, sends forth a captain to conduct his wars while
he himself remains inactive at home, I have no advice to offer which he
does not already know. But I would counsel the captain whom he sends,
since I am sure that he can never escape the attacks of ingratitude, to
follow one or other of two courses, and either quit his command at once
after a victory, and place himself in the hands of his prince, while
carefully abstaining from every vainglorious or ambitious act, so that
the prince, being relieved from all suspicion, may be disposed to
reward, or at any rate not to injure him; or else, should he think it
inexpedient for him to act in this way, to take boldly the contrary
course, and fearlessly to follow out all such measures as he thinks will
secure for himself, and not for his prince, whatever he has gained;
conciliating the good-will of his soldiers and fellow-citizens, forming
new friendships with neighbouring potentates, placing his own adherents
in fortified towns, corrupting the chief officers of his army and
getting rid of those whom he fails to corrupt, and by all similar means
endeavouring to punish his master for the ingratitude which he looks for
at his hands. These are the only two courses open; but since, as I said
before, men know not how to be wholly good or wholly bad, it will never
happen that after a victory a captain will quit his army and conduct
himself modestly, nor yet that he will venture to use those hardy
methods which have in them some strain of greatness; and so, remaining
undecided, he will be crushed while he still wavers and doubts.

A commonwealth desiring to avoid the vice of ingratitude is, as compared
with a prince, at this disadvantage, that while a prince can go himself
on his expeditions, the commonwealth must send some one of its citizens.
As a remedy, I would recommend that course being adopted which was
followed by the Roman republic in order to be less ungrateful than
others, having its origin in the nature of the Roman government. For the
whole city, nobles and commons alike, taking part in her wars, there
were always found in Rome at every stage of her history, so many valiant
and successful soldiers, that by reason of their number, and from one
acting as a check upon another, the nation had never ground to be
jealous of any one man among them; while they, on their part, lived
uprightly, and were careful to betray no sign of ambition, nor give
the people the least cause to dist