Page:The Prince.djvu/211

as I have already said, their wealth, their blood; their lives, and even their own offspring, when the occasion for any of them is distant; but should it present itself, they will revolt against you. The prince who, relying on such fair speeches; and neglects to guard himself against events, is in danger of destruction, because the friends that he has made by means of money, and not by the qualities of mind and soul, are seldom proof against a reverse of fortune, and abandon him when he has most need of them. Men are generally more inclined to submit to him who makes himself dreaded, than to one who strives to be beloved; the reason of which is, that this friendship being a mere moral tie, and a duty following a benefit, cannot hold against the calculations of interest: whereas fear carries with it the dread of putiishment, which they cannot bear to think of. A prince ought, notwithstanding, to make himself dreaded only in such a way, that if he cannot be loved he should at least not be hated, because he can easilý confine himself within these limits. Now, that he may not become hated, it will be sufficient for him to respect his subjects' properties and the honour of their wives. If he finds the punishment of death absolutely necessary, he should avow the motives of it, and, above all, abstain from touching the property of the condemned party. For certain it is. that men sooner forget the death of their re-