# CHAPTER 2 — How Very Wise It Is to Pretend to Be Mad at the Proper Moment

No one was ever as prudent as Junius Brutus, nor was anyone ever held in such high regard for any of his remarkable actions as he was for feigning stupidity. Although Livy expresses no more than one reason that led him to such pretence, which was to be able to live more securely and to maintain his patrimony, nevertheless, considering his method of conduct, it can also be believed that he feigned this in order to be less closely observed and to have greater ease in overthrowing the king and in liberating his native land, whenever he was given the opportunity. The fact that he was contemplating this can be seen first in his interpretation of the oracle of Apollo, when he pretended to fall down in order to kiss the ground, judging that if he did so he would have the gods in favour of his plans, and then when standing over the dead Lucretia in the presence of her father, husband, and other relatives, he was the first to pull the dagger out of her wound and to make the bystanders swear that they would never in the future tolerate any king ruling in Rome. *

From his example, all those who are dissatisfied with a ruler have something to learn; they must first measure and weigh their own forces, and if they are so powerful that they can reveal themselves as his enemy and wage war openly upon him, they must select this path, as less dangerous and more honourable. But if their condition is such that their forces are insufficient to wage open war on him, they must seek with great diligence to make themselves his friend, and to this end they must enter upon all those paths they deem necessary, following his wishes and taking pleasure in all those things in which they see he takes delight. This intimacy will, in the first place, allow you to live in safety and, without the risk of danger, to enjoy the ruler’s good fortune along with him; it also provides you with every opportunity to carry out your plans. It is true that some will declare you ought not to live so close to rulers that their downfall will harm you as well, nor so far away that when they come crashing down, you would not have time to climb up on their ruins; this middle course would be the most reliable if it could be followed, but since I believe that it is impossible, it is necessary to reduce one’s choices to the two methods described above, that is, either to keep your distance or to remain close to them. Anyone who does otherwise and is a man known for his merit will live in continuous danger. Nor it is enough to declare: ‘I pay no attention to such things, I seek neither honours nor profit, I wish to live quietly and without trouble’, for these excuses are heard and not accepted; nor can men who possess standing choose to do nothing, even if they truly choose to do so and are without any ambition whatsoever, because no one believes them, so that even if they wish to be left alone, others will not leave them alone. It is necessary, therefore, to play the fool like Brutus, and in playing the fool, it is enough to give praise, to speak, to see, and to do things contrary to your character in order to please the ruler. And since we have spoken about this man’s prudence in regaining the liberty of Rome, now we shall speak of his severity in maintaining it.