Discourses on Livy · Chapter
Chapter XXVI explained
Machiavelli argues that a new prince in a conquered city or province must completely overhaul all institutions—creating new magistracies, new powers, new men, and even relocating populations—to secure his rule.
What happens
Machiavelli argues that a new prince in a conquered city or province must completely overhaul all institutions—creating new magistracies, new powers, new men, and even relocating populations—to secure his rule. He cites Philip of Macedon as an example, but acknowledges these methods are cruel and contrary to civilized conduct, advising that those unwilling to be wholly good must embrace evil, as middle paths are most dangerous.
Themes in this chapter
Necessity and Reason of State
The chapter emphasizes that a new prince must use cruel and extraordinary means—such as uprooting populations and remaking institutions—out of necessity to secure his rule, even if these actions violate conventional morality.
Leadership and Moral Character
Machiavelli contrasts the path of virtue with the path of evil, noting that most men choose a middle way that is most pernicious, highlighting the moral dilemmas of princely leadership.
Characters to notice
- Philip of Macedon
Cited as an example of a prince who, through radical reforms and population transfers, rose from a petty prince to monarch of all Greece.
- David
Referenced for his biblical example of exalting the humble and depressing the great when he became king.
Key passages
“Whosoever becomes prince of a city or state, more especially if his position be so insecure that he cannot resort to constitutional government either in the form of a republic or a monarchy, will find that the best way to preserve his princedom is to renew the whole institutions of that state; that is to say, to create new magistracies with new names, confer new powers, and employ new men, and like David when he became king, exalt the humble and depress the great, 'filling the hungry with good things, and sending the rich empty away.'”
A new ruler in an unstable situation should completely overhaul the state's institutions—appointing new officials, granting new powers, and elevating the lowly while humbling the powerful—following the biblical example of King David.
Machiavelli prescribes radical institutional renewal as the key to securing a new principality.
“These indeed are most cruel expedients, contrary not merely to every Christian, but to every civilized rule of conduct, and such as every man should shun, choosing rather to lead a private life than to be a king on terms so hurtful to mankind.”
Such methods are extremely cruel and violate both Christian and civilized norms; anyone would be better off living as a private citizen than ruling in such a harmful way.
Machiavelli acknowledges the moral cost of the necessary evils of statecraft.