《君主论·第三章·混合君主国》第8节
See remark in the introduction on the word “intrattenere.” But let us turn to France and inquire whether she has done any of the things mentioned. I will speak of Louis (and not of Charles) as the one whose conduct is the better to be observed, he having held possession of Italy for the longest period; and you will see that he has done the opposite to those things which ought to be done to retain a state composed of divers elements. Louis XII, King of France, “The Father of the People,” born 1462, died 1515. Charles VIII, King of France, born 1470, died 1498. King Louis was brought into Italy by the ambition of the Venetians, who desired to obtain half the state of Lombardy by his intervention. I will not blame the course taken by the king, because, wishing to get a foothold in Italy, and having no friends there—seeing rather that every door was shut to him owing to the conduct of Charles—he was forced to accept those friendships which he could get, and he would have succeeded very quickly in his design if in other matters he had not made some mistakes. The king, however, having acquired Lombardy, regained at once the authority which Charles had lost: Genoa yielded; the Florentines became his friends; the Marquess of Mantua, the Duke of Ferrara, the Bentivogli, my lady of Forli, the Lords of Faenza, of Pesaro, of Rimini, of Camerino, of Piombino, the Lucchese, the Pisans, the Sienese—everybody made advances to him to become his friend. Then could the Venetians realize the rashness of the course taken by them, which, in order that they might secure two towns in Lombardy, had made the king master of two-thirds of Italy.
注释摘要
在这段文字之前，马基雅维利刚刚提出了一系列治理混合君主国的规则：要亲自驻守、派遣殖民团而非驻军、保护弱小邻邦而削弱强者、严防任何同等强大的外部势力介入。此刻，他话锋一转，把分析的目光从古代的罗马转向了他亲眼目睹的当代法国，用路易十二在意大利的所作所为作为一面反光镜，来映照出那些规则的效力。他选择路易十二而不是查理八世，理由很实际：路易占据意大利的时间最长，…