《君主论·第二十六章·奉劝将意大利从蛮族手中解放》第4节
Here there is great valour in the limbs whilst it fails in the head. Look attentively at the duels and the hand-to-hand combats, how superior the Italians are in strength, dexterity, and subtlety. But when it comes to armies they do not bear comparison, and this springs entirely from the insufficiency of the leaders, since those who are capable are not obedient, and each one seems to himself to know, there having never been any one so distinguished above the rest, either by valour or fortune, that others would yield to him. Hence it is that for so long a time, and during so much fighting in the past twenty years, whenever there has been an army wholly Italian, it has always given a poor account of itself; the first witness to this is Il Taro, afterwards Allesandria, Capua, Genoa, Vaila, Bologna, Mestri. The battles of Il Taro, 1495; Alessandria, 1499; Capua, 1501; Genoa, 1507; Vaila, 1509; Bologna, 1511; Mestri, 1513. If, therefore, your illustrious house wishes to follow these remarkable men who have redeemed their country, it is necessary before all things, as a true foundation for every enterprise, to be provided with your own forces, because there can be no more faithful, truer, or better soldiers. And although singly they are good, altogether they will be much better when they find themselves commanded by their prince, honoured by him, and maintained at his expense. Therefore it is necessary to be prepared with such arms, so that you can be defended against foreigners by Italian valour.
注释摘要
马基雅维利在这段论证中做了一个解剖学式的诊断：意大利的肢体强壮，头颅却软弱无力。他先把视线投向决斗和短兵相接的格斗，指出意大利人在力量、敏捷和机巧上胜过别人——他指的是文艺复兴时期意大利城邦间常见的那种武士式个人比武，以及城市民兵在近距离缠斗中表现出的个人勇武。但一到会战的阵列对决，意大利军队就完全不能与法国、西班牙或瑞士的军队相提并论。原因被他归之于将领…