# CHAPTER 14 — Men Often Deceive Themselves, in the Belief that They Will Conquer Pride With Humility

It is evident on many occasions that humility not only does no good but may cause harm, especially when it is used with arrogant men who, either out of envy or for some other reason, have conceived a hatred for you. Our historian bears witness to this in discussing the cause for the war between the Romans and the Latins. When the Samnites complained to the Romans that the Latins had attacked them, the Romans did not insist on prohibiting the Latins from waging war, not wishing to provoke them; not only did their decision not provoke them but it made them grow even more spirited against the Romans, and they soon revealed themselves as enemies. Testimony of this is provided in the words used by the previously mentioned Latin praetor Annius, who declared in the same council: ‘You have tried their patience by refusing them troops; who doubts that they were furious when we broke the tradition of 200 years? Yet they swallowed their resentment... They have heard how... we are preparing armies against the Samnites, their allies under treaty; but they have not bestirred themselves to leave the City. Where does this excess of restraint on their part spring from if not from an awareness of our strength in comparison with their own?’ * Thus, we clearly see by means of this text how much the patience of the Romans increased the arrogance of the Latins. A prince must never, therefore, allow his dignity to be diminished and must never give up anything willingly, if he wishes to give it up honourably, except when he can or believes he can keep it, because it is almost always better, when the matter has come to the point that you cannot give up a possession in the manner just described, to allow it to be taken from you by force rather than by the fear of force. Thus, if you allow it to be taken through fear, you do so to avoid a war, and in most instances you will not avoid it, because the person to whom you have conceded this possession through obvious cowardice will not stand still but will want to deprive you of other possessions, and, esteeming you less, he will be incited to act against you, and among those who support you, you will find your defenders lukewarm, since they will feel that you are either weak or cowardly. But if you prepare your forces immediately, once you have discovered the enemy’s designs, even if they are inferior to his, he will begin to esteem you; other princes nearby will esteem you even more, and when you have taken up arms they will wish to assist you, whereas if you give up, they will never come to your assistance. This applies when you have a single enemy, but when you have more than one, even though war has already broken out, it is a prudent policy to give up some of the things you possess to one of them to win him back and to divide him from his other allies.