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.
La sua prima missione fu nel 1499 presso Caterina Sforza, "la signora di Forlì" del _Principe_, dalla cui condotta e dal cui destino egli trasse la morale che è di gran lunga meglio guadagnarsi la fiducia del popolo che fare affidamento sulle fortezze.
This is a very noticeable principle in Machiavelli, and is urged by him in many ways as a matter of vital importance to princes.
Questo è un principio molto evidente in Machiavelli, ed è da lui sostenuto in molti modi come una questione di vitale importanza per i principi.
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.
Nel 1500 fu inviato in Francia per ottenere da Luigi XII le condizioni per continuare la guerra contro Pisa: fu questo re che, nella sua gestione degli affari in Italia, commise i cinque errori capitali nell'arte di governo riassunti nel _Principe_, e fu di conseguenza cacciato.
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.
Fu lui, inoltre, a rendere lo scioglimento del suo matrimonio una condizione del sostegno a Papa Alessandro VI; il che induce Machiavelli a rimandare coloro che sostengono che tali promesse debbano essere mantenute a ciò che egli ha scritto riguardo alla fede dei principi.
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 vita pubblica di Machiavelli fu in gran parte occupata dagli eventi scaturiti dalle ambizioni di Papa Alessandro VI e di suo figlio, Cesare Borgia, il Duca Valentino, e questi personaggi occupano ampio spazio nel _Principe_.
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_.
Machiavelli non esita mai a citare le azioni del duca a beneficio degli usurpatori che desiderano mantenere gli stati che hanno conquistato; egli non riesce, in effetti, a trovare precetti migliori da offrire rispetto al modello della condotta di Cesare Borgia, tanto che Cesare è acclamato da alcuni critici come l'"eroe" del _Principe_.
Vocabulary
- sua
- His, her, its, your (possessive adjective)
- prima
- First, before, earlier in time or order
- missione
- Mission, assignment, or diplomatic task
- fu
- Was; third person singular past tense of essere
- nel
- In the; contraction of 'in' and 'il'
- presso
- Near, at, with; indicating location or proximity
- signora
- Lady, mistress, or title of respect for woman
- _Principe_
- The Prince; Machiavelli's famous political treatise
- cui
- Whose, which, whom; Italian relative pronoun
- condotta
- Conduct, behavior, or manner of acting
- destino
- Destiny, fate, or inevitable outcome
- egli
- He; third person singular masculine subject pronoun
- trasse
- Drew, derived; past tense of trarre
- morale
- Moral lesson, ethical principle, or conclusion
- gran
- Great, large; shortened form of grande
- lunga
- Long; feminine adjective describing length or duration
- meglio
- Better; comparative adverb of bene
- guadagnarsi
- To earn oneself, gain or win over someone
- fiducia
- Trust, confidence, or faith in someone
- popolo
- People, populace, common citizens of a state
- fare
- To do, to make; fundamental Italian infinitive verb
- affidamento
- Reliance, trust, dependence on something or someone
- fortezze
- Fortresses, strongholds, or military fortifications
- Questo
- This; masculine demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- principio
- Principle, beginning, or fundamental rule
- molto
- Very, much, a lot; common Italian intensifier
- evidente
- Evident, obvious, clear, or apparent
- sostenuto
- Sustained, supported, upheld; past participle of sostenere
- molti
- Many, numerous; masculine plural of molto
- modi
- Ways, manners, or methods of doing something
- come
- As, like, how; Italian conjunction or adverb
- questione
- Question, issue, or matter of concern
- vitale
- Vital, essential, of great importance to life
- importanza
- Importance, significance, or relevance of something
- principi
- Princes, rulers; plural of principe
- inviato
- Sent, dispatched; past participle of inviare
- Francia
- France; European country bordering Italy to northwest
- ottenere
- To obtain, get, or achieve something desired
- condizioni
- Conditions, terms, or circumstances of an agreement
- continuare
- To continue, keep on, or carry on doing
- guerra
- War, armed conflict between states or groups
- contro
- Against, opposed to; Italian preposition of opposition
- questo
- This; masculine demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- re
- King; ruler of a monarchy or kingdom
- gestione
- Management, handling, or administration of affairs
- affari
- Affairs, matters, business dealings or concerns
- Italia
- Italy; peninsula nation in southern Europe
- commise
- Committed, made; past tense of commettere
- cinque
- Five; the cardinal number five
- errori
- Errors, mistakes, or blunders; plural of errore
- capitali
- Capital, fatal, chief; adjective meaning gravely serious
- arte
- Art, skill, or craft of doing something
- governo
- Government, governance, or administration of a state
- riassunti
- Summarized, recapped; plural past participle of riassumere
- conseguenza
- Consequence, result, or outcome of an action
- cacciato
- Driven out, expelled, chased away; past participle
- inoltre
- Furthermore, moreover, in addition to this
- rendere
- To render, make, or cause something to become
- scioglimento
- Dissolution, annulment, or breaking of a bond
- suo
- His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective
- matrimonio
- Marriage, matrimony, or wedding union between people
- condizione
- Condition, requirement, or stipulation for agreement
- sostegno
- Support, backing, or assistance given to someone
- Papa
- Pope; head of the Roman Catholic Church
- induce
- Induces, leads, or causes someone to do something
- rimandare
- To postpone, put off, or send back something
- coloro
- Those, those who; plural demonstrative pronoun
- sostengono
- Maintain, argue, support; third plural of sostenere
- tali
- Such, those; plural demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- promesse
- Promises, pledges; plural of promessa
- debbano
- Must, should; subjunctive form of dovere
- essere
- To be; fundamental Italian infinitive auxiliary verb
- mantenute
- Kept, maintained; feminine plural past participle
- ciò
- This, that; neuter demonstrative pronoun
- scritto
- Written; past participle of scrivere
- riguardo
- Regard, consideration, or respect concerning something
- fede
- Faith, loyalty, trust, or good faith
- vita
- Life, existence, or way of living
- pubblica
- Public; feminine adjective relating to the community
- parte
- Part, portion, or section of something larger
- occupata
- Occupied, filled, taken up; feminine past participle
- eventi
- Events, occurrences, or happenings; plural of evento
- scaturiti
- Arising, springing from; past participle of scaturire
- ambizioni
- Ambitions, aspirations; plural of ambizione
- figlio
- Son, child; male offspring of someone
- Duca
- Duke; noble title below that of prince
- questi
- These; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- personaggi
- Characters, figures, or notable persons; plural
- occupano
- Occupy, take up; third plural present of occupare
- ampio
- Ample, wide, broad; adjective describing large space
- spazio
- Space, room, or place given to something
- esita
- Hesitates; third singular present of esitare
- mai
- Never, ever; Italian temporal adverb
- citare
- To cite, quote, or reference as an example
- azioni
- Actions, deeds, or acts; plural of azione
- duca
- Duke; male noble title below prince
- beneficio
- Benefit, advantage, or profit gained from something
- usurpatori
- Usurpers, those who seize power illegitimately
- desiderano
- Desire, wish, want; third plural present of desiderare
- mantenere
- To maintain, keep, or hold onto something
- stati
- States, territories; plural of stato
- conquistato
- Conquered, won; past participle of conquistare
- riesce
- Succeeds, manages; third singular of riuscire
- effetti
- Effects, results; plural of effetto
- trovare
- To find, discover, or come across something
- precetti
- Precepts, rules, or guiding principles; plural
- migliori
- Better, best; comparative plural of buono
- offrire
- To offer, provide, or present something to someone
- rispetto
- Respect, regard; also used as 'compared to'
- modello
- Model, example, or ideal to be followed
- tanto
- So much, so many, so greatly; intensifier
- acclamato
- Acclaimed, praised, widely celebrated; past participle
- alcuni
- Some, a few; masculine plural indefinite pronoun
- critici
- Critics, reviewers; plural of critico
- eroe
- Hero; a person admired for courage or noble deeds
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