The works of the famous Nicholas Machiavel, citizen and secretary of Florence written originally in Italian, and from thence newly and faithfully translated into English.

CHAP. VIII.

He who would change the form of a Government, is to consider seriously up∣on what grounds he does it, and the disposition of the Subject.

IT has been said before, that an evil disposed Citizen can do no great hurt but in an ill disposed City, which conclusion (besides my former arguments) is much fortfied by the examples of Sp••rius Cassius, and Manlius Capitolinus; Spurius was an ambitious man, and being desirous to procure to himself extraordinary authority in Rome, by favouring the people in the sale of such Lands as the Romans had conquered from the Hernici, the Senate discovered it, and grew so jealous of him, that when in a speech of his to the people he proffered to give them the mony which had been received for corn that the Senate had sent for out of Sicily, the people absolutely refused it; supposing that Spurius intended that their liberty should make it good: but had the people of Rome at that time been corrupt, or ill disposed, they had taken his mony, and opened him a way to the making him∣self absolute; but the example of Manlius Capitolinus is greater than this, for by that we may see how the courage and integrity which he expressed to his Country in their wars against the Gauls, was afterwards clowded and extinguished by an infatiable desire of authority arising from an emulation of Camillus, whom the Romans had advanced to a greater degree of honour; and so strangely was he blinded with this passion, that not con∣sidering the state and incorruption of the City, or how indisposed the people were to any such enterprize, he began to make parties, and raise tumults in Rome both against the Senate and Laws. In which passage it was evident how well that Government was constituted, and how well that people was disposed; for in this case (though the Nobility and he were great friends, and fierce defenders of one anothers interest) none of them, nor his very re∣lations appeared in his behalf; and whereas at other Trials the friends of the criminal used to accompany him to the Bar in mourning, and with all other circumstances of sadness that they 〈◊〉〈◊〉 of, to work (if it were possible) the Judges to compassion; Manlius went alone, without so much as one friend to attend him: the Tribunes of the people who were in other things always opposite to the Nobility, and created on purpose to balance their power; when they found the design tending to the ruine of them all, they joyn'd heartily with them to remove so commo•• a destruction: and the people of Rome, who were zealous in any thing that made for their advantage, and lovers of any thing that crossed the Nobility, (though they also had their kindness for Manlius;) nevertheless when the Tribunes cited him, and referred him to the judgment of the people, they condemned him to death, without any consideration of his former services. Wherefore I am of opi∣nion, that in the whole tract of this History there is not an example that with more efficacy demonstrates the justice of that Commonwealth in all its orders and degrees of men than this; seeing there was not one Citizen appeared in the defence of Manlius, who was a person of known virtue and endowments, and had done many honourable things both in publick and private, and the reason was, because the love to their Country had a greater in∣fluence upon them than any other respect; and the consideration of the present danger of their affairs, being stronger than the memory of his past merits, they chose to free them∣selves by decreeing his death. Titus Livius, tells us, Hunc exitum habuit vir nisi in libera Civitatenatusesset, memorabilis; This was the end of a man who had been very memorable, had he been born any where but in a free State. And in his case there are two things very remarkable; one, that in a corrupt State glory and authority is acquir'd a quite contrary way, than where they live exactly according to the true rules of policy and justice; the other, (not much unlike the former) that men in their affairs, especially of greatest impor∣tance, are to consider the times, and accommodate thereunto; and those who by the un∣happiness of their election, or their natural inclination do otherwise, live always unfor∣tunately, and are more unsuccessful in all their enterprizes than they who comply with the times. And doubtless, by the fore-mentioned expression of the Historian, had Manlius been born in the days of Marius and Sylla, when the Mass was corrupt and depraved, and susceptible of any form his ambition would have imprinted, he had had the same success that they had when they aspired to be absolute. So again, had Marius and Sylla come into the World in the time of Manlius, they had miscarried as he did, and been lost in their first attempt. For one man by his ill customs and conversation may indeed give a touch and tincture of corruption to the people, but 'tis impossible his life should be long enough to debauch them so totally that he may expect any advantage of it in his time; or if he

should be so happy, and live long enough to infect a whole City; yet so impatient are the desires of man, that they cannot restrain their passions, or attend an opportunity of pur∣suing them wisely, but they circumvent and delude themselves in those very things of which they are most eagerly ambitious; so that sometimes for want of patience, and sometimes for want of judgment they venture rashly upon things before the matter be pre∣pared, and are ruined in their designs. He therefore who would alter a Government and set up himself, must attend till time has corrupted the Mass, and by degrees brought all into disorder, which of necessity must follow, when it is not (as we said before) purged and refined by the Examples of good Men or good Laws, that may reduce it towards its first principles. Manlius then had been a great and memorable person, had he been born in a corrupt City; for whoever designs any innovation in a State, whether it be for the restitution of liberty, or the erection of Tyranny, is particularly to regard the manners of the peo∣ple, and to consider how far they are disposed to submit to his ambition; and by so doing he may be able to judge of the success of his Enterprize. For to endeavour to make a people free, that are servile in their Nature, is as hard a matter, as to keep them in servi∣tude, who are disposed to be free. And because we have said before, That in all their operations men are to consider and proceed according to the quality of the times, we shall speak of it at large in the following Chapter.