Liber III, Pars II — Quae et quot sunt cautelae, quibus tyrannus nititur se in suo dominio praeservare. Cap. X.

Liber III, Pars II — Quae et quot sunt cautelae, quibus tyrannus nititur se in suo dominio praeservare. Cap. X.

The philosopher touches on many precautions. He speaks. From these, as far as the present situation is concerned, we can enumerate ten ways through which a tyrant seeks to preserve himself in his domain. The first tyrannical precaution is to eliminate the excellent. For when a tyrant does not care for anything but his own good, the excellent and noble individuals in the kingdom, who cannot endure this, rise up against him: however, the tyrant, knowing that he is such, thinks only about how he can eliminate the excellent. Indeed, when some desire to tyrannize, they not only hunt down the excellent, but also their own brothers and those closely related to them by blood, and they kill them: this is a sign of the worst tyranny. But the true king, on the other hand, aiming for the common good and knowing that he is loved by those who are in the kingdom, does not eliminate the excellent and noble, and much more so his own relatives, through whom the good state of the kingdom can be preserved; instead, he saves them. The second tyrannical precaution is to destroy the wise. They see that they act against the dictates of right reason and do not seek the common good but their own; therefore, they want all their subjects to be ignorant and uninformed, so that those who know their wickedness do not incite the people against them: for those who do evil hate the light and do not love the wise, lest their deeds be exposed; thus, a tyrant, whose deeds are evil, destroys the wise as much as he can. But a true king, on the contrary, knowing that he acts according to right reason, saves, promotes, and honors the wise, because they, knowing his good works, move the people to love him. Third, he does not allow discipline and study to flourish. For a tyrant (as such) not only destroys the wise but also cuts off the path and inhibits study and discipline, so that some wise people do not come to be: for he always fears being reproached through wisdom. But a true king, on the contrary, promotes and preserves study, seeing that through him the common good and the good state of the kingdom, which he principally intends, can be improved. Fourth, he does not allow any alliances, nor even any gatherings to take place. For a tyrant wants the citizens and those in the kingdom not to be allies, nor to be known to one another: for (as the Philosopher says) knowledge creates trust; for by the very fact that someone knows another, they trust in him: but this a tyrant does not love; he indeed fears that the citizens, confident in him because of the injuries he inflicts upon them, will rise up against him. But a true king, on the contrary, allows the alliances of the citizens and wants the citizens to be known to one another and to trust in him; for when he intends the good of his citizens and subjects, it is natural that he be loved by them: therefore, he wants them to be united and connected, because then they love the good of the king all the more unanimously. The people would be completely perverse if they recognized that they have a true king and love the common good, while conversely they do not love that king. The fifth tyrannical precaution is to have many spies and to ensure that nothing done by the citizens goes unnoticed. For when tyrants know they are not loved by the people because they offend them in many ways, they want to have many spies so that if they see anyone from the populace plotting something against them, they can counteract it. However, the true king does not intend to oppress his subjects by stirring up and fostering wars, since he seeks the good of the kingdom; therefore, he does not want those in the kingdom to take up arms except for the defense of the realm or for some other just war. The sixth tyrannical precaution is not only to prevent the formation of alliances and friendships but also to disrupt and destroy friendships that already exist. The seventh precaution is to make the subjects so poor that the tyrant does not need any guards. For tyrants want their subjects to be so impoverished that they are occupied with daily needs and have no time to plot against them, nor do they need to have any guards because of them. Tyrants want to disturb friendships among friends, the populace with the notable, and the notable with themselves. They see, however, that as long as citizens are in conflict with one another, and the rich with the rich, they cannot easily resist the power of the tyrant; for when each faction fears the other, neither rises up against the tyrant. On the other hand, a true king does not seek to create turmoil among those in his kingdom, but rather peace and harmony; for otherwise, he would not be a true king, since he would not care for the common good. The seventh tactic is to keep the subjects so poor that the tyrant himself has no need for any guards. For tyrants want their subjects to be so impoverished that they are occupied with their daily needs, leaving them no time to plot against the tyrant, nor do they need to have any guards against them. A true king, however, because he cares for the good of his subjects, does not afflict or impoverish them, but rather seeks their welfare. The eighth tactic is to provoke wars, sending soldiers to foreign lands, and always to make them fight against those who are in the kingdom, so that they are constantly burdened by the demands of war and have no time to plot against the tyrant. A true king does not intend to oppress his subjects by inciting and pursuing wars, since he seeks the good of the kingdom; he does not want those in the kingdom to take up arms except for the defense of the kingdom or for some other just war. The ninth tactic is to exercise control over the body not through those who are in the kingdom, because he distrusts them, but through outsiders. A true king, on the other hand, conducts himself differently, as was explained more fully above. The tenth tyrannical tactic is that after he has caused divisions and factions in the kingdom, he afflicts one part to suppress the other, just as a nail drives out another nail. However, the king, on the contrary, does not seek divisions and factions in the kingdom, but if any exist there, he desires to remove them.