# 2. That it is a Very Good Notion at Times to pretend to be a Fool

No one ever acted so prudently nor acquired such a reputation for wisdom owing to any remarkable deed as that which Junius Brutus earned by pretending to be stupid. And although Titus Livy assigns but one cause as the ground which induced him to practise this dissimulation, namely, that he might live in greater security and preserve his estates, none the less, in view of his conduct, one can well believe that he practised it also in order to escape observation and that he might get a better opportunity of downing the kings and liberating his country, whenever they gave him a chance. That it was of this he was thinking is clear first from the interpretation he put on the oracle of Apollo when he pretended to fall down so that he might kiss the ground, and from this inferred that the gods looked with favour on what he had in mind; and, later, when on the death of Lucretia he was the first to pull the dagger out of the wound in the presence of her father, her husband and other of her relatives, and to make the bystanders swear that they would never tolerate for the future any king reigning in Rome.

From the example this man set, all those who are ill content with a prince should take note that they ought first to measure and to weigh their strength. Should they be so powerful that they can afford to declare themselves his enemies and openly to make war on him, this is the course they should adopt, since it is less dangerous and more honourable. But if their position is such that they have not sufficient forces to make war openly, they should use every endeavour to acquire the prince’s friendship; and to this end should avail themselves of every opening which they think necessary to attain it, by becoming obsequious to his wishes and by taking pleasure in everything in which they see that he takes pleasure. Such familiar intercourse in the first place assures that your life will be safe, and, without entailing any danger, allows you to enjoy the prince’s good fortune just as he does himself. It also provides you with ample opportunity for fulfilling your intentions.

True, there are those who say that you ought not to live in such close proximity to princes as to be included in their downfall, nor yet so far away from them that, when their downfall occurs, you cannot take advantage of it; and doubtless the middle course would be the best, were it possible to adopt it. As, however, I am convinced that this middle course is impracticable, it behoves one to have recourse to the aforesaid two methods, i.e. either to act openly or to get tied up with them. He who acts otherwise, if he be a man who by his endowments has gained eminence, lives in perpetual danger. Nor is it enough for him to say: ‘There is nothing I am out to obtain. I want neither honours nor advantages. All that I ask for is to live quietly and without embarrassment!’ For such excuses are heard but gain no credence. Nor can men who are distinguished take this line, even though they sincerely desire to do so and have no further ambition, since no one will believe them; so that, though they prefer to be left alone, others will not leave them alone. It behoves them, therefore, to play the fool, as Brutus did, and to act more or less like lunatics, admiring, talking about, attending to, and doing things in which they have not the slightest interest in order to ingratiate themselves with the prince.

We have been discussing the prudence displayed by Brutus in his endeavour to restore freedom to Rome, so let us now say something about the severity he displayed in maintaining it.