Liber I, Pars III — Quomodo, et quae debeant reges et principes desiderare et abominari. Cap. IIII.

Liber I, Pars III — Quomodo, et quae debeant reges et principes desiderare et abominari. Cap. IIII.

Regarding love and hatred, which are the primary passions, it remains to say how kings and princes should relate to desire and aversion, which are the secondary passions. Desire differs from love, and aversion differs from hatred. For moral actions are in some ways similar to natural things. Just as natural bodies tend toward their proper places through their forms, whether by heaviness or lightness, so through love a person tends toward what is proportionate and fitting for them. Therefore, in heavy and light things, there are three aspects to consider. First, the form of what is heavy or light, by which it is conformed to a place above or below. Second, there is the motion by which they tend toward such a place. Third, there is the station and rest by which they remain in that place. In moral actions, as is commonly stated, there are three things to consider. For when we perceive some good, we first conform to it through love and a certain delight in it. Secondly, we tend toward it through desire. Thirdly, we find rest in it through delight. Therefore, love shapes us: desire moves us: and delight gives us rest. And what has been said about the good respect of love, desire, and delight, as mentioned above, should be understood in relation to the bad respect of hatred, abomination, and sorrow. For just as we conform to a good that is loved, we tend toward a desire that is desired, and we delight in a good that is attained. So, evil, as it is hated, is something displeasing and contrary to our will: as it is abominable, we flee from it: and if we happen to attain it, we grieve and are saddened. Therefore, while desire may not be the same as love, it should take its measure and form from love. Similarly, although abomination is not the same as hatred, it should take its measure from hatred. For in the natural world, we see that while downward motion is not the same as a heavy form, it naturally takes its measure and form from gravity, so that the heavier something is, the faster it moves toward the center. Therefore, if we want to see how kings and princes should desire and abominate certain things, we need to understand how they should love and hate. We see in various arts, as is first demonstrated in the Politics, that the end is pursued infinitely; however, the things that lead to the end are sought according to the measure and manner of that end. Just as a doctor intends to restore health as much as possible, aiming for a greater and better state of health, because health is intended as the end in the art of medicine, he does not pursue remedies like potions and bloodletting to the greatest extent possible, as that would harm the patient; rather, he intends them according to the measure and manner of health. Since, therefore, in the art of ruling and leading, the salvation of the kingdom and principality is primarily and ultimately intended, just as in the art of healing the health of the body is primarily intended, it is only natural that kings and princes should intend and love the good of the kingdom and the common good. Therefore, if desire should take its measure from love, kings and princes should primarily desire the good state of the kingdom: that those within the kingdom are well-disposed toward the divine, that they perform virtuous deeds, that there is peace and tranquility among them, that justice is duly maintained between them, and other such things, from which the good state of the kingdom essentially depends. They should desire other things, so that they are ordered toward these. Therefore, they should desire wealth, civil power, and other such goods only to the extent that through them they can restrain the wicked, punish injustices, and do those things that seem necessary for the safety of the kingdom. Now, regarding what kings and princes should desire and how they should desire it, since they ought to first and foremost love the divine and common good, other things should be desired as they are ordered toward these: thus they should first and foremost desire the divine and common good, while other things should be desired as they are ordered toward these; it can be seen that they should be able to tolerate what and what kinds of things they should abominate, because primarily those things are to be abominated that directly contradict the divine and common good, while other things are to be abominated by consequence. Such abominations and desires are all the more fitting for kings and princes, as much as they ought to care for the good of the kingdom and the common good. What those things are that preserve the kingdom in a good state, and how the king should relate to the kingdom itself, will be shown more fully in the third book.