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. I.

How the Seigneur Fabritio Colonna being refreshing himself one evening with some other Gentlemen in a beautiful Garden, took occasion to enter upon this discourse of War.

SEeing I am of opinion, that after a man is dead, it is lawful for any body to com∣mend him without danger of reproof, (because there can be no occasion nor suspicion of flattery) I shall make no difficulty to speak something in praise of our renowned and true friend Cosimo Rucellia, whose name I cannot remember without tears in my eyes, having known in him all the good qualities, which one good Friend or good Citizen would desire in another; for I know not any thing so dear to him, that he would not have sacrificed for his friend; nor any thing so dreadful, that he would not have undertaken for his Country: and I confess freely among all with whom I have had any acquaintance and conversion, I do not know any man whose heart was more disposed to great and magnificent things. At his death nothing troubled him so much (as he complained often to his friends) as that he should die young, and in his own house without honour, or the satisfaction of having been serviceable to any man as he desired, for he was sensible that no more could be said of him than that he died a good friend. However it follows not but we who were acquainted with him, may bear testimony of his virtues and good qua∣lities, seeing their is nothing left of his works or actions to recommend him to the World: and yet fortune was not so much his enemy but she suffered him to leave a short monu∣ment of the dexterity of his wit, which appears in certain Sonnets, and amorous Verses of his composition; in which way (though he was not amorous) he entertained himself at idle times in his youth, till his Stars had conducted him to higher thoughts, by which Verses it may easily be discerned with what comeliness and felicity he could have expressed his conceptions, and how honourable he would have made himself by his Poetry, had he made it his business. But fortune having deprived us of such a friend, it seems to me that no better remedy can be applyed, than for us (as far as is possible) to make as much of his memory as we can, and recollect such of his sayings, or arguments, as were either witty or solid. And because there is nothing of him more fresh than the discourse which he had lately with Fabritio Colonna in his Garden, (where the said Fabritio gave a large account of all the mysteries of War one the one side, and Cosimo proposed, and objected, and argued with as much gravity one the other) being then present by accident with other of our friends, I have thought fit to put in writing, that by reading it, such of Cosimo's friends as were there may, renew the memory of his Virtues; such as were not there, may be

troubled for their absence, and learn several things profitable not only for military, but civil conversation.

I say then Fabritio Colonna returning from Lombardy, where for a long time he had done very honorable service for the King of Spain, passing by Florence to repose himself some time in that City, visit the Duke, and enjoy the company of certain Gentlemen with whom he had had a former acquaintance, Cosimo held himself obliged to invite him to his Gardens▪ not so much to shew his own liberality and magnificence, as to have larger opportunity of discoursing with him, and informing himself of such things as might be expected from a person of his experience, and spending a whole day in discoursing of what might be to the satisfaction of his mind. Fabritio accepted his invitation, came to his house, and was en∣tertained very nobly by Cosimo, with several other of his more particular friends as Zanobi Buondelmonti, Battista dalla Palla, Luigi Alamanni and others, all of them young Gentle∣men, his intimate friends, and ardently studious of the same things, of whose qualifica∣tions I shall say nothing in this place, because being still living, their own actions do re∣commend them every hour of the day.

Fabritio was regall'd with as much pomp and magnificence as were consistent with the time and the place: but dinner being ended, the tables taken way, and all the formalities of the Feast over, which among persons of great minds, whose thoughts are employed upon more honourable things, are not so tedious as with other people) the day being long, and heat excessive, Cosimo thought it convenient for the better satisfaction of his designs, under pretence of avoiding the heat, to carry Fabritio into a close and shady Arbour in the Garden, where they might discourse with more leisure and privacy; and having brought him and the rest of the Company to the place, some of them disposed themselves upon the grass, (which was very pleasant and green) and others upon seats under the shadow of those lofty trees; Fabritio began to applaud the delightsomness of the place, and then look∣ing particularly upon the trees, and not knowing of some of them, he stood still, as it were in suspence, which being observed by Cosimo, he told him, 'tis possible, Sir, you may not be acquainted with those trees, but 'tis no wonder, for some of them were in more request with our fore-Fathers than they are with us, and having told him their names, and what delight Seignor Bernardo his Grand-father took in planting, Fabritio replyed, I thought they were as you say; but the pleasantness of this place, and the innocence of that em∣ployment puts me in mind of some Princes in the Kingdom of Naples who delighted themselves exceedingly in those kind of diversions, and would plant, and make delicate Arbours to keep themselves from the heat; and thereupon breaking off short in his discourse, he stood still for a while, as in some serious suspence, but presently he told them if I thought I should not misbehave my self, (which among my friends I suppose is not easy) I would give you my opinion of it, not to traduce or calumniate them, but for discourse sake, and to pass away the time; for doubtless those Princes (under correction) had done much better to have imitated their Ancestors in great and heroick, rather than in soft and effeminate things; to have followed their examples in the heat of the Sun, ra∣ther than to have retir'd and withdrawn themselves into the coolness of a shade; and ra∣ther to have personated their fore-Fathers in what was solid and perfect, than in what was delicate, and corrupt; for since these kind of entertainments have been pleasing to our Country-men, our Country has gone to ruine, and all things declined.

Cosimo.

You have opened a way to a discourse which I desire exceedingly, and there∣fore I beg of you that you would speak of it frankly, without respect to any body, seeing I intend to interrogate you with the same freedom, and if in my demands or replies I ex∣cuse, or accuse any man, it will not be barely to excuse or accuse him, but to understand the truth.

Fabritio.

I shall be well pleased to inform you of anything I know, and shall leave it to your discretion to judge whether what I say be true or false, expecting to learn as much from your demands, as you will do from my answers; for a wise question makes a man consider many things which perhaps he regarded not before; and understand others, which without interrogation he had never understood.

Cosimo.

I will return to what you said first, that my Grand-father, and your fore-Fathers would have done more prudently to have imitated their Ancestors in difficult and generous things, rather than in what was delicate and soft; and in this I will excuse my part, and leave the other to be defended by you. I am of opinion that there was not a man in his time who detested all kind of effeminacy more than he, and who was a greater lover of that kind of activity and vigour which you so much commend, nevertheless he found that he could not make use of it either in his own person, or in the persons of his Children, being born in so corrupt an age, that a man who should have deviated from the

common practice of those times, would have made himself contemptible to every body. For if a man in the heat of Summer should have lien basking upon the sands; or in the midst of Winter should have taken up his quarters in the snow, (as Diogenes did) he would have been thought a fool, or a mad-man: should a man have followed the Spartan way, brought up his children in some cottage, taught them to sleep in the fields; to run about bare-foot and bare-headed; wash in cold water to inure them to hardship, and by making them less fond of life, to make them less sensible of death, he would have been despised for his pains; and have been thought rather a bruit than a man. Again should a man have been observed to starve his own carkass, and to live only upon beans and pease, and such kind of pulse, and have made as small account of mony as Fabritius did of what was offer∣ed him by the Samnites, 'tis possible he might have been commended by some few, but he should have been followed by no body: being discouraged therefore by the practice of the present age, he followed not the example of his Ancestors exactly, but followed them as much as he could, with as little notice and admiration to the World.

Fabritio.

You have excused your Grand-father very handsomly on that particular, and what you have said is doubtlesly true; but I did not speak so much of that hard and rustick way of living, as of other ways that are more soft and effeminate; have greater confor∣mity and correspondence with our present times, and are (in my judgment) easily to be introduced by any man who has the government of affairs: and in my discourse of this matter I shall not need to straggle into other Countries for examples, for the Romans (my own Country-men) will furnish me abundantly; whose Practices, and order of Govern∣ment, if well considered, will not be found so impossible to be introduced in any other City where there is but the least spark of virtue and goodness.

Cosimo.

What are those things that you would introduce according to the example of our Ancestors?

Fabritio.

To honour and reward virtue; not to dispise poverty; to value order and discipline of war; to constrain Citizens to love one another; to live without factions; to postpone all private interest to the publick; and several other things that may easily ac∣commodate with our times; and these things are not difficult to be introduced, provided it be done deliberately and by right means, because in them the truth is so manifest and ap∣parent, that the commonest capacity may apprehend it. He therefore who orders his af∣fairs in this manner, plants himself trees which will afford him a happier and more plea∣sant shelter and protection than these,

Cosimo.

I will not reply to what you have said, but referring it to the discretion of the company, (who can easily judge of it) I shall address my discourse to you, who seems to find fault with all those who in their great and weighty affairs do not follow the examples of our Ancestors, supposing thereby I may be more easily satisfied in my intention. I would know therefore how it comes to pass that, on one side you condemn all those who do not imitate the practice of our Ancestors; and yet on the other, in your wars (which is your profession, and excellence) it does not appear that you have made use of any thing of the ancient method and discipline, or done any thing that resembled it.

Fabritio.

You are now come to the point where I expected you, and indeed my discourse deserved, and I my self desired no other demand. And though I might save my self the labour, with a very plausible excuse, yet I will satisfie both your desire and my own, and that the more largely, because both time and place concurs to our convenience. Men who are desirous to do any great action, are first to prepare themselves with all dili∣gence and industry, that when occasion is offered, they may be ready to execute and com∣pleat it. And because where those preparations are made cautiously, they are not to be discovered; no man is to be accused of negligence, unless occasion discovers him first, to which if he be remiss, and makes not use of his time to execute his design, it gives us to un∣derstand, that either he has not prepar'd as he ought to have been, or that he had not thought of it at all: and therefore no occasion having presented it self to me to discover the preparations which I had made to reduce our Militia into the form of the ancients; if I have not yet reduced it, I conceive I cannot justly be condemned, either by you, or any body else: and this I think is a sufficient answer to your accusation.

Cosimo.

It would be sufficient indeed, could I be assured that you never had any occa∣sion.

Fabritio.

But because I find you may doubt whether ever such occasion were offered or not, I am content to discourse more largely (upon condition you will have the patience to hear me) what preparations are necessary to be made; what occasion is necessary to be had; what difficulties obstruct our preparatives, and hinder our occasion; and how this is easie and hard to fall out at the same time, which seems a contradiction.

Cosimo.

You cannot do me and the whole company a greater favour; and if it will be no trouble to you to enlarge, it will be none to us to attend: but because the discourse is like to be long, I desire I may have the assistance of my friends, yet with your licence and permission; wherefore they and I do make it our request, that you would not take it a miss if we interrupt you sometimes with some importunate demand.

Fabritio.

I am very well contented, that you (Cosimo) and these young Gentlemen your friends, ask any thing of me, because I believe the heat of your youth makes you in∣clinable to arms, and by consequence more apt to give credit to what I shall say: and these other Gentlemen shall have the same liberty, because their grey heads, and their cold blood, makes them commonly enemies to warfare, and incorrigible, as people possessed with an opinion that it is the times, not the ill customs which constrains men to live at that rate. Question me then freely, as you please; 'tis the thing I desire, because I shall there∣by have some respit, and repose; and withal, the satisfaction of clearing your doubts, and leaving nothing unanswered in your minds.