Chapter 21 — How a Prince Should Conduct Himself to Gain Renown

Nothing makes a prince so much esteemed as great enterprises and setting a fine example. Ferdinand of Aragon is Machiavelli's contemporary case study — a man who came to the throne of a minor kingdom and, through a series of enterprises each of which served his power while appearing to serve religion or national honour, made himself the foremost king in Christendom. The Reconquista, the expulsion of the Moors, the Italian campaigns, the invasions of France and Africa — each was dressed in the language of faith and justice while serving the purposes of territorial expansion and political distraction. The citizens were too preoccupied with the greatness of the enterprises to notice, or object to, the methods by which they were conducted.

The practical recommendations that follow are about the management of expectations and the consistent projection of a coherent character. A prince should set examples in his internal governance that are memorable — rewards and punishments proportionate enough to be talked about; decisions clear enough to be understood as a policy rather than a personal caprice. He should make himself a patron of the arts and of ability. He should hold festivals and spectacles at appropriate seasons to maintain the goodwill of the population through pleasure rather than terror alone.

The chapter's most important political argument concerns neutrality. When two powerful neighbours come to blows, a prince who declares himself clearly on one side gains enormously: if his ally wins, he shares in the victory; if his ally loses, he at least has the defeated party's gratitude for having declared himself. The prince who is neutral, hoping to avoid entanglement, gains nothing. Both parties will be contemptuous of him: the victor will not need him; the loser will not trust him. The disguised middle path — appearing neutral while favouring one side — is slightly better, but the general rule holds: clarity of commitment, even when the outcome is uncertain, produces a better long-term position than calculated ambiguity.