prince who conquers more than one republic.
Is Machiavelli encouraging the prince to
make one republican conquest and go and live in it? Certainly, his stirring depiction of
republican spiritedness and love of liberty is not matched by any similar praise of
princely government anywhere in The Prince. Perhaps this rhetorical flourish—
ostensibly given as a warning to the prince—might also have the effect of impressing the
prince (or other readers) and evoking an admiration for republican virtue.
3-5: The Unification of Italy
Attention to the difficulties mentioned above (and others) lead one into the deeper strata
of Machiavelli’s argument. As noted above, The Prince culminates in a passionate call to
liberate Italy from the “barbarians” and unify her under one prince (for “no province has
ever been united or happy unless it has all come under obedience to one republic or to
one prince”; D I 12.2). Machiavelli never exactly spells out what this will entail, but he
indicates the full truth, primarily in Chapters 3-5.
First and foremost, we note that the unifier of Italy—whether Lorenzo, anyone else,
or even a republic—will have to commit a number of offenses against his fellow
countrymen, owing to the natural and ordinary necessity that forces any new prince to
offend his new subjects (P 3, p. 8). Given the relatively warmer feelings that most men
naturally have toward their fellow countrymen, a prince might find it harder to dominate
his fellow Italians than to offend and dominate foreign subjects. But any such qualms
will have to be overcome. Moreover, perhaps it is best that this natural and ordinary
62
Cf. Tarcov, p. 36.
63
Cf. de Alvarez commentary, pp. 22-23.
64
Cf. Strauss, pp. 63-69, and Scott & Sullivan, pp. 892-893.
39
Convention