Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 7
Machiavelli, The Prince, Chapter 7 |
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| Here is an example that deserves close study and imitation by others. The duke (Cesare Borgia) won control of the Romagna. He decided that the territory needed good government and to be subject to princely authority. So he place Remirro de Orco, a cruel, efficient man, to whom he entrusted with the greatest powers. Remirro pacified and unified the land. Then Cesare decided that there was no more need for this excessive power. To purge the minds of the people and to win them over, Cesare determined to show the people that Remirro's cruelties were inflicted by him and not Cesare. One morning, Remirro's body was found cut in two pieces on the piazza at Cesena, with a block of wood and a bloody knife beside it. The brutality of this spectacle kept the people of the Romagna appeased and stupified. | |