《君主论·第二章·世袭君主国》第1节
I will leave out all discussion on republics, inasmuch as in another place I have written of them at length, and will address myself only to principalities. In doing so I will keep to the order indicated above, and discuss how such principalities are to be ruled and preserved. I say at once there are fewer difficulties in holding hereditary states, and those long accustomed to the family of their prince, than new ones; for it is sufficient only not to transgress the customs of his ancestors, and to deal prudently with circumstances as they arise, for a prince of average powers to maintain himself in his state, unless he be deprived of it by some extraordinary and excessive force; and if he should be so deprived of it, whenever anything sinister happens to the usurper, he will regain it. We have in Italy, for example, the Duke of Ferrara, who could not have withstood the attacks of the Venetians in ’84, nor those of Pope Julius in ’10, unless he had been long established in his dominions. For the hereditary prince has less cause and less necessity to offend; hence it happens that he will be more loved; and unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated, it is reasonable to expect that his subjects will be naturally well disposed towards him; and in the antiquity and duration of his rule the memories and motives that make for change are lost, for one change always leaves the toothing for another.
注释摘要
这段开场白里，马基雅维利做了一个非常重要的切割，它决定了整部《君主论》的讨论范围。他明确说自己要撇开共和国不谈，只专注于君主国，因为他在另一部著作中已经详细论述过共和国了。这里说的另一部著作，指的就是他的《李维史论》，在那本书里他明白地表达了对共和制度的拥护。而在《君主论》里，他要把话题收窄，专门讨论君主国如何统治与维持。 这个切割背后有实际的写作处境。这…