A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank. And, on the contrary, it is seen that when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost their states. And the first cause of your losing it is to neglect this art; and what enables you to acquire a state is to be master of the art. Francesco Sforza, through being martial, from a private person became Duke of Milan; and the sons, through avoiding the hardships and troubles of arms, from dukes became private persons. For among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised, and this is one of those ignominies against which a prince ought to guard himself, as is shown later on. Because there is nothing proportionate between the armed and the unarmed; and it is not reasonable that he who is armed should yield obedience willingly to him who is unarmed, or that the unarmed man should be secure among armed servants. Because, there being in the one disdain and in the other suspicion, it is not possible for them to work well together. And therefore a prince who does not understand the art of war, over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. He ought never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts this subject of war, and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise than in war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action, the other by study.
A prince should have no aim or thought other than war, its rules, and its discipline. He should study nothing else. This is the only art proper to a ruler. It is so powerful that it not only keeps hereditary princes in power but often raises ordinary citizens to that rank. By contrast, princes who have cared more about comfort than arms have lost their states. Neglecting this art is the main cause of losing a state. Mastering it is what enables you to gain one. Through his skill in warfare, Francesco Sforza rose from an ordinary citizen to become Duke of Milan. His sons avoided the hardships and troubles of military life and fell from dukes to ordinary citizens. Among the other harms of being unarmed, it makes people despise you. This is one of the disgraces a prince must guard against, as will be shown later. The armed and the unarmed are not on equal terms. It is unreasonable to expect an armed man to obey an unarmed man willingly. Nor can an unarmed man feel safe among armed servants. One feels contempt, while the other feels suspicion, so they cannot work well together. A prince who does not understand warfare therefore suffers another disadvantage, beyond those already mentioned. His soldiers cannot respect him, and he cannot rely on them. A prince must therefore never stop thinking about war. In peacetime, he should devote himself to military training even more than in wartime. He can do this in two ways, through action and through study.
As regards action, he ought above all things to keep his men well organized and drilled, to follow incessantly the chase, by which he accustoms his body to hardships, and learns something of the nature of localities, and gets to find out how the mountains rise, how the valleys open out, how the plains lie, and to understand the nature of rivers and marshes, and in all this to take the greatest care. Which knowledge is useful in two ways. Firstly, he learns to know his country, and is better able to undertake its defence; afterwards, by means of the knowledge and observation of that locality, he understands with ease any other which it may be necessary for him to study hereafter; because the hills, valleys, and plains, and rivers and marshes that are, for instance, in Tuscany, have a certain resemblance to those of other countries, so that with a knowledge of the aspect of one country one can easily arrive at a knowledge of others. And the prince that lacks this skill lacks the essential which it is desirable that a captain should possess, for it teaches him to surprise his enemy, to select quarters, to lead armies, to array the battle, to besiege towns to advantage.
In action, he should above all keep his men well organized and trained, and hunt constantly. Hunting accustoms his body to hardship and teaches him about the terrain. He learns how mountains rise, how valleys open out, and how plains lie. He also learns the nature of rivers and marshes. He should study all these things with the greatest care. This knowledge is useful in two ways. First, he comes to know his own country and can better defend it. Then, by knowing and observing its terrain, he can easily understand other terrain he may later need to study. The hills, valleys, plains, rivers, and marshes of Tuscany, for example, bear some resemblance to those of other countries. So knowing the landscape of one country makes it easy to understand others. A prince who lacks this skill lacks an essential quality that a military commander should possess. It teaches him to surprise the enemy, choose campsites, lead armies, arrange troops for battle, and besiege towns effectively.
Philopoemen, Prince of the Achaeans, among other praises which writers have bestowed on him, is commended because in time of peace he never had anything in his mind but the rules of war; and when he was in the country with friends, he often stopped and reasoned with them: “If the enemy should be upon that hill, and we should find ourselves here with our army, with whom would be the advantage? How should one best advance to meet him, keeping the ranks? If we should wish to retreat, how ought we to pursue?” And he would set forth to them, as he went, all the chances that could befall an army; he would listen to their opinion and state his, confirming it with reasons, so that by these continual discussions there could never arise, in time of war, any unexpected circumstances that he could not deal with.
Philopoemen, Prince of the Achaeans, received many praises from writers. Among them, they praised him for thinking only about the principles of war, even in peacetime. When he was in the countryside with friends, he often stopped to discuss questions with them. “If the enemy were on that hill, and we were here with our army, who would have the advantage? How could we best advance to meet them while keeping our ranks? If we wanted to retreat, how should we go about it?” As they went, he described all the situations an army could face. He listened to their opinions and gave his own, supporting it with reasons. Through these constant discussions, no unexpected situation could ever arise in war that he could not handle.
Philopoemen, known as “the last of the Greeks,” was born in 252 B.C. and died in 183 B.C.
But to exercise the intellect the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of illustrious men, to see how they have borne themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeat, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former; and above all do as an illustrious man did, who took as an exemplar one who had been praised and famous before him, and whose achievements and deeds he always kept in his mind, as it is said Alexander the Great imitated Achilles, Caesar Alexander, Scipio Cyrus. And whoever reads the life of Cyrus, written by Xenophon, will recognize afterwards in the life of Scipio how that imitation was his glory, and how in chastity, affability, humanity, and liberality Scipio conformed to those things which have been written of Cyrus by Xenophon. A wise prince ought to observe some such rules, and never in peaceful times stand idle, but increase his resources with industry in such a way that they may be available to him in adversity, so that if fortune chances it may find him prepared to resist her blows.
To sharpen his mind, a prince should read history and study the actions of great men. He should examine how they conducted themselves in war and what caused their victories and defeats. This will help him avoid their failures and imitate their successes. Above all, he should follow the example of great men who chose a celebrated predecessor as their model. They always kept that person's achievements and actions in mind. Alexander the Great is said to have imitated Achilles, Caesar to have imitated Alexander, and Scipio to have imitated Cyrus. Anyone who reads Xenophon's life of Cyrus will later recognize how this imitation brought Scipio glory. Scipio's sexual restraint, friendliness, humanity, and generosity matched the qualities Xenophon described in Cyrus. A wise prince should follow rules like these and never remain idle in peacetime. Instead, he should work hard to build up resources he can draw on in difficult times. Then, if fortune turns against him, she will find him prepared to withstand her blows.