《君主论·第七章·凭他人武力与命运获得的新君主国》第6节
When the duke occupied the Romagna he found it under the rule of weak masters, who rather plundered their subjects than ruled them, and gave them more cause for disunion than for union, so that the country was full of robbery, quarrels, and every kind of violence; and so, wishing to bring back peace and obedience to authority, he considered it necessary to give it a good governor. Thereupon he promoted Messer Ramiro d’Orco, a swift and cruel man, to whom he gave the fullest power. This man in a short time restored peace and unity with the greatest success. Afterwards the duke considered that it was not advisable to confer such excessive authority, for he had no doubt but that he would become odious, so he set up a court of judgment in the country, under a most excellent president, wherein all cities had their advocates. And because he knew that the past severity had caused some hatred against himself, so, to clear himself in the minds of the people, and gain them entirely to himself, he desired to show that, if any cruelty had been practised, it had not originated with him, but in the natural sternness of the minister. Under this pretence he took Ramiro, and one morning caused him to be executed and left on the piazza at Cesena with the block and a bloody knife at his side. The barbarity of this spectacle caused the people to be at once satisfied and dismayed.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这一段里继续用切萨雷·博尔贾的事例来讲新君主如何在一个原本混乱不堪的地方扎下根来。前面的论证已经铺开：凭他人武力和命运爬上去的君主，上来容易，守住却极难，因为根基是别人的。博尔贾靠父亲教皇亚历山大六世的支持拿下了罗马涅，但马基雅维利要说明的是，他在取得之后做的一系列事情，是一个凭命运上台的君主趁着自己还有机会时赶紧补救根基的经典作业。而雷米罗·…