Niccolò Machiavelli：The Prince, Excerpt 8

And if any one should say: “King Louis yielded the Romagna to Alexander and the kingdom to Spain to avoid war,” I answer for the reasons given above that a blunder ought never to be perpetrated to avoid war, because it is not to be avoided, but is only deferred to your disadvantage. And if another should allege the pledge which the king had given to the Pope that he would assist him in the enterprise, in exchange for the dissolution of his marriage[5] and for the cap to Rouen,[6] to that I reply what I shall write later on concerning the faith of princes, and how it ought to be kept.

Source： https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1232
Locator：Excerpt 8 · Verified：2026-10-19 · Verification：Short excerpt

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