and to secure a majority among the
cardinals. But before the duke had completely consolidated his power his
father, Pope Alexander VI., died. Even so, the skill with which he had
laid the foundations of his power must have resulted in success had he
not himself been almost at death's door at that critical moment. The one
mistake he made was in the choice of the new pope, Julius II., and this
error was the cause of his ultimate downfall.

A man may rise, however, to a princedom by paths of wickedness and
crime; that is, not precisely by either merit or fortune. We may take as
example first Agathocles the Sicilian. To slaughter fellow citizens, to
betray friends, to be devoid of honour, pity, and religion cannot be
counted as merit. But the achievements of Agathocles can certainly not
be ascribed to fortune. We cannot, therefore, attribute either to
fortune or to merit what he accomplished without either. For a modern
instance we may consider Oliverotto of Fermo, who seized upon that town
by a piece of monstrous treachery and merciless butchery; yet he
established himself so firmly and so formidably that he could not have
been unseated had he not let himself be over-reached by Cesare Borgia.

Our lesson from these examples is that on seizing a state the usurper
should make haste to inflict what injuries he must at one stroke, and
afterwards win men over by benefits.

Next is the case of those who are made princes by the favour of their
countrymen, which they owe to what may be termed a fortunate astuteness.
If he be established by the favour of the people, to secure them against
the oppression of the nobles his position is stronger than if he owe it
to the nobles; but in either case it is the people whom he must
conciliate, and this I affirm in spite of the old saw, "He who builds
on the people builds on mire."

A prince who cannot get together an army fit to take the field against
any assailant should keep his city strongly fortified, taking no heed of
the country outside, for then he will not be readily attacked, and if he
be it will be difficult to maintain a siege longer than it may be
resisted.

Merit, or good fortune, are needed to acquire ecclesiastical princedoms,
but not to maintain them, for they are upheld by the authority of
religion. It is due to the policy of the Popes Alexander VI. and Julius
II. that the temporal power of the pope has become so great; and from
his holiness Pope Leo we may hope that as