The Portable Machiavelli
Page 6
The next morning, still preaching on Exodus and coming to that section where the Bible says that Moses killed an Egyptian, the friar declared that the Egyptian symbolized evil men and that Moses represented the prophet who killed them by uncovering their evil ways, and he said: “O Egyptian, I shall give you a thrust of my sword!”; and here he began to flip through your books, 0 you priests, and treated you in such a manner that not even a dog would come near you. Then he added, and this is what he was trying to get at all along, that he wanted to give the Egyptian another and greater wound, and he said that God had told him that there was one in Florence who sought to make himself a tyrant and who was scheming to achieve this goal: and that to attempt to drive out the friar, to excommunicate the friar, and to persecute the friar, meant simply that he wanted to be a tyrant; and he added that the laws should be observed. And he said so much about it that men later in the day publicly speculated about the man to whom the friar referred, a man who is about as close to becoming tyrant of Florence as you are to heaven! But since the Signoria later on wrote in his favor to the Pope, and since he saw that he need no longer fear his enemies in Florence, where before he wanted only to unite his own faction by attacking his enemies and to frighten them with the name of the tyrant, now, when he no longer need do so, he has changed his disguise: now he tries to turn all of them against the Holy Father, still encouraging them to join in the alliance already formed without mentioning either the name of the tyrants or their evilness, and toward the Supreme Pontiff he turns his churlish yappings and says of him what one would say of only the most evil of men; and thus, according to my view, he keeps changing with the times and makes his lies more believable.
Now, whatever the common herd is saying and what men are hoping or fearing, I shall leave to your judgment, since you are prudent and can evaluate that better than I; you understand our internal quarrels and the temper of the times and, since you are in Rome, you are also very aware of the Pope’s feelings. I beg of you only one thing: that if you have not found reading these letters of mine tiring, may you also not find it burdensome to write me, giving me your judgment of the nature of these times and telling me what you make of our affairs. Farewell. In Florence, March 8, 1498.
Your Niccolò Machiavelli
Son of Bernardo
The second letter, dated 1509, is addressed to Luigi Guicciardini (a member of the family of the more famous Francesco) and contains an unusual portrait of a grotesque prostitute, a figure no doubt born of an authentic experience and Machiavelli’s vivid imagination.
II
TO LUIGI GUICCIARDINI IN MANTUA
To Signor Luigi Guicciardini
as his dearest brother, in Mantua
Damn it all, Luigi! You see how fortune can bring about in men different results in similar matters. You, when you have screwed her once, you still get the urge to screw her again—you still want another go at her. But I, having been here several days, going blind crazy without my wife, came across an old woman who washed my shirts; she lives in a house that is practically underground, and the only light that comes in is from the door. I was passing by there one day, and she recognized me and made a big fuss over me; she said that if I wished, she would show me some beautiful shirts that I might want to buy. I believed her—innocent prick that I am! And when I was inside I dimly saw a woman hiding in a comer, pretending to be bashful with a towel over her head and face. The old hag took me by the hand and led me to the woman, saying: “This is the shirt that I want to sell, but I want you to try it on first and pay later.” Timid as I am, I was now completely terrified; nevertheless, since I was alone with her and in the dark (the old lady left the house immediately and shut the door), I gave her a good hump. Even though I found her thighs flabby and her cunt watery and her breath stinking a bit, my lust was so desperate that I went ahead and gave it to her anyway! And once I had her, I had the urge to see my merchandise and I took a brand from the fireplace near me and lit a lamp that was above it; and hardly was it lit when the light almost dropped from my hand. My God! The woman was so ugly that I almost dropped dead. The first thing I noticed was a tuft of hair, half white and half black, and although the top of her head was bald, which allowed you to observe a number of lice taking a stroll, nevertheless a few hairs mingled with the whiskers that grew around her face; and on top of her small, wrinkled head there was a scar-burn which made her look as if she had been branded at the market; her eyebrows were full of nits; one eye looked down, the other up, and one was larger than the other. Her tear ducts were full of mucus and her eyelashes plucked; her nose was twisted into a funny shape, the nostrils were full of snot, and one of them was half cut off; her mouth looked like Lorenzo de’ Medici’s, but it was twisted on one side and drooled a bit since she had no teeth to keep the saliva in her mouth; her upper lip was covered with a thin but rather long moustache; her chin was long and sharp, pointed up, and from it hung a bit of skin that dangled to her Adam’s apple. As I stood there, amazed at this monster, she noticed my surprise and tried to say: “What is the trouble, sir?”; but she could not, since she was a stutterer, and as she opened her mouth there came from it such a stinking breath that my eyes and my nose, the two gateways of the two most outraged senses, found themselves offended by this pestilence; this was such a shock to my stomach that, not being able to bear it, it heaved so much that I vomited all over her. And so, having paid her in the way she deserved, I left. And I swear to God, I don’t believe that my lust will return as long as I am in Lombardy. So you can praise God in the hope of enjoying your pleasures again, while I shall be thankful because I have lost the fear of ever again having such an unfortunate experience.
I think that I will have some money left from this trip, and I would like to put it into some small investment when I am back in Florence. I thought about setting up a poultry yard; I need some employee to run it for me. I hear that Piero di Martino is interested; I would like to hear from him if he is able and to have you reply to me. Because if he doesn’t want to, I have to find someone else.
Giovanni will give you the news from here. Give Jacopo my regards and remember me to him and don’t forget Marco. In Verona on December 9, 1509.
Niccolò Machiavelli
[P.S.] I am awaiting the reply of Gualtieri about my poem.
The third letter presents some difficulties. Although scholars have traditionally believed it to be addressed to Piero Soderini around 1512-1513, recent evidence suggests that the letter was actually composed in 1506. Furthermore, some scholars contend that it was addressed not to Piero Soderini (1452-1522), Machiavelli’s patron and superior in the Florentine chancery (he was elected gonfaloniere for life in 1502, only to lose his position with the return of the Medici and the downfall of the republic), but to his nephew, Giovan Battista Soderini. Since the ideas discussed in the letter are closely related to important sections of both The Prince and The Discourses, the earlier composition would indicate that some of Machiavelli’s fundamental concepts were formulated considerably earlier than many scholarly accounts of their development might indicate.
III
TO GIOVAN BATTISTA SODERINI OR PIERO SODERINI IN PERUGIA
A disguised letter of yours reached me—but I knew it was yours after reading ten words. I can imagine how many people came to meet you at Piombino, and I am sure of your annoyances and those of Filippo, since I know how one of you is offended by too much light and the other by too little. January does not bother me, as long as I can be sure that February improves. I am sorry about Filippo’s suspicion and await the result anxiously. [The man who does not know how to fence confuses one who does.]2 Your letter was brief, but I manage to make it longer by rereading it. I appreciated it, since it gave me the opportunity to do something I was afraid to do and which you warn me not to do; and only this part of the letter have I ignored. I would be surprised by this, if my fate had not shown me so many and so great a variety of things that I am forced to be seldom astonished or to admit having
learned little while reading about and participating in the actions of men and the methods of their deeds.
I know you and the compass by which you steer, and even if it were to be faulty, which it cannot be, I would not condemn it, seeing to what ports it has guided you, [the ranks with which it has honored you] and with what hope it nourishes you. Therefore I see, not with your mirror, where nothing is seen without prudence, but with that of the multitude, that one is obliged to look to the results of an action, to see how it was accomplished, and not to the means by which it was achieved. [Each man governs himself according to his fantasy.] And I see how different courses of action bring about the same result, as different roads lead to the same destination, and how many who use different means achieve the same goal—the actions of this Pope and the results they have achieved were all that was needed to prove this opinion. [Do not give advice to anyone nor accept any, except for general opinions; each man should do what his spirit tells him, and with boldness.] Hannibal and Scipio were both excellent military leaders: the first, by means of cruelty, treachery, and disdain for religion, kept his armies united in Italy and made himself admired by the peoples, who, in order to follow him, rebelled against Rome; the second, by means of piety, faith, and respect for religion in Spain, had the same following from those peoples; and both the one and the other won victory after victory. But since it is not fashionable to cite the Romans, Lorenzo de’ Medici disarmed the people in order to hold Florence, while Giovanni Bentivoglio armed them to hold Bologna; the Vitelli at Castello and the present Duke of Urbino in his state destroyed fortresses in order to hold those states, while Count Francesco and many others built them within their states to hold them. [Trust Fortune, the friend of young men, and adapt yourself to the situation. But you cannot both have fortresses and not have them, be both cruel and pious.] The Emperor Titus thought he would lose his empire the day he failed to do a favor for someone; some other ruler might fear to lose his state the day he pleased someone. Many men succeed in their plans by weighing and measuring everything. [When Fortune becomes weary, disaster ensues. The family, the city, each man has its fortune founded on its method of proceeding, and each of these becomes weary, and when Fortune is run down, one must revive it with another method. Compare this to a horse led for too long a time around the same fortress.] This Pope Julius, who has neither a scale nor a measure, achieves by chance while disarmed what with proper preparation and arms he could attain only with difficulty. We have seen and still see the above examples and countless others of like fashion which could be cited concerning the acquisition of kingdoms and dominions or the loss of them, according to circumstances; and when a method led to success it was praised; when it led to failure, it was condemned; and sometimes after a lengthy prosperity, loss is blamed not on oneself but on heaven and the disposition of the Fates. But why it happens that the same actions are sometimes equally effective and equally damaging I do not know, but I should like very much to find out; thus, in order to hear your opinion, I will be presumptuous enough to tell you mine.
I believe that as Nature has given every man a different face, so she also has given each a different character and imagination. From this it follows that each man governs himself according to his particular character and imagination. And because, on the other hand, times change and the order of things always shifts, the fortunate man, the one whose wishes are completely fulfilled, is he who fits his plan of action to the times; to the contrary, the unhappy man is he who fails to match his actions to the times and to the order of things. Thus, it can easily occur that two men, acting in different ways, can achieve the same result, since each of them can fit themselves to the circumstances, for patterns of events are as many as the number of provinces or states. But because the times and affairs are often transformed, both in general and in particulars, and men do not change their imaginations nor their methods, it happens that one man has in one instance good fortune and in another bad. And, truly, anyone so wise as to understand the times and the order of things and be able to accommodate himself to them would always have good fortune, or at least he would avoid the bad, and then the truth would emerge: that the wise man can command the stars and the Fates. But since such men cannot be found, men being only shortsighted and unable to discipline their characters, it follows that Fortune changes and commands men and keeps them under her yoke. And to verify this opinion, the examples above are sufficient; I founded my view on them, and they should support it. Cruelty, perfidy, and contempt for religion help to increase the reputation of a new ruler in a province where humanity, faith, and religion have long been abandoned; in like manner, humanity, faith, and religion are efficacious where cruelty, perfidy, and contempt for religion have reigned for a time; for just as bitter things disturb the taste and sweet things glut it, so men grow tired of the good and complain of the bad. These, among other causes, opened Italy to Hannibal and Spain to Scipio, and thus each corresponded, according to his manner of proceeding, to the times and the order of things. At that same time, a man like Scipio would not have been so fortunate in Italy, nor one like Hannibal so successful in Spain, as both the one and the other were in their respective areas.
Niccolò Machiavelli
The next three letters are addressed to Francesco Vettori (1474-1539), the Florentine ambassador to Rome from 1513 to 1515, who had become Machiavelli’s friend during an earlier diplomatic mission which took them both to Germany. All three letters were written after Machiavelli’s enforced retirement from political life and reveal his moods during the important period in which The Prince was composed. The letter describing the work’s composition is perhaps the most famous letter in Italian Renaissance literature and is a moving testament to Machiavelli’s love for the classics which inspired his treatise.
IV
TO FRANCESCO VETTORI IN ROME
Magnifice domine orator,
And I, aware of his changed color, said:
“But how can I go on if you are frightened?
You are my constant strength when I lose heart.”3
This letter of yours has scared me more than the rack, and I am sorry about any idea you may have that I am angry, not for my own sake, because I am used to no longer desiring anything passionately, but for yours, and I beg you to imitate others who make a place for themselves with astuteness and insistence, rather than with talent and prudence; and as for that story about Totto, it displeases me if it displeases you. Furthermore, I do not think about it, and if I cannot be enrolled, I’ll roll on;4 and I ask you once and for all not to worry about the requests I make of you, since I will not be upset if I do not obtain them.
If you are tired of discussing affairs, since many times you see them end up in a way contrary to the concepts and arguments that you form about them, you are correct, because the same thing has happened to me. Yet, if I could speak to you, I would do nothing more than fill your head with imaginary plans, since Fortune has decided that I must talk about the state—not knowing how to discuss either the silk trade or the wool business, either profits or losses. I have to vow either to remain silent or to speak of this. If I could leave Florentine territory, I too would certainly go to see if the Pope were at home; but in spite of so many favors dispensed, I was ignored by him because of my negligent absence. I shall wait for September.
I understand that Cardinal Soderini has many dealings with the Pope. I should like you to advise me if you think it would be fitting for me to write him a letter asking that he commend me to His Holiness; or if it might be best that you speak privately on my behalf with the cardinal; or if neither should be done—in which case you might send me a short reply.
As for the horse, you make me laugh by reminding me of it. Only when I remember it will you have to pay, and not otherwise.
Our archbishop must be dead by this hour; may God receive his soul and those of his family. Valete. In Florence, April 9, 1513.
Niccolò Machiavelli
formerly Secretary
&nb
sp; V
TO FRANCESCO VETTORI IN ROME
Magnificent Ambassador. Divine favors were never late.5 I say this because it appears that I have not lost but have rather misplaced your favor, since you have not written to me for quite a long time, and I was in doubt as to the cause. And I paid little attention to all the reasons that came to mind, except for one: I feared that you had stopped writing to me because you heard that I was not a good guardian for your letters; and I knew that outside of Filippo [Casavecchia] and Paolo [Vettori], no one else, as far as I know, has seen them. But now I have found your favor once again in your last letter of the twenty-third of the past month. I am very happy to see how regularly and calmly you carry on your public office, and urge you to continue in this way, since anyone who loses his own interests for those of others sacrifices his own and receives no thanks from the others. And since it is Fortune that does everything, it is she who wishes us to leave her alone, to be quiet and not to give her trouble, and to wait until she allows us to act again; then you will do well to strive harder, to observe things more closely, and it will be time for me to leave my country home and say: “Here I am!” In the meantime, I can only tell you in this letter of mine what my life is like, wishing to match favor with favor, and if you think you would like to exchange yours for mine, I would be very happy to do so.