《君主论·第二十章·堡垒等手段是否有益》第1节
1. Some princes, so as to hold securely the state, have disarmed their subjects; others have kept their subject towns distracted by factions; others have fostered enmities against themselves; others have laid themselves out to gain over those whom they distrusted in the beginning of their governments; some have built fortresses; some have overthrown and destroyed them. And although one cannot give a final judgment on all of these things unless one possesses the particulars of those states in which a decision has to be made, nevertheless I will speak as comprehensively as the matter of itself will admit.
注释摘要
《君主论》第二十章的开头一段，为全章定下了方法上的基调。马基雅维利要处理的，是一些君主用来稳固政权、却彼此矛盾的常见手段：解除臣民的武装，还是分发武装；用派系分裂属城，还是使之团结；在自己身边制造敌意，还是设法收服起初不信任的人；修筑堡垒，还是把堡垒夷为平地。他不是要抽象地判断哪一个绝对正确，而是先说一句要紧的话：这些事无法定于一尊，除非掌握具体邦国的全部…