§ XXXVI
The Weakness of Princes
The prince's weakness and inattention lead him to favor his ministers and favorites over people of real merit, sacrificing justice and discernment.
Haven't you poured out too many favors on your ministers, your favorites, and their creatures, while you've left people of real merit to languish in need—people who have served a long time and who lack protection?1 As a rule, the great fault of princes is that they are weak, soft, and inattentive. They are almost never decided by merit, or by people's real faults. The substance of things is not what moves them: their decision usually comes from not daring to refuse those they are used to seeing and believing. Often they put up with them impatiently, and still remain under their sway; they see the faults of those people and content themselves with seeing them.2 They congratulate themselves on not being taken in by them; and after that, they follow them blindly. They sacrifice to them merit, innocence, distinguished talents, and the longest service.
The Cost of Inconsistency
Even when the prince briefly listens to a frank counselor, he soon abandons him to the minister's indignation, leaving himself isolated, dependent, and without remedy.
Sometimes they will listen favorably to a man who dares speak to them against these ministers or favorites, and they will see facts clearly verified. Then they'll scold, and make those who dared speak understand that they'll be supported against the minister or the favorite.3 But soon the prince grows tired of protecting the one who depends on him alone.4 That protection costs him too much in the details; and for fear of seeing a discontented face on the minister, the honest man through whom the truth had become known will be abandoned to the minister's indignation.56 After that, do you deserve to be warned? Can you hope to be? What wise man will dare go straight to you without going through the minister, whose jealousy is implacable? Don't you deserve to see only through his eyes from now on? Haven't you been handed over to his most unjust passions, and to his most unreasonable prejudices?7 Are you leaving yourself any remedy against so great an evil?
Read the original French
îPavez-vous point trop répandu de bienfaits sur vos ministres, sur vos favoris et sur leurs créatures, pendant que vous avez laissé languir dans le besoin des personnes dé mérite, qui ont long-temps servi, et qui manquent de protection? D'ordinaire le grand défaut des princes est d'être foibles, mous et inappliqués. Ils ne sont presque jamais déterminés par le mérite, ni par les vrais défauts des gens. Le fond des choses n'est pas ce qui les touche : leur décision vient d'ordinaire de ce qu'ils n'osent refuser ceux qu'ils ont l'habitude de voir et de croire. Souvent ils les souffrent avec impatience, et ne laissent pas de demeurer subjugués, Ds voient les défauts de ces gens-là, et se contentent de les voir. Ils se savent bon gré de n'en être pas les dupes ; après quoi, ils les suivent aveuglément. Ils leur sacrifient le mérite, l'innocence, les talents distingués et les plus longs services. Quelquefois ils écouteront favorablement un homme qui osera leur parler contre ces ministres ou ces favoris, et ils verront des faits clairement vérifiés.
Alors ils gronderont, et feront entendre à ceux qui ont osé parler, qu'il seront soutenus contre le ministre ou contre le favori. Mais bientôt le prince se lasse de protéger celui qiii ne tient qu'à lui seul. Cette protection lui coûte trop dans le détail ; et de peur de voir un visage mécontent dans la personne du ministre, l'honnête homme par qui on avoit su la vérité, sera abandonne à son indignation. Après cela, méritez-vous d'être averti ? Pouvez-vous espérer de l'être? Quel est l'homme sage qui osera aller droit à vous, sans passer par le ministre, dont la jalousie est implacable ? Ne méritez - vous pas de ne plus voir que par ses yeux ? N'êtes-vous pas livré à ses passions les plus injustes, et à ses préventions les plus déraisonnables?
Vous laissez- vous quelque remède contre un si grand mal?
Notes
- 1 ↩Source opens with corrupt îPavez (clearly N'avez) and personnes dé mérite (de mérite); translated the corrected reading.
- 2 ↩Source has Ds voient; corrected to Ils voient from sense and neighboring syntax.
- 3 ↩Source reads «qu'il seront»; sense requires plural «qu'ils seront» (they will be supported).
- 4 ↩Source has OCR garble «qiii»; translated as «qui».
- 5 ↩Source «sera abandonne» taken as past participle «sera abandonné».
- 6 ↩«son indignation» is the minister's wrath, not the honest man's; pronoun resolved from context.
- 7 ↩Classical French «préventions» = prejudgments/prejudices, not modern 'preventive measures'.
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