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The Prince: XXII

The Prince
XXII
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table of contents
  1. Titlepage
  2. Imprint
  3. Introduction
    1. Youth
    2. Office
    3. Literature and Death
  4. The Man and His Works
  5. The Prince
    1. Dedication
    2. I: How Many Kinds of Principalities There Are, and by What Means They Are Acquired
    3. II: Concerning Hereditary Principalities
    4. III: Concerning Mixed Principalities
    5. IV: Why the Kingdom of Darius, Conquered by Alexander, Did Not Rebel Against the Successors of Alexander at His Death
    6. V: Concerning the Way to Govern Cities or Principalities Which Lived Under Their Own Laws Before They Were Annexed
    7. VI: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired by One’s Own Arms and Ability
    8. VII: Concerning New Principalities Which Are Acquired Either by the Arms of Others or by Good Fortune
    9. VIII: Concerning Those Who Have Obtained a Principality by Wickedness
    10. IX: Concerning a Civil Principality
    11. X: Concerning the Way in Which the Strength of All Principalities Ought to Be Measured
    12. XI: Concerning Ecclesiastical Principalities
    13. XII: How Many Kinds of Soldiery There Are, and Concerning Mercenaries
    14. XIII: Concerning Auxiliaries, Mixed Soldiery, and One’s Own
    15. XIV: That Which Concerns a Prince on the Subject of the Art of War
    16. XV: Concerning Things for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or Blamed
    17. XVI: Concerning Liberality and Meanness
    18. XVII: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared
    19. XVIII: Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith
    20. XIX: That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated
    21. XX: Are Fortresses, and Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous or Hurtful?
    22. XXI: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So as to Gain Renown
    23. XXII: Concerning the Secretaries of Princes
    24. XXIII: How Flatterers Should Be Avoided
    25. XXIV: Why the Princes of Italy Have Lost Their States
    26. XXV: What Fortune Can Effect in Human Affairs and How to Withstand Her
    27. XXVI: An Exhortation to Liberate Italy from the Barbarians
  6. Endnotes
  7. Colophon
  8. Uncopyright

XXII

Concerning the Secretaries of Princes

The choice of servants is of no little importance to a prince, and they are good or not according to the discrimination of the prince. And the first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him; and when they are capable and faithful he may always be considered wise, because he has known how to recognize the capable and to keep them faithful. But when they are otherwise one cannot form a good opinion of him, for the prime error which he made was in choosing them.

There were none who knew Messer Antonio da Venafro as the servant of Pandolfo Petrucci, Prince of Siena, who would not consider Pandolfo to be a very clever man in having Venafro for his servant. Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehended; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless. Therefore, it follows necessarily that, if Pandolfo was not in the first rank, he was in the second, for whenever one has judgment to know good and bad when it is said and done, although he himself may not have the initiative, yet he can recognize the good and the bad in his servant, and the one he can praise and the other correct; thus the servant cannot hope to deceive him, and is kept honest.

But to enable a prince to form an opinion of his servant there is one test which never fails; when you see the servant thinking more of his own interests than of yours, and seeking inwardly his own profit in everything, such a man will never make a good servant, nor will you ever be able to trust him; because he who has the state of another in his hands ought never to think of himself, but always of his prince, and never pay any attention to matters in which the prince is not concerned.

On the other hand, to keep his servant honest the prince ought to study him, honouring him, enriching him, doing him kindnesses, sharing with him the honours and cares; and at the same time let him see that he cannot stand alone, so that many honours may not make him desire more, many riches make him wish for more, and that many cares may make him dread chances. When, therefore, servants, and princes towards servants, are thus disposed, they can trust each other, but when it is otherwise, the end will always be disastrous for either one or the other.

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The source text and artwork in this ebook edition are believed to be in the U.S. public domain. This ebook edition is released under the terms in the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication, available at https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/. For full license information see the Uncopyright file included at the end of this ebook.
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