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. II.

A person of honour and condition is not to make War his profession.

Fabritio.

I Will begin my discourse with what you said, that in matter of War (which is my profession) I never made use of any thing of the ancients, To which I answer, that War being a profession by which men cannot live honourable at all times, it is not to be taken up as a trade, unless it be by a Commonwealth, or a Kingdom, and if they be well constituted, they will neither of them suffer any of their Citizens or Subjects, or any other good man to make it his business; for he will never be thought a good man who takes upon him an employment, by which if he would reap any profit at any time, he is obliged to be false, and rapacious, and cruel, and to entertain several other qualities that are not consistent in a good man; nor can any man (great or small) who makes war his profession, be otherwise than vitious; because that that trade being not to be followed in time of peace, they are necessitated either to prevent or obstruct peace; or in time of war to provide so for themselves, that they may subsist in time of peace; and neither of those two ways are practicable to an honest man; for from the desire of providing for themselves against the evil day, when the wars should be ended, proceed the robberies, and thefts, and murders which are committed daily by such kind of people, and that upon their friends as well as enemies. And from the desire of obstructing the peace, proceed all the frauds and jugling which the Officers use with those who pay them, and all to continue the war; but if by accident peace be concluded contrary to their endeavours and design, it is to be feared that the Officers finding themselves destitute of pay, and their old liberty and licentiousness, will get together such Soldiers of fortune as have nothing to subsist upon, and falling into some Province, plunder and rifle it without any compassion. Do you not remember that here in Italy we had several of these disbanded Souldiers, which got together when the wars were done, called themselves the Companies, and went up and down ransacking Towns, and pillaging the Country, and all without remedy? Have you not read how after the first Carthaginian War, disbanded Souldiers united under the command of Matho and Spendius, (two of their Officers) and in a tumultuous manner made a more dangerous War upon the Carthaginians than that which they had had with the Romans; In the days of our Predecessors Francis Sforza not only betraid the Milanois who had made him their General, but usurped upon their liberty, and made himself their Prince, and for what, but that he might live in the same splendor when the Peace was con∣cluded. And all the rest of the great Officers in Italy were like him, (especially if War was their profession) and though de facto they did not all make themselves Dukes of Milan by their treachery, they were the more to be blamed, because without the temptation of so great advantage their lives and exorbitances were as bad. The Father of Francis Sforza being in the service of Queen Iane, constrained her to cast her self into the protection of the King of Arragon, having deserted her on a sudden, and left her disarm'd in the midst of her enemies, and all to satiate his ambition, to satisfy his revenge, or to have got her Kingdom for himself. Braccio with the same industry endeavoured to possess himself of the Kingdom of Naples, and had he not been defeated and slain at Aquila, he had certainly effected it; and these confusions proceeded from nothing else but from the employing of such men as were mercenary, and had nothing to subsist upon but their pay? Have you

not a Proverb which confirms what I say, and tells us, that War makes Thieves, and Peace brings them to the Gallows; the reason is, for that those persons who have no other way of livelihood, nor so much temper and ingenuity as to take to any other course that may ho∣nestly sustain them, are forced by necessity to rob upon the high-ways, and then justice is forced to dispatch them,

Cosimo.

You have represented this trade and profession of a Souldier so vile and con∣temptible, that to me it seems now to be worse than none at all, whereas before I thought it one of the most noble and excellent things in the World: so that unless you satisfie me better, I shall never be contented; for if it be so as you say, I cannot imagin how it should come to pass that Caesar, and Pompey, and Scipio, and Marcellus, and so many other great Captains of the Romans should become so famous as to be worshipped like Gods.

Fabritio.

I have not yet thorowly examined those two things which I proposed in the beginning; one is, that a good man cannot take up that calling as his profession: the other is, that no well constituted Government (whether Commonwealth or Kingdom) will suffer its Subjects or Citizens to make War their whole business. To the first I have spoke what I thought fit; it remains now that I speak to the second, in which I shall have occasion to reply to your last demand.