Machiavelli, Mark Twain, Pindarus: Human Nature, Politics and Love of men

Machiavelli, Mark Twain, Pindarus Human Nature, Politics and Love

We all know: Machiavelli didn’t believe in politics inspired by love. Nor did he believe in human love. He wrote things like:

Of mankind we may say in general they are fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain.

Whoever desires to found a state and give it laws, must start with assuming that all men are bad and ever ready to display their vicious nature, whenever they may find occasion for it.

But are we really incapable of loving and ruling our lives by ethical purposes, as his words suppose?

To pretend that evil is not within us is obviously foolish. It’s salutary to recognize our evil side and distrust ours pretensions. To believe too much in our good side is a cause of many fanaticisms, wars and crimes.

But is human nature the «fickle, hypocritical, and greedy of gain» stuff of Machiavelli?

It would be rather reducing. The Machiavelli terms are clearly inadequate to define men and human nature. We have in us primary reflexes and instincts that can both feed the bad and the good. We are more like a moon with two sides («Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody», Mark Twain). We are capable of the worst, but also capable of the best, as Pindarus said:

Men are a shadow’s dream. Nevertheless when a blessed glory shined on them, a clear light descends upon men, and serene life.

We can raise our human nature through our conscience and intelligence. We have a dark side, but we have also love in us. We can raise our capability of love, and deny Machiavelli. The moony dark side will always persist. But also the much more glorious other side. It's our nature.

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Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved

One can generally say this about men: that they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain; and while you work for their good they are completely yours, offering you their blood, their property, their lives, and their sons when danger is far away; but when it comes nearer to you, they turn away

It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that they are always going to act according to the wickedness of their spirits whenever they have free scope.
Discourse upon the first then books of Livy

He who establishes a tyranny and does not kill Brutus, and he who establishes a democratic regime and does not kill the sons of Brutus, will not last long.

If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared

It is better to be feared than loved, more prudent to be cruel than compassionate.

Cunning and deceit will every time serve a man better than force

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