Ricordi: Maxims 31-40
Francesco Guicciardini
Maxims 31-40 from Series C of Francesco Guicciardini’s Ricordi.
31. Even if you attribute everything to prudence and virtue and discount as much as possible the power of Fortune, you must at least admit that it is very important to be born or to live in a time that prizes highly the virtues and qualities in which you excel. Take the example of Fabius Maximus, whose great reputation resulted from his being by nature hesitant. He found himself in a war in which impetuosity was ruinous, whereas procrastination was useful. At another time, the opposite could have been true. His times needed his qualifications, and that was his fortune. To be sure, if a man could change his nature to suit the conditions of the times, he would be much less dominated by Fortune. But that is most difficult, and perhaps even impossible.
32. Ambition is not a reprehensible quality, nor are ambitious men to be censured, if they seek glory through honorable and honest means. In fact, it is they who produce great and excellent works. Those who lack this passion are cold spirits, inclined more toward laziness than activity. But ambition is pernicious and detestable when it has as its sole end power, as is generally the case with princes. And when they make it their goal, they will level conscience, honor, humanity, and everything else to attain it.
33. The proverb tells us that a dishonestly acquired fortune is never enjoyed by an heir of the third generation. If this were so because such wealth was contaminated, it would seem that the man who acquired it ought to enjoy it least of all. The reason he is allowed to enjoy it was once told me by my father. According to St. Augustine, no one is so wicked that he does not do some good. God, who leaves no good unrewarded and no evil unpunished, give such a man enjoyment in this world as remuneration for his good deeds, only to punish him fully in the next for his evil deeds. But since ill-gotten gains had to be purged, they could not pass to a third heir. I answered that I did not know whether the proverb itself was true, since one could cite many experiences to the contrary. But if it were true, there might be another reason for it. The natural vicissitude of human affairs brings poverty where there once were riches. And this is more true for heirs than it is for the founder of the fortune. For the more time passes, the more easily do changes come about. Furthermore, the founder, the man who acquired the fortune, is more attached to it. Just as he knew how to acquire it, so he also knows the art of keeping it intact. And being used to living frugally, he does not squander it. But heirs do not have the same attachment to a fortune they have come by effortlessly. They have been reared in wealth but have not learned the art of earning it. Who can wonder, then, that they let it slip through their fingers, either through waste or carelessness?
34. All things whose end comes about not through violence but through gradual wearing away have a much longer life than you would at first suppose. We can see this in the example of a consumptive who is judged to be at his end but who lives on, not just for days, but for weeks and months. So, too, in a city that must be taken by siege, provisions last much longer than anyone would have thought.
35. How different theory is from practice! So many people understand things well but either do not remember or do not know how to put them into practice! The knowledge of such men is useless. It is like having a treasure stored in a chest without ever being able to take it out.
36. If you are seeking the favor of men, be careful never to give a flat refusal to anyone who makes a request of you. Rather, you should give evasive answers, for it may happen that someone who asked for something will not need it later, Or else circumstances may arise that make your excuses seem convincing. Furthermore, many men are foolish and easily swayed by words. Even without doing what you could not or would not do, you can often leave a person well satisfied by answering him cleverly, whereas if you had refused him outright, he would dislike you no matter how things turned out subsequently.
37. Always deny what you don’t want to be known, and always affirm what you want to be believed. For, though there be much—even conclusive—evidence to the contrary, a fervent affirmation or denial will often create at least some doubt in the mind of your listener.
40. It is a great thing to have authority. If you use it well, men will fear you even more than your powers warrant. Not knowing exactly the extend of your authority, they will quickly decide to yield rather than contest wheter you can do what you threaten.
