Chapters XXIV–XXVI
Summary — Chapter XXIV: Why the Princes of Italy Have
Lost Their States
Machiavelli suggests that any new prince who successfully
follows the advice found in The Prince will enjoy
the stability of a hereditary prince, since men are more aware of
the present than of the past.
A number of Italian princes have lost states through
their own military faults. They fled when they should have fought,
expecting their subjects to call them back. These princes failed
because of their own incompetence and not as a result of a string
of bad luck. They took too much comfort in prosperous times, never
anticipating danger. When they were conquered, they hoped that the
people would revolt and recall them; but it is always folly to depend
upon others for security. A prince's best defense is his own valor.
Summary — Chapter XXV: Concerning the Influence
of Fortune in Human Affairs, and the Manner in Which It Is to Be
Resisted
Although it is often thought that fortune controls human
affairs, fortune controls only half of one's actions, while free
will determines the other half. Fortune is like a flooding river:
it is only dangerous when men have not built dykes against it beforehand.
Italy has not built dykes, and as a result it has experienced tumultuous upheaval.
Germany, Spain, and France have taken better care and have reaped
the benefits of stability.
As fortune varies, one man may succeed and another fail,
even if they both follow the same path. Times and circumstances
change, so a prince must adjust to them in order to remain successful;
however, men tend to stay on the course that has brought them success
in the past. Circumstances allowed Julius II to act impetuously,
but if he had lived longer, he would have been ruined when circumstances changed.
On the whole, however, impetuosity surpasses caution. Fortune favors
energetic youth over cautious age.
Summary — Chapter XXVI: An Exhortation to Free Italy
from the Hands of the Barbarians
Italy's current disarray favors the emergence of a new
prince who will bring happiness to the Italian people. Until recently,
there had been a prince who seemed ordained by heaven to redeem
Italy. But a string of bad luck has prevented such an outcome.
Lorenzo de' Medici is Italy's best hope. If he has learned
from the great men named in The Prince, the salvation
of Italy will not be difficult. For though those men were great,
they were still only men, with no greater opportunities or grace
than Lorenzo's own. Past wars and princes have failed to strengthen
Italy because its military system was old and defective.
To succeed, Lorenzo must create a national army. The
Italian people are good fighters; only their leaders have failed.
Lorenzo's army needs both good cavalry and infantry to defeat the
Spaniards and the Swiss.
Should a prince ever succeed in redeeming Italy, he would
receive unending glory and be embraced in all the provinces with
love.
Analysis — Chapters XXIV–XXVI
Chapter XXV discusses the role of fortune in the determination
of human affairs. Many thinkers have considered the question of whether
a man's actions are a manifestation of his own free will, or if
they are simply determined by fate or his environment. Machiavelli
attempts to compromise between free will and determinism by arguing
that fortune controls half of human actions and leaves the other
half to free will. But Machiavelli also argues that, through foresight—a
quality whose importance Machiavelli stresses throughout The
Prince—people can shield themselves against fortune's slings
and arrows. Thus, Machiavelli can be described as confident in the
capabilities of human beings to shape their destinies, but skeptical
that such control is absolute.
Machiavelli ends The Prince with an
impassioned plea to redeem Italy. Stylistically, he abandons his
detached tone and utilizes exhortation and poetry to communicate
nationalistic fervor. He implores Lorenzo, to whom the book is dedicated,
to deliver Italy. Despite Machiavelli's efforts, the country would
not be truly unified for another three and a half centuries. Some
have argued that The Prince is really the manifestation
of Machievelli's desire to see a strengthened Italy, not a detached
work of political science. Historical references to Italy dominate
the book, and Machiavelli clearly conceives the book as a means
to expedite the successful unification of Italy. But The
Prince's clear application to Machiavelli's home country
does not distract from the book's relevance to philosophical questions.
At the very least, it must be said that the book's influence spread
further than the specific audience to which it was addressed.
A desire to strengthen Italy might also serve as Machiavelli's
ethical justification for the advice he has given. Machiavelli has
previously argued that a prince cannot achieve success without sometimes
resorting to ruthlessness. But Machiavelli never justifies the obtainment
of political success as a worthwhile goal in itself. His concern
with Italy would justify his logic: if the ultimate end is the glory
of Italy, the end would justify the means.
The Prince is full of historical references,
but the final chapters place the book in a historical context. Moreover,
these chapters give us some insight into the mind of the author
and his motives for writing the book. They suggest that Machiavelli
is not as diabolical as he is often portrayed.
