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And if those seigniors are considered who have lost their states

in Italy in our times, such as the King of Naples, the Duke of

Milan, and others, there will be found in them, firstly, one

common defect in regard to arms from the causes which have been

discussed at length; in the next place, some one of them will be

seen, either to have had the people hostile, or if he has had the

people friendly, he has not known how to secure the nobles. In

the absence of these defects states that have power enough to

keep an army in the field cannot be lost.

Philip of Macedon, not the father of Alexander the Great, but he

who was conquered by Titus Quintius, had not much territory

compared to the greatness of the Romans and of Greece who

attacked him, yet being a warlike man who knew how to attract the

people and secure the nobles, he sustained the war against his

enemies for many years, and if in the end he lost the dominion of

some cities, nevertheless he retained the kingdom.