Mercenaries#
Summary#
Machiavelli condemns mercenaries as useless and dangerous forces that have brought ruin to Italy. He argues they are disunited, ambitious, undisciplined, and unfaithful, valiant only among themselves but cowardly against real enemies. Throughout The Prince, he demonstrates through historical examples how mercenary captains either become tyrants over their employers or prove incompetent, and insists that a prince must rely on his own forces to maintain power securely.