第8部分(第6/7 頁)

s　have　thought　more　of　ease　than　of　arms　they　havelost　their　states。　And　the　first　cause　of　your　losing　it　is　to　neglectthis　art；　and　what　enables　you　to　acquire　a　state　is　to　be　master　of　theart。　Francesco　Sforza；　through　being　martial；　from　a　private　personbecame　Duke　of　Milan；　and　the　sons；　through　avoiding　the　hardships　andtroubles　of　arms；　from　dukes　became　private　persons。　For　among　otherevils　which　being　unarmed　brings　you；　it　causes　you　to　be　despised；　andthis　is　one　of　those　ignominies　against　which　a　prince　ought　to　guardhimself；　as　is　shown　later　on。　Because　there　is　nothing　proportionatebetween　the　armed　and　the　unarmed；　and　it　is　not　reasonable　that　he　whois　armed　should　yield　obedience　willingly　to　him　who　is　unarmed；　or　thatthe　unarmed　man　should　be　secure　among　armed　servants。　Because；　therebeing　in　the　one　disdain　and　in　the　other　suspicion；　it　is　not　possiblefor　them　to　work　well　together。　And　therefore　a　prince　who　does　notunderstand　the　art　of　war；　over　and　above　the　other　misfortunes　alreadymentioned；　cannot　be　respected　by　his　soldiers；　nor　can　he　rely　on　them。He　ought　never；　therefore；　to　have　out　of　his　thoughts　this　subject　ofwar；　and　in　peace　he　should　addict　himself　more　to　its　exercise　than　inwar；　this　he　can　do　in　two　ways；　the　one　by　action；　the　other　by　study。As　regards　action；　he　ought　above　all　things　to　keep　his　men　wellorganized　and　drilled；　to　follow　incessantly　the　chase；　by　which　heaccustoms　his　body　to　hardships；　and　learns　something　of　the　nature　oflocalities；　and　gets　to　find　out　how　the　mountains　rise；　how　the　valleysopen　out；　how　the　plains　lie；　and　to　understand　the　nature　of　rivers　andmarshes；　and　in　all　this　to　take　the　greatest　care。　Which　knowledge　isuseful　in　two　ways。　Firstly；　he　learns　to　know　his　country；　and　isbetter