《君主论·第十四章·君主与军事》第1节
A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank. And, on the contrary, it is seen that when princes have thought more of ease than of arms they have lost their states. And the first cause of your losing it is to neglect this art; and what enables you to acquire a state is to be master of the art. Francesco Sforza, through being martial, from a private person became Duke of Milan; and the sons, through avoiding the hardships and troubles of arms, from dukes became private persons. For among other evils which being unarmed brings you, it causes you to be despised, and this is one of those ignominies against which a prince ought to guard himself, as is shown later on. Because there is nothing proportionate between the armed and the unarmed; and it is not reasonable that he who is armed should yield obedience willingly to him who is unarmed, or that the unarmed man should be secure among armed servants. Because, there being in the one disdain and in the other suspicion, it is not possible for them to work well together. And therefore a prince who does not understand the art of war, over and above the other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. He ought never, therefore, to have out of his thoughts this subject of war, and in peace he should addict himself more to its exercise than in war; this he can do in two ways, the one by action, the other by study.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这一节里要论证的是一个极为强硬的主张：君主只应该研究战争及其制度与纪律，这是唯一属于统治者的技艺。他的推理链条很清晰：军事力量不仅能保住世袭君主的地位，还能让平民跃升为君主；相反，耽于安逸而疏忽武备，是丧失国家的首要原因。他以弗朗切斯科·斯福尔扎为例：斯福尔扎凭借军事才能，从一介平民成为米兰公爵；而他的儿子们因为躲避兵戎之苦，又从公爵沦为平民。…