HAVING outlined the different principalities and their strengths and weaknesses, Machiavelli turns his thoughts to more militaristic matters. It goes without saying, of course, that in order for a principality to endure it must learn how to defend itself and to attack others. The first consideration is the composition of one’s troops:

The arms with which a prince defends his state are either his own, or they are mercenaries, auxiliaries, or mixed. Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous. If a prince holds his state based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe, because they are ambitious, not united, without discipline, unfaithful, brave in front of friends and cowardly before enemies. They have neither fear of God nor loyalty to men.

It seems rather contradictory for Machiavelli to have championed a common mercenary like Oliverotto and then discouraged the use of mercenaries themselves. He is correct, however, in that soldiers who fight for money rather than a religion or a cause are more likely to betray their leaders. Naturally, in Machiavelli’s case it takes one mercenary to recognise another:

Experience has shown princes and republics, single-handed, make the greatest progress and mercenaries do nothing except damage. It is more difficult for a republic armed with its own arms to be taken over by one of its citizens, than it is to take over one armed with foreign arms. Rome and Sparta stood for many ages armed and free. The Swiss are completely armed and quite free.

In other words, the best course of action is to have troops that you can actually rely on in times of strife. The fact that Italy had been forced to depend on mercenaries for so many years, many of whom did not have the organisation or military prowess imparted to standing armies, had plunged the country into chaos and disunity. Frederick agrees with Machiavelli’s findings:

It is almost a certainty, and this Machiavel’s evidence shows in general, that the best troops of a State are the regulars.

Frederick also believes that the most organised states are those which arose out of civil war and directly led to the entire citizenry becoming experienced in matters of combat. When people become immersed in widespread conflict, through a baptism of fire, they are not likely to return to a state of apathy and passivity.

Anti-Machiavel also suggests that by ensuring that one’s army is comprised of both home-grown and foreign elements, the potential for mutiny will be minimised. Foreign troops that serve the host nation are far more loyal than foreign mercenaries that perform for the highest bidder. The factor that binds them all together, meanwhile, is a military leader that inspires his men with a sense of collective duty.

TO BE CONTINUED…