Abstract

It is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man.Having taken the Romagna in 1502, Cesare Borgia, the Italian nobleman and model for Machiavelli's political treatise The Prince, soon learned how unruly the newly acquired province was. Armed robbery, theft, impudent nepotism, imprecise law, and the racket made by the rebellious common people—all of this demanded the introduction of some kind of order. Messer Ramiro d'Orco, a thirtysomething, dynamic, decisive, resolute, and morally incorruptible man, seemed to be the ideal candidate for the position of governor of the disobedient province. With the protection and consent of the prince, he introduced a strong rule of law that...