The Prince — Page 6
His first mission was in 1499 to Catherina Sforza, "my lady of Forli" of _The Prince_, from whose conduct and fate he drew the moral that it is far better to earn the confidence of the people than to rely on fortresses.
Sa première mission eut lieu en 1499 auprès de Catherina Sforza, « madame de Forli » du _Prince_, dont la conduite et le destin lui inspirèrent la leçon qu'il vaut bien mieux gagner la confiance du peuple que de s'appuyer sur des forteresses.
This is a very noticeable principle in Machiavelli, and is urged by him in many ways as a matter of vital importance to princes.
C'est là un principe très remarquable chez Machiavel, qu'il défend de nombreuses façons comme une question d'importance vitale pour les princes.
In 1500 he was sent to France to obtain terms from Louis XII for continuing the war against Pisa: this king it was who, in his conduct of affairs in Italy, committed the five capital errors in statecraft summarized in _The Prince_, and was consequently driven out.
En 1500, il fut envoyé en France pour obtenir de Louis XII les conditions nécessaires à la poursuite de la guerre contre Pise : ce fut ce roi qui, dans sa conduite des affaires en Italie, commit les cinq erreurs capitales d'art de gouverner résumées dans le _Prince_, et qui fut par conséquent chassé.
He, also, it was who made the dissolution of his marriage a condition of support to Pope Alexander VI; which leads Machiavelli to refer those who urge that such promises should be kept to what he has written concerning the faith of princes.
Ce fut lui également qui fit de l'annulation de son mariage une condition de son soutien au pape Alexandre VI ; ce qui amène Machiavel à renvoyer ceux qui soutiennent que de telles promesses doivent être tenues à ce qu'il a écrit concernant la foi des princes.
Machiavelli's public life was largely occupied with events arising out of the ambitions of Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cesare Borgia, the Duke Valentino, and these characters fill a large space of _The Prince_.
La vie publique de Machiavel fut largement occupée par les événements découlant des ambitions du pape Alexandre VI et de son fils, Cesare Borgia, le duc Valentino, et ces personnages occupent une grande place dans le _Prince_.
Machiavelli never hesitates to cite the actions of the duke for the benefit of usurpers who wish to keep the states they have seized; he can, indeed, find no precepts to offer so good as the pattern of Cesare Borgia's conduct, insomuch that Cesare is acclaimed by some critics as the "hero" of _The Prince_.
Machiavel n'hésite jamais à citer les actions du duc au profit des usurpateurs qui souhaitent conserver les États qu'ils ont saisis ; il ne peut en effet trouver de meilleurs préceptes à offrir que le modèle de la conduite de Cesare Borgia, à tel point que Cesare est acclamé par certains critiques comme le « héros » du _Prince_.
Vocabulary
- première
- First; earliest in order or time
- mission
- A task or assignment given to someone
- eut
- Had (past historic of avoir, third person singular)
- lieu
- Place; avoir lieu means to take place
- auprès
- Near, with, in the presence of someone
- madame
- Title of respect for a woman, Mrs. or madam
- Prince
- Machiavelli's political treatise on rulership
- dont
- Whose, of which (relative pronoun)
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior, manner of acting
- destin
- Fate, destiny, one's ultimate outcome in life
- inspirèrent
- Inspired (past historic, third person plural)
- leçon
- Lesson; something learned from experience
- vaut
- Is worth (third person singular of valoir)
- mieux
- Better (comparative adverb of bien)
- gagner
- To win, earn, or gain something
- confiance
- Trust, confidence placed in someone
- peuple
- People, population, the common folk
- appuyer
- To lean on, rely on, support oneself
- forteresses
- Fortresses, strongly fortified military structures
- principe
- Principle, fundamental rule or belief
- remarquable
- Remarkable, noteworthy, deserving special attention
- chez
- In the work of, characteristic of someone
- défend
- Defends, argues in favor of something
- nombreuses
- Numerous, many (feminine plural adjective)
- façons
- Ways, manners, methods of doing something
- question
- Question, issue, matter under discussion
- importance
- Importance, significance of something
- vitale
- Vital, absolutely essential or critical
- princes
- Princes, rulers, sovereign leaders of states
- fut
- Was (past historic of être, third person singular)
- envoyé
- Sent (past participle of envoyer)
- obtenir
- To obtain, get, or secure something
- conditions
- Conditions, terms required for an agreement
- nécessaires
- Necessary, required, indispensable (plural adjective)
- poursuite
- Pursuit, continuation of an action or war
- guerre
- War, armed conflict between states
- contre
- Against, in opposition to someone
- roi
- King, male monarch of a country
- affaires
- Affairs, matters, business dealings
- commit
- Committed (past historic of commettre)
- erreurs
- Errors, mistakes, wrong decisions
- capitales
- Capital, fundamental, critically important (plural adjective)
- art
- Art, skill, technique of doing something
- gouverner
- To govern, rule, or lead a state
- résumées
- Summarized, condensed (feminine plural past participle)
- conséquent
- Consequently; par conséquent means therefore
- chassé
- Chased away, expelled, driven out (past participle)
- également
- Also, equally, likewise (adverb)
- fit
- Did, made (past historic of faire)
- annulation
- Annulment, cancellation of a legal agreement
- mariage
- Marriage, the legal union of two people
- condition
- Condition, requirement for something to happen
- soutien
- Support, backing given to someone
- pape
- Pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church
- amène
- Leads to, brings about, causes something
- renvoyer
- To send back, dismiss, refer back to
- ceux
- Those, those ones (masculine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- soutiennent
- Support, maintain, uphold (third person plural present)
- telles
- Such (feminine plural adjective)
- promesses
- Promises, commitments made to others
- doivent
- Must, have to (third person plural of devoir)
- tenues
- Kept, honored (feminine plural past participle of tenir)
- écrit
- Written (past participle of écrire)
- concernant
- Concerning, regarding, relating to a subject
- foi
- Faith, trust, belief, good faith
- vie
- Life, one's existence or lived experience
- publique
- Public, relating to the state or community
- largement
- Largely, greatly, to a considerable extent
- occupée
- Occupied, taken up, filled (feminine past participle)
- événements
- Events, occurrences, significant happenings
- découlant
- Flowing from, resulting from, stemming from
- ambitions
- Ambitions, strong desires for power or success
- fils
- Son, male offspring of a parent
- duc
- Duke, high-ranking nobleman below a prince
- personnages
- Characters, figures, important persons in a narrative
- occupent
- Occupy, take up, hold (third person plural present)
- place
- Place, role, importance within a work
- hésite
- Hesitates (third person singular present of hésiter)
- jamais
- Never, ever (adverb of negation or emphasis)
- citer
- To cite, quote, mention as an example
- actions
- Actions, deeds, things done by someone
- profit
- Profit, benefit, advantage gained from something
- usurpateurs
- Usurpers, those who seize power illegitimately
- souhaitent
- Wish, desire (third person plural present of souhaiter)
- conserver
- To keep, preserve, maintain something over time
- États
- States, nations, political territories governed by rulers
- saisis
- Seized, grabbed, taken by force (past participle)
- effet
- Effect; en effet means indeed or in fact
- trouver
- To find, discover, locate something or someone
- meilleurs
- Better, best (masculine plural comparative of bon)
- préceptes
- Precepts, rules or guiding principles of conduct
- offrir
- To offer, present, give something to someone
- modèle
- Model, example to be imitated or followed
- tel
- Such, such a (demonstrative adjective)
- point
- Point, degree; à tel point means to such a degree
- acclamé
- Acclaimed, praised enthusiastically by others
- certains
- Certain, some (masculine plural adjective or pronoun)
- critiques
- Critics, those who analyze and evaluate works
- héros
- Hero, admired figure of courage or greatness
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