|
|
Front Page  Titles (by Subject) DISCOURSE ON THE AFFAIRS OF GERMANY AND ON THE EMPEROR. - The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings, vol. 4 (Diplomatic Missions 1506-1527)
DISCOURSE ON THE AFFAIRS OF GERMANY AND ON THE EMPEROR. - Niccolo Machiavelli, The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings, vol. 4 (Diplomatic Missions 1506-1527) [1506]Edition used:The Historical, Political, and Diplomatic Writings of Niccolo Machiavelli, tr. from the Italian, by Christian E. Detmold (Boston, J. R. Osgood and company, 1882). Vol. 4.
About Liberty Fund:Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals. Copyright information:The text is in the public domain.
Fair use statement:
This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit.
- Missions. (continued.)
- Missions to Various Parts of the Florentine Dominion. *
- I.: From the Magistracy of the Ten to Niccolo Machiavelli, Secretary, In Mugello. 3 January, 1506.
- II.
- III.: To Niccolo Machiavelli.
- IV.
- V.: To Niccolo Machiavelli. 5 March, 1506.
- VI.
- VII.: To Niccolo Machiavelli, At Poppi. 7 March, 1506.
- Second Mission to the Court of Rome.
- Instructions Given to Niccolo Machiavelli, Sent to Rome.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI.
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Letter XIV.
- Letter XV.
- Letter XVI.
- Letter XVII.
- Letter XVIII.
- Letter XIX.
- Letter XX.
- Letter XXI.
- Letter XXII.
- Letter XXIII.
- Letter XXIV.
- Letter XXV.
- Letter XXVI.
- Letter XXVII.
- Letter XXVIII.
- Letter XXIX.
- Letter XXX.
- Letter XXXI.
- Letter XXXII.
- Letter XXXIII.
- Letter XXXIV.
- Letter XXXV.
- Letter XXXVI.
- Letter XXXVII.
- Letter XXXVIII.
- Letter XXXIX.
- Letter Xl.
- Third Mission to Sienna. *
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Mission to the Emperor of Germany. *
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III. *
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI.
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Letter XIV.
- Second Mission Into the Interior of the State. *
- Letters Patent.
- Third Commission to the Army Before Pisa. *
- Letter I. to Niccolo Capponi, Commissary-general, Etc.
- Letter II.
- Commission to Niccolo Machiavelli, Resolved Upon By the Magistracy of the Ten On the 10 Th of March, 1509. *
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI.
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Letter XIV.
- Letter XV.
- Letter XVI.
- Letter XVII.
- Letter XVIII.
- Letter XIX.
- Letter XX.
- Letter XXI.
- Letter XXII.
- Letter XXIII.
- Letter XXIV.
- Mission to Mantua On Business With the Emperor of Germany. *
- Commission Given to Niccolo Machiavelli to Proceed to Mantua and Its Vicinity,
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI.
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Third Mission to the Court of France. *
- Instructions From Piero Soderini, Gonfaloniere, to Niccolo Machiavelli,
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI. *
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Letter XIV.
- Letter XV.
- Letter XVI.
- Letter XVII.
- Letter XVIII.
- Commission to the Interior of the State.
- Patent. We, the Ten of Liberty and Balia of the Florentine Republic,
- Commission to Sienna.
- Patent and Passport. We, the Ten of Liberty and Balia of the Florentine Republic,
- Mission to the Lord of Monaco.
- Patent and Passport. We, the Ten of Liberty and Balia of the Florentine Republic,
- The Purpose of the Convention to Be Concluded With Luciano Grimaldi, Lord of Monaco, Is As Follows: —
- Fourth Mission to the Court of France.
- Letters Patent.
- Instructions Given to Niccolo Machiavelli, Sent By the Illustrious Ten to Lombardy and France.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Commission to Pisa At the Time of the Council. *
- I.: The Ten to the Cardinals That Were At Pisa. 2 November, 1511.
- II.: The Ten to the Seigneur De Lautrec. 2 November, 1511.
- III.: The Ten to Niccolo Machiavelli. 3 November, 1511.
- IV. And V.
- Commission For Raising Troops.
- Letters Patent. We, Nine of the Ordinance and Florentine Militia, *
- Letter.
- Commissions to Pisa and Other Places Within and Without the Florentine Dominion.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letters Patent. We, the Ten of Liberty and Balia of the Florentine Republic, Etc.,
- Letter V.
- Letter VI. *
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Mission to the Chapter of the Minorite Brothers At Carpi. *
- Instructions of the Eight of Practice. Deliberated, the 11th of May, 1521.
- Other Instructions By Father Hilarion.
- To the Most Reverend and Most Illustrious Cardinale Giulio De’ Medici.
- Mission to Venice.
- Credentials. Serenissimo Principi Et Excellentissimo Domino AndreÆ Gritti, Dei Gratia Duci Venetiarum Patr. Observ.
- Brief Instruction to You, Niccolo Machiavelli, As to What You Have to Do In Your Mission to Venice, By Our Order.
- Representations.
- Mission to the Army of the League, Engaged In the Siege of Cremona. *
- Instructions Given to Michiavelli By Francesco Guicciardini, Lieutenant of the Pope At the Army of the League.
- Mission to Francesco Guicciardini.
- Instructions to Niccolo Machiavelli, Sent By the Magistracy of the Eight of Practice to Messer Francesco Guicciardini, Lieutenant of His Holiness the Pope.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Second Mission to Francesco Guicciardini.
- Instructions to Niccolo Machiavelli, Resolved By the Eight of Practice, 3 February, 1527.
- Letter I.
- Letter II.
- Letter III.
- Letter IV.
- Letter V.
- Letter VI.
- Letter VII.
- Letter VIII.
- Letter IX.
- Letter X.
- Letter XI.
- Letter XII.
- Letter XIII.
- Letter XIV.
- Letter XV.
- Letter XVI.
- Letter XVII.
- Letter XVIII.
- Letter XIX.
- Letter XX.
- Letter XXI.
- Miscellaneous Papers.
- Description of the Manner In Which the Duke Valentino Proceeded to Kill Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto Da Fermo, and the Signor Pagolo and the Duke Gravina Orsini. *
- Report On the Affairs of Germany.
- Second Report On the Affairs of Germany. Made 17 June, 1508.
- Discourse On the Affairs of Germany and On the Emperor.
- An Account of the Affairs of France.
- Of the Nature of the French.
- Confidential Instructions
DISCOURSE ON THE AFFAIRS OF GERMANY AND ON THE EMPEROR.
Having written on my return here last year all I knew about the affairs of Germany and the Emperor, I am really at a loss as to what more to say on the subject. I shall confine myself therefore to a few remarks about the character of the Emperor. There is not, and perhaps never has been, a prince more wasteful than he is. This is the reason why he is always in want, and why he never has money enough, no matter in what situation he may find himself. He is very fickle, wanting one thing to-day, and next day caring nothing about it; he takes counsel from no one, and yet believes everybody. He desires what he cannot have, and leaves that which he can readily obtain; and therefore he always takes contradictory resolutions.
On the other hand he is most warlike, and knows how to maintain and conduct an army well, preserving justice and discipline. He bears any kind of fatigue as well as any other man inured to it; is courageous in danger, and as a general is not inferior to any man of the present day. He is affable in his audiences, but will grant them only when it suits him; he does not like ambassadors to come and pay their court to him, unless he sends for them; he is extremely reticent; he lives in a constant state of agitation of mind and body, and often undoes in the evening what he has concluded in the morning. This makes the missions near him very difficult, for the most important duty of an ambassador, whether sent by a prince or a republic, is to conjecture well the future, both as to negotiations and events; for he who is able to form wise conjectures, and make them well understood by his government, renders an important service, and enables his government to take timely measures. The envoy who does this does honor to himself, and benefits the government at home; and the contrary is the case when the conjectures are badly made. To illustrate this more particularly, assume that you are in a place where the question is between making war or negotiating. To perform your duty well, you have to say what the prevailing opinion is respecting the one and the other. War has to be measured by the number and quality of the troops, by the amount of money, by conduct, and by fortune; and it is to be presumed that that party which has most of these advantages is likely to be victorious. After having well considered thus who is likely to be successful, it is necessary to make it well understood here, so that the republic and yourselves may the better decide upon the course to be adopted. The negotiations are of different kinds, that is, they will be partly between the Venetians and the Emperor, partly between the Emperor and France, partly between the Emperor and the Pope, and partly between the Emperor and yourselves. Respecting the last it ought to be easy to conjecture rightly, and to judge of the Emperor’s intentions with regard to yourselves, — what he really wants, which way his mind is turned, and what could make him draw back or go forward; and having found that out, to judge whether it be more advantageous to temporize or to conclude. But it will be for you to decide as to how far your commission extends in relation to these matters.
|
