Dear Signor Machiavelli,
Recently I acquired a copy of your fine novel, The Prince, and I was delighted to see your ideas and thoughts on leadership aligning so well with my own. First of all, you wrote about being generous, but only when in the public light, and I could not agree with this more wholeheartedly. Whenever I begin contemplating a public event or work, I always ask myself “How will this bring me favor with the people?” And while some may see this as selfish, being loved by few means nothing if you have been ousted from your rule. I firmly believe that when doing anything, whether it be public or personal, you must take into account how your people will feel about your decision. You seemed to share this opinion when you wrote about taxes, and how increasing taxes to build public works is not worth it, if it costs you the favor of your people.
Next, your ideas about conflicts, enemies and expansion could not have been more accurate. As you may well know, Genoa is a rather small republic, focused mainly on commercial expansion rather than border expansion. Also, you wrote about how you felt it was foolish to attempt to siege other cities when you wrote “It’s almost impossible for a prince with his armies to devote an entire year to siege while doing nothing else.” I strongly agree with this statement, however many of my fellow politicians believe that now since Genoa has amassed economic power, we should attempt to begin gaining military power, but I believe otherwise.
Finally I firmly agree about what you wrote on the topic of virtue and morality. You said that it was better to be feared than loved, but also that “every prince should prefer to be considered merciful rather than cruel, yet he should be careful not to mismanage this clemency of his.” I absolutely agree with this, and do my best to exercise mercy, but not be afraid of showing a harsh punishment, if the occasion arises. I find that if you let your clemency define your rule, then the people will mistake your mercy for weakness. Lastly, I concur with your view that a prince should know how to rule not only by force or only by law, but maintain a balance in his rule, and use force and law as he deem fit.
Regards,
Tiberio Fonte
Recently I acquired a copy of your fine novel, The Prince, and I was delighted to see your ideas and thoughts on leadership aligning so well with my own. First of all, you wrote about being generous, but only when in the public light, and I could not agree with this more wholeheartedly. Whenever I begin contemplating a public event or work, I always ask myself “How will this bring me favor with the people?” And while some may see this as selfish, being loved by few means nothing if you have been ousted from your rule. I firmly believe that when doing anything, whether it be public or personal, you must take into account how your people will feel about your decision. You seemed to share this opinion when you wrote about taxes, and how increasing taxes to build public works is not worth it, if it costs you the favor of your people.
Next, your ideas about conflicts, enemies and expansion could not have been more accurate. As you may well know, Genoa is a rather small republic, focused mainly on commercial expansion rather than border expansion. Also, you wrote about how you felt it was foolish to attempt to siege other cities when you wrote “It’s almost impossible for a prince with his armies to devote an entire year to siege while doing nothing else.” I strongly agree with this statement, however many of my fellow politicians believe that now since Genoa has amassed economic power, we should attempt to begin gaining military power, but I believe otherwise.
Finally I firmly agree about what you wrote on the topic of virtue and morality. You said that it was better to be feared than loved, but also that “every prince should prefer to be considered merciful rather than cruel, yet he should be careful not to mismanage this clemency of his.” I absolutely agree with this, and do my best to exercise mercy, but not be afraid of showing a harsh punishment, if the occasion arises. I find that if you let your clemency define your rule, then the people will mistake your mercy for weakness. Lastly, I concur with your view that a prince should know how to rule not only by force or only by law, but maintain a balance in his rule, and use force and law as he deem fit.
Regards,
Tiberio Fonte
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