resource
in their broken Fortunes, had recourse to Religion.
- CHAPTER XVI.--That a People accustomed to live
under a Prince, if by any accident it become free, can hardly preserve
that Freedom.
- CHAPTER XVII.--That a corrupt People obtaining
Freedom can hardly preserve it.
- CHAPTER XVIII.--How a Free Government existing in
a corrupt City may be preserved, or not existing may be created.
- CHAPTER XIX.--After a strong Prince a weak Prince
may maintain himself: but after one weak Prince no Kingdom can stand a
second.
- CHAPTER XX.--That the consecutive Reigns of two
valiant Princes produce great results: and that well-ordered
Commonwealths are assured of a Succession of valiant Rulers by whom
their Power and Growth are rapidly extended.
- CHAPTER XXI.--That it is a great reproach to a
Prince or to a Commonwealth to be without a national Army.
- CHAPTER XXII.--What is to be noted in the combat
of the three Roman Horatii and the three Alban Curiatii.
- CHAPTER XXIII.--That we should never hazard our
whole Fortunes where we put not forth our entire Strength; for which
reason to guard a Defile is often hurtful.
- CHAPTER XXIV.--That well-ordered States always
provide Rewards and Punishments for their Citizens; and never set off
Deserts against Misdeeds.
- CHAPTER XXV.--That he who would reform the
Institutions of a free State, must retain at least the semblance of old
Ways.
- CHAPTER XXVI.--A new Prince in a City or Province
of which he has taken Possession, ought to make Everything new.
- CHAPTER XXVII.--That Men seldom know how to be
wholly good or wholly bad.
- CHAPTER XXVIII.--Whence it came that the Romans
were less ungrateful to their Citizens than were the Athenians.
- CHAPTER XXIX.--Whether a People or a Prince is the
more ungrateful.
- CHAPTER XXX.--How Princes and Commonwealths may
avoid the vice of Ingratitude; and how a Captain or Citizen may escape
being undone by it.
- CHAPTER XXXI.--That the Roman Captains were never
punished with extreme severity for Misconduct; and where loss resulted
to the Republic merely through their Ignorance or Want of Judgment,
were not punished at all.
- CHAPTER XXXII.--That a Prince or Commonwealth
should not delay conferring Benefits until they are themselves in
difficulties.
- CHAPTER XXXIII.--When a Mischief has grown up in,
or against a State, it is safer to temporize with than to meet it with
Violence.
- CHAPTER XXXIV.--That the authority of the Dictator
did good and not harm to the Roman Republic: and that it is not those
Powers which are given by the free suffrages of the People, but those
which ambitious Citizens usurp for themselves, that are pernicious to a
State.
- CHAPTER XXXV--Why the Creation of the Decemvirate
in Rome, although brought about by the free and open Suffrage of the
Citizens, was hurtful to the Liberties of that Republic
- CHAPTER XXXVI.--That Citizens who have held the
higher Offices of a Commonwealth should not disdain the lower.
- CHAPTER XXXVII.--Of the Mischief bred in Rome by
the Agrarian Law: and how it is a great source of disorder in a
Commonwealth to pass a Law opposed to ancient Usage and with stringent
retrospective Effect.
- CHAPTER XXXVIII.--That weak Republics are
irresolute and undecided; and that the course they may take depends
more on Necessity than Choice.
- CHAPTER XXXIX.--That often the same Accidents are
seen to befall different Nations.
- CHAPTER XL.--Of the creation of the Decemvirate in
Rome, and what therein is to be noted. Wherein among other Matters is
shown how the same Causes may lead to the Safety or to the Ruin of a
Commonwealth.
- CHAPTER XLI.--That it is unwise to pass at a bound
from leniency to severity, or to a haughty bearing from a humble.
- CHAPTER XLII.--How easily Men become corrupted.
- CHAPTER XLIII.--That Men fighting in their own
Cause make good and resolute Soldiers.
- CHAPTER XLIV.--That the Multitude is helpless
without a Head: and that we should not with the same breath threaten
and ask leave.
- CHAPTER XLV.--That it is of evil example,
especially in the Maker of a Law, not to observe the Law when made: and
that daily to renew acts of injustice in a City is most hurtful to the
Governor.
- CHAPTER XLVI.--That Men climb from one step of
Ambition to another, seeking at first to escape Injury and then to
injure others.
- CHAPTER XLVII.--That though Men deceive themselves
in Generalities, in Particulars they judge truly.
- CHAPTER XLVIII.--He who would not have an Office
bestowed on some worthless or wicked Person, should contrive that it be
solicited by one who is utterly worthless and wicked, or else by one
who is in the highest degree noble and good.
- CHAPTER XLIX.--That if Cities which, like Rome,
had their beginning in Freedom, have had difficulty in framing such
Laws as would preserve their Freedom, Cities which at the first have
been in Subjection will find this almost impossible.
- CHAPTER L.--That neither any Council nor any
Magistrate should have power to bring the Government of a City to a
stay.
- CHAPTER LI.--What a Prince or Republic does of
Necessity, should seem to be done by Choice.
- CHAPTER LII.--That to check the arrogance of a
Citizen who is growing too powerful in a State, there is no safer
Method, or less open to objection, than to forestall him in those Ways
whereby he seeks to advance himself.
- CHAPTER LIII.--That the People, deceived by a
false show of Advantage, often desire what would be their Ruin; and
that large Hopes and brave Promises easily move them.
- CHAPTER LIV.--Of the boundless Authority which a
great Man may use to restrain an excited Multitude.
- CHAPTER LV.--That Government is easily carried on
in a City wherein the body of the People is not corrupted: and that a
Princedom is impossible where Equality prevails, and a Republic where
it does not.
- CHAPTER LVI.--That when great Calamities are about
to befall a City or Country, Signs are seen to presage, and Seers arise
who foretell them.
- CHAPTER LVII.--That the People are strong
collectively, but individually weak.
- CHAPTER LVIII.--That a People is wiser and more
constant than a Prince
- CHAPTER LIX.--To what Leagues or Alliances we may
most trust; whether those we make with Commonwealths or those we make
with Princes.
- CHAPTER LX.--That the Consulship and all the other
Magistracies in Rome were given without respect to Age.
BOOK II.
- PREFACE.
- CHAPTER I.--Whether the Empire acquired by the
Romans was more due to Valour or to Fortune.
- CHAPTER II.--With what Nations the Romans had to
contend, and how stubborn these were in defending their Freedom.
- CHAPTER III.--That Rome became great by destroying
the Cities which lay round about her, and by readily admitting
strangers to the rights of Citizenship.
- CHAPTER IV.--That Commonwealths have followed three
Methods for extending their Power.
- CHAPTER V.--That changes in Sects and Tongues, and
the happening of Floods and Pestilences, obliterate the Memory of the
Past.
- CHAPTER VI.--Of the Methods followed by the Romans
in making War.
- CHAPTER VII.--Of the Quantity of Land assigned by
the Romans to each Colonist.
- CHAPTER VIII.--Why certain Nations leave their
ancestral Seats and overflow the Countries of others.
- CHAPTER IX.--Of the Causes which commonly give
rise to Wars between States.
- CHAPTER X.--That contrary to the vulgar opinion,
Money is not the Sinews of War.
- CHAPTER XI.--That it were unwise to ally yourself
a Prince who has Reputation rather than Strength.
- CHAPTER XII.--Whether when Invasion is imminent it
is better to anticipate or to await it.
- CHAPTER XIII.--That Men rise from humble to high
Fortunes rather by Fraud than by Force.
- CHAPTER XIV.--That Men often err in thinking they
can subdue Pride by Humility.
- CHAPTER XV.--That weak States are always dubious
in their Resolves; and that tardy Resolves are always hurtful.
- CHAPTER XVI.--That the Soldiers of our days depart
widely from the methods of ancient Warfare.
- CHAPTER XVII.--What importance the Armies of the
present day should allow to Artillery; and whether the commonly
received opinion concerning it be just.
- CHAPTER XVIII.--That the authority of the Romans
and the example of ancient Warfare should make us hold Foot Soldiers of
more account than Horse.
- CHAPTER XIX.--That Acquisitions made by
ill-governed States and such as follow not the valiant methods of the
Romans, tend rather to their Ruin than to their Aggrandizement.
- CHAPTER XX.--Of the Dangers incurred by Princes or
Republics who resort to Auxiliary or Mercenary Arms.
- CHAPTER XXI.--That Capua was the first City to
which the Romans sent a Praetor; nor there, until four hundred years
after they began to make War.
- CHAPTER XXII.--That in matters of moment Men often
judge amiss.
- CHAPTER XXIII.--That in chastising their Subjects
when circumstances required it the Romans always avoided half-measures.
- CHAPTER XXIV.--That, commonly, Fortresses do much
more Harm than Good
- CHAPTER XXV.--That he who attacks a City divided
against itself, must not think to get possession of it through its
Divisions.
- CHAPTER XXVI.--That Taunts and Abuse breed Hatred
against him who uses them, without yielding him any Advantage.
- CHAPTER XXVII.--That prudent Princes and Republics
should be content to have obtained a Victory; for, commonly, when they
are not, theft-Victory turns to Defeat.
- CHAPTER XXVIII.--That to neglect the redress of
Grievances, whether public or private, is dangerous for a Prince or
Commonwealth.
- CHAPTER XXIX.--That Fortune obscures the minds of
Men when she would not have them hinder her Designs.
- CHAPTER XXX.--That really powerful Princes and,
Commonwealths do not buy Friendships with Money, but with their Valour
and the Fame of their Prowess.
- CHAPTER XXXI.--Of the Danger of trusting banished
Men.
- CHAPTER XXXII.--In how many Ways the Romans gained
Possession of Towns.
- CHAPTER XXXIII.--That the Romans intrusted the
Captains of their Armies with the fullest Powers.
BOOK III.
- CHAPTER I.--For a Sect or Commonwealth to last
long, it must often be brought back to its Beginnings.
- CHAPTER II.--That on occasion it is wise to feign
Folly.
- CHAPTER III.--That to preserve a newly acquired
Freedom we must slay the Sons of Brutus.
- CHAPTER IV.--That an Usurper is never safe in his
Princedom while those live whom he has deprived of it.
- CHAPTER V.--How an Hereditary King may come to lose
his Kingdom.
- CHAPTER VI.--Of Conspiracies.
- CHAPTER VII.--Why it is that changes from Freedom
to Servitude, and from Servitude to Freedom, are sometimes made without
Bloodshed, but at other times reek with Blood.
- CHAPTER VIII.--That he who would effect Changes in
a Commonwealth, must give heed to its Character and Condition
- CHAPTER IX.--That to enjoy constant good Fortune we
must change with the Times.
- CHAPTER X.--That a Captain cannot escape Battle
when his Enemy forces it on him at all risks.
- CHAPTER XI.--That one who has to contend with
many, though he be weaker than they, will prevail if he can withstand
their first onset.
- CHAPTER XII.--A prudent Captain will do what he
can to make it necessary for his own Soldiers to fight, and to relieve
his Enemy from that necessity.
- CHAPTER XIII.--Whether we may trust more to a
valiant Captain with a weak Army, or to a valiant Army with a weak
Captain.
- CHAPTER XIV.--Of the effect produced in Battle by
strange and unexpected Sights or Sounds.
- CHAPTER XV.--That one and not many should head an
Army: and why it is harmful to have more Leaders than one.
- CHAPTER XVI.--That in Times of Difficulty true
Worth is sought after; whereas in quiet Times it is not the most
deserving, but those who are recommended by Wealth or Connection who
are most in favour.
- CHAPTER XVII.--That we are not to offend a Man,
and then send him to fill an important Office or Command.
- CHAPTER XVIII.--That it is the highest Quality of
a Captain to be able to forestall the designs of his Adversary.
- CHAPTER XIX.--Whether Indulgence or Severity be
more necessary for controlling a Multitude.
- CHAPTER XX.--How one humane act availed more with
the men of Falerii, than all the might of the Roman Arms.
- CHAPTER XXI.--How it happened that Hannibal
pursuing a course contrary to that taken by Scipio, wrought the same
results in Italy which the other achieved in Spain.
- CHAPTER XXIII.--Why Camillus was banished from
Rome.
- CHAPTER XXIV.--That prolonged Commands brought
Rome to Servitude.
- CHAPTER XXV.--Of the poverty of Cincinnatus and of
many other Roman Citizens.
- CHAPTER XXVI.--How Women are a cause of the ruin
of States.
- CHAPTER XXVII.
- CHAPTER XXVIII.
- CHAPTER XXIX.--That the Faults of a People are due
to its Prince.
- CHAPTER XXX.--That a Citizen who seeks by his
personal influence to render signal service to his Country, must first
stand clear of Envy. How a City should prepare for its defence on the
approach of an Enemy.
- CHAPTER XXXI.--That strong Republics and valiant
Men preserve through every change the same Spirit and Bearing.
- CHAPTER XXXII.--Of the methods which some have
used to make Peace impossible.
- CHAPTER XXXIII.--That to insure victory in battle
you must inspire your Men with confidence in one another and in you.
- CHAPTER XXXIV.--By what reports, rumours, or
surmises the Citizens of a Republic are led to favour a Fellow-citizen:
and-whether the Magistracies are bestowed with better judgment by a
People or by a Prince.
- CHAPTER XXXV.--Of the Danger incurred in being the
first to recommend new Measures; and that the more unusual the Measures
the greater the Danger.
- CHAPTER XXXVI.--Why it has been and still may be
affirmed of the Gauls, that at the beginning of a fray they are more
than Men, but afterwards less than Women.
- CHAPTER XXXVII.--Whether a general engagement
should be preceded by skirmishes; and how, avoiding these, we may get
knowledge of a new Enemy.
- CHAPTER XXXVIII.--Of the Qualities of a Captain in
whom his Soldiers can confide.
- CHAPTER XXXIX.--That a Captain should have good
knowledge of Places.
- CHAPTER XL.--That Fraud is fair in War.
- CHAPTER XLI.--That our Country is to be defended
by Honour or by Dishonour; and in either way is well defended.
- CHAPTER XLII.--That Promises made on Compulsion
are not to be observed.
- CHAPTER XLIII.--That Men born in the same Province
retain through all Times nearly the same Character.
- CHAPTER XLIV.--That where ordinary methods fail,
Hardihood and Daring often succeed.
- CHAPTER XLV.--Whether in battle it is better to
await and repel the Enemy's attack, or to anticipate it by an impetuous
onset.
- CHAPTER XLVI.--How the Characteristics of Families
come to be perpetuated.
- CHAPTER XLVII.--That love of his Country should
lead a good Citizen to forget private Wrongs.
- CHAPTER XLVIII.--That on finding an Enemy make
what seems a grave blunder, we should suspect some fraud to lurk
behind.
- CHAPTER XLIX.--That a Commonwealth to preserve its
Freedom has constant need of new Ordinances. Of the services in respect
of which Quintius Fabius received the surname of Maximus.
This page copyright © 2004 Blackmask Online.
http://www.blackmask.com