so that none should dare to think of deceiving him, nor to make him change his opinion. He will by these means conciliate the esteem of his subjects, and prevent any attempts to subvert his authority. He will also have less to dread from external enemies, because they will be cautious how they attack a prince revered by his subjects; for those who govern have always two kinds of enemies, external and internal. The first he will repel with good friends and good troops; and as to the others, who does not know that a prince who has good soldiers has always friends? Besides, internal peace can only be interrupted by conspiracies, which are only dangerous when they are encouraged and supported by foreign powers. The latter, however, dare not stir if the prince conforms to the rules I have laid down, and follows the example of Nabis the tyrant of Sparta.
As to his subjects, if all is quiet without his dominions, a prince has nothing to dread but secret conspiracies, which he may sport with, or even prevent, by shunning, as I have before observed, every thing that can cause him to be hated or despised. Besides.conspiracies are seldom formed but against princes whose ruin and death would be agreeable to the people; without which, men would not expose themselves to the dangers inseparable from such machinations.
History is filled with conspiracies; but how few
