The Prince and my grandson

My almost 6-year-old grandson was recently with me for his annual summer visit to Papa on the lake in Maine. Much to my joy, my still pre-literate grandson loves books. Not to read, apparently, but to look at pictures and pile on the floor to make stuff. He grabbed one slim volume and handed it to me, directing me with his eyes to read it. I was a bit surprised at his choice because it has no pictures, usually his main attraction. Nonetheless, I started to read it as admonished and was astonished that it confirms my known truth that (my grandson) is a savant. Of the hundreds (thousands) of books all over the house, he picked the ONE book that is most relevant today. It is thus that I have come to marvel again at the enduring wisdom of Machiavelli’s “The Prince.”

I’ll spare you, dear readers, repeating ALL Machiavelli’s relevant wisdom in this slim manual for the ages. It would be hard to choose between: “it is better to be feared than loved,” or “it is essential for the prince to give the impression of manliness; thus, hunting is advised.” What we call today “flooding the zone,” was in 15^thCentury Florence explained as: “injuries should be committed all at once because the less time there is to dwell on them, the less they offend.”

Of course, the essence of Machiavelli’s political acumen was his acknowledgement that a Prince can only “rule by fear and force…and must obliterate any who question or are disloyal.” I suppose, as Mark Twain famously observed, while “history doesn’t repeat (exactly)…it often rhymes.” Benvenuti a Firenze!