The Prince
by Nicolo Machiavelli
CHAPTER XXII
Concerning The Secretaries Of Princes
THE choice of servants is of no little importance to a prince, and they are good or not according to the discrimination of the prince. And the first opinion which one forms of a prince, and of his understanding, is by observing the men he has around him; and when they are capable and faithful he may always be considered wise, because he has known how to recognize the capable and to keep them faithful. But when they are otherwise one cannot form a good opinion of him, for the prime error which he made was in choosing them.
There were none who knew Messer Antonio da Venafro as the servant of Pandolfo Petrucci, Prince of Siena, who would not consider Pandolfo to be a very clever man in having Venafro for his servant. Because there are three classes of intellects: one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others; the first is the most excellent, the second is good, the third is useless. Therefore, it follows necessarily that, if Pandolfo was not in the first rank, he was in the second, for whenever one has judgment to know good or bad when it is said and done, although he himself may not have the initiative, yet he can recognize the good and the bad in his servant, and the one he can praise and the other correct; thus the servant cannot hope to deceive him, and is kept honest.
But to enable a prince to form an opinion of his servant there is one test which never falls; when you see the servant thinking more of his own interests than of yours, and seeking inwardly his own profit in everything, such a man will never make a good servant, nor will you ever be able to trust him; because he who has the state of another in his hands ought never to think of himself, but always of his prince, and never pay any attention to matters in which the prince is not concerned.
On the other to keep his servant honest the prince ought to study him, honouring him, enriching him, doing him kindnesses, sharing with him the honours and cares; and at the same time let him see that he cannot stand alone, so that many honours not make him desire more, many riches make him wish for more, and that many cares may make him dread changes. When, therefore, servants, and princes towards servants, are thus disposed, they can trust each other, but when it is otherwise, the end will always be disastrous for either one or the other.[1]
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Synopsis:
- A prince should take counsel when he wants it and not when others offer it. In fact, when others are offering advice when the prince is not asking for it, he should be skeptical of their intent.
- "So one concludes that good counsel, from wherever it comes, must arise from the prudence of the prince, and not the prudence of the prince from good counsel."
First, he makes the statement that the perception of rulers is in large part formed by the quality of those they associate with and the results they achieve by following advice. Presumably, Machiavailli is a most excellent candidate.
Secondly he makes the statement that there are three kinds of intelligence: "one which comprehends by itself; another which appreciates what others comprehend; and a third which neither comprehends by itself nor by the showing of others". Presumably, Machiavailli is of the first class, Lorenzo Di Piero De' Medici is of the second class, in need of the first class, but, currently surrounded by the third class.
The other neccessary attribute for secretaries is loyalty and honesty, determined by whether the secretary completely ignores self-interest and focusses solely on the rulers interests. This was assured in the dedication.
It is unknown whether this "job application" made it past Lorenzo Di Piero De' Medici's secretary or was read by the ruler in Machiavailli's lifetime, or, at all.
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Bill Ross is an electronic design engineer in Oakland, Ontario, Canada. The above article is either an excerpt from, supporting evidence for or logical implication of HumanNature, an evolving objective study of humanity and civilization and dissection of the lies of those who incorrectly believe they are in control from the factual, provable perspective. Feedback is welcome. Email Author
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