《君主论·题献·致洛伦佐·德·美第奇殿下》第2节
Nor do I hold with those who regard it as a presumption if a man of low and humble condition dare to discuss and settle the concerns of princes; because, just as those who draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate the nature of the mountains and of lofty places, and in order to contemplate the plains place themselves upon high mountains, even so to understand the nature of the people it needs to be a prince, and to understand that of princes it needs to be of the people. Take then, your Magnificence, this little gift in the spirit in which I send it; wherein, if it be diligently read and considered by you, you will learn my extreme desire that you should attain that greatness which fortune and your other attributes promise. And if your Magnificence from the summit of your greatness will sometimes turn your eyes to these lower regions, you will see how unmeritedly I suffer a great and continued malignity of fortune.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这一段题献里要论证的，是一个看似谦卑、实际上却极为大胆的主张：身份低微的人不但可以议论君主的事务，而且恰恰因为其低微的视角，才看得清某些从高处无法看清的东西。他没有在这里搬出切萨雷·博尔贾、阿加托克利斯或者塞维鲁那样的历史人物，而是动用了一个极具文艺复兴气息的比喻——画家观察风景。为了看到山的真面目，画家会刻意站到平原上；为了看到平原的全貌，他…