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1CONCERNING AUXILIARIES, MIXED SOLDIERY, AND ONE'S OWN Auxiliaries, which are the other useless arm, are employed when a
2prince is called in with his forces to aid and defend, as was done by Pope Julius in the most recent times; for he,
3having, in the enterprise against Ferrara, had poor proof of his mercenaries, turned to auxiliaries, and stipulated with
4Ferdinand, King of Spain,[1] for his assistance with men and arms. These arms may be useful and good in themselves, but
5for him who calls them in they are always disadvantageous; for losing, one is undone, and winning, one is their captive.
6[1] Ferdinand V (F. II of Aragon and Sicily, F. III of Naples), surnamed "The Catholic," born 1452, died 1516. And
7although ancient histories may be full of examples, I do not wish to leave this recent one of Pope Julius the Second,
8the peril of which cannot fail to be perceived; for he, wishing to get Ferrara, threw himself entirely into the hands of
9the foreigner. But his good fortune brought about a third event, so that he did not reap the fruit of his rash choice;
10because, having his auxiliaries routed at Ravenna, and the Switzers having risen and driven out the conquerors (against
11all expectation, both his and others), it so came to pass that he did not become prisoner to his enemies, they having
12fled, nor to his auxiliaries, he having conquered by other arms than theirs. The Florentines, being entirely without
13arms, sent ten thousand Frenchmen to take Pisa, whereby they ran more danger than at any other time of their troubles.
14The Emperor of Constantinople,[2] to oppose his neighbours, sent ten thousand Turks into Greece, who, on the war being
15finished, were not willing to quit; this was the beginning of the servitude of Greece to the infidels. [2] Joannes
16Cantacuzenus, born 1300, died 1383. Therefore, let him who has no desire to conquer make use of these arms, for they are
17much more hazardous than mercenaries, because with them the ruin is ready made; they are all united, all yield obedience
18to others; but with mercenaries, when they have conquered, more time and better opportunities are needed to injure you;
19they are not all of one community, they are found and paid by you, and a third party, which you have made their head, is
20not able all at once to assume enough authority to injure you. In conclusion, in mercenaries dastardy is most dangerous;
21in auxiliaries, valour. The wise prince, therefore, has always avoided these arms and turned to his own; and has been
22willing rather to lose with them than to conquer with the others, not deeming that a real victory which is gained with
23the arms of others. I shall never hesitate to cite Cesare Borgia and his actions. This duke entered the Romagna with
24auxiliaries, taking there only French soldiers, and with them he captured Imola and Forli; but afterwards, such forces
25not appearing to him reliable, he turned to mercenaries, discerning less danger in them, and enlisted the Orsini and
26Vitelli; whom presently, on handling and finding them doubtful, unfaithful, and dangerous, he destroyed and turned to
27his own men. And the difference between one and the other of these forces can easily be seen when one considers the
28difference there was in the reputation of the duke, when he had the French, when he had the Orsini and Vitelli, and when
29he relied on his own soldiers, on whose fidelity he could always count and found it ever increasing; he was never
30esteemed more highly than when every one saw that he was complete master of his own forces. I was not intending to go
31beyond Italian and recent examples, but I am unwilling to leave out Hiero, the Syracusan, he being one of those I have
32named above. This man, as I have said, made head of the army by the Syracusans, soon found out that a mercenary
33soldiery, constituted like our Italian condottieri, was of no use; and it appearing to him that he could neither keep
34them nor let them go, he had them all cut to pieces, and afterwards made war with his own forces and not with aliens. I
35wish also to recall to memory an instance from the Old Testament applicable to this subject. David offered himself to
36Saul to fight with Goliath, the Philistine champion, and, to give him courage, Saul armed him with his own weapons;
37which David rejected as soon as he had them on his back, saying he could make no use of them, and that he wished to meet
38the enemy with his sling and his knife. In conclusion, the arms of others either fall from your back, or they weigh you
39down, or they bind you fast. Charles the Seventh,[3] the father of King Louis the Eleventh,[4] having by good fortune
40and valour liberated France from the English, recognized the necessity of being armed with forces of his own, and he
41established in his kingdom ordinances concerning men-at-arms and infantry. Afterwards his son, King Louis, abolished the
42infantry and began to enlist the Switzers, which mistake, followed by others, is, as is now seen, a source of peril to
43that kingdom; because, having raised the reputation of the Switzers, he has entirely diminished the value of his own
44arms, for he has destroyed the infantry altogether; and his men-at-arms he has subordinated to others, for, being as
45they are so accustomed to fight along with Switzers, it does not appear that they can now conquer without them. Hence it
46arises that the French cannot stand against the Switzers, and without the Switzers they do not come off well against
47others. The armies of the French have thus become mixed, partly mercenary and partly national, both of which arms
48together are much better than mercenaries alone or auxiliaries alone, but much inferior to one's own forces. And this
49example proves it, for the kingdom of France would be unconquerable if the ordinance of Charles had been enlarged or
50maintained. [3] Charles VII of France, surnamed "The Victorious," born 1403, died [4] Louis XI, son of the above, born
511423, died 1483. But the scanty wisdom of man, on entering into an affair which looks well at first, cannot discern the
52poison that is hidden in it, as I have said above of hectic fevers. Therefore, if he who rules a principality cannot
53recognize evils until they are upon him, he is not truly wise; and this insight is given to few. And if the first
54disaster to the Roman Empire[5] should be examined, it will be found to have commenced only with the enlisting of the
55Goths; because from that time the vigour of the Roman Empire began to decline, and all that valour which had raised it
56passed away to others. [5] "Many speakers to the House the other night in the debate on the reduction of armaments
57seemed to show a most lamentable ignorance of the conditions under which the British Empire maintains its existence.
58When Mr Balfour replied to the allegations that the Roman Empire sank under the weight of its military obligations, he
59said that this was 'wholly unhistorical.' He might well have added that the Roman power was at its zenith when every
60citizen acknowledged his liability to fight for the State, but that it began to decline as soon as this obligation was
61no longer recognised."--Pall Mall Gazette, 15th May I conclude, therefore, that no principality is secure without having
62its own forces; on the contrary, it is entirely dependent on good fortune, not having the valour which in adversity
63would defend it. And it has always been the opinion and judgment of wise men that nothing can be so uncertain or
64unstable as fame or power not founded on its own strength. And one's own forces are those which are composed either of
65subjects, citizens, or dependents; all others are mercenaries or auxiliaries. And the way to make ready one's own forces
66will be easily found if the rules suggested by me shall be reflected upon, and if one will consider how Philip, the
67father of Alexander the Great, and many republics and princes have armed and organized themselves, to which rules I
68entirely commit myself.
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