XVIII: Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Pragmatism Over Morality

  Machiavelli argues that a prince must prioritize the security of the state over moral commitments like keeping faith, using deception when necessary.

• Human Nature and Its Exploitation

  The chapter relies on the assumption that men are inherently bad and will not keep faith, justifying the prince's own faithlessness.

• The Importance of Public Perception

  Machiavelli emphasizes that a prince must appear merciful, faithful, and religious, as men judge by appearances rather than reality.

Characters to notice

• The Prince

  The central subject of the chapter, advised to use both law and force, and to appear virtuous while being prepared to act contrary to faith when necessary.

• Pope Alexander VI

  Cited as a master of deception who always found victims for his deceit, successfully using craft to achieve his aims.

• Niccolò Machiavelli

  The author, who presents his observations on princely conduct and the necessity of breaking faith for state maintenance.

Key passages

• “Everyone admits how praiseworthy it is in a prince to keep faith, and to live with integrity and not with craft. Nevertheless our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft, and in the end have overcome those who have relied on their word.”

  Though keeping promises is generally admired, successful rulers often break them and use cunning to outmaneuver those who trust them.

  This introduces the central paradox of the chapter: virtue is praised but often abandoned in practice.

• “Therefore it is necessary for a prince to understand how to avail himself of the beast and the man.”

  A prince must know how to use both lawful human methods and forceful, animal-like tactics.

  This metaphor of the centaur Chiron teaches the need for dual nature in ruling.

• “A prince, therefore, being compelled knowingly to adopt the beast, ought to choose the fox and the lion; because the lion cannot defend himself against snares and the fox cannot defend himself against wolves.”

  A prince must be both cunning like a fox to avoid traps and strong like a lion to scare off enemies.

  The fox and lion symbolize the essential combination of intelligence and strength.

• “Therefore a wise lord cannot, nor ought he to, keep faith when such observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer.”

  A prudent ruler should break his promises if keeping them would harm him or if the original reasons for the promise are gone.

  This is the core pragmatic advice of the chapter, justifying faithlessness when necessary.

• “Alexander the Sixth did nothing else but deceive men, nor ever thought of doing otherwise, and he always found victims; for there never was a man who had greater power in asserting, or who with greater oaths would affirm a thing, yet would observe it less; nevertheless his deceits always succeeded according to his wishes, because he well understood this side of mankind.”

  Pope Alexander VI was a master deceiver who always found people to trick, and his lies succeeded because he understood human gullibility.

  This historical example illustrates the effectiveness of deception when skillfully applied.

• “Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.”

  A prince does not need to actually be virtuous, but he must seem virtuous to others.

  This emphasizes the importance of public perception over actual moral character.