The Prince · Part 1, Seeing it clearly · Idea 2 of 12

Catch the Fever Early

Machiavelli on dealing with trouble while it is still small. From The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, 1513.

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A painting for Catch the Fever Early

Where it comes from.

In 1500, Florence sent Machiavelli to the court of Louis XII of France. The king had taken Milan the year before, lost it within months, then won it back.

At Nantes, the king’s chief minister, the Cardinal of Rouen, told him Italians did not understand war. Machiavelli replied that the French did not understand statecraft.

3 more screens in the appThe rest of the story, and where it turns up in your own week.
The idea in short

In chapter 3 of The Prince (1513), Machiavelli praised the Romans for dealing with trouble while it was still far off. He borrowed what doctors said of a wasting fever: early on it is easy to cure but hard to see, and later easy to see but hard to cure.

Small trouble is cheap only while it is hard to see. Practical advice: when something feels slightly off at work or at home, name it this week, while it is still small.

Well established · checked against 7 sources

Make it yours.

Make it your step

Name one small thing that feels off, this week, to the person involved.

Ask your council

“Something small has felt off with someone close to me for weeks. How do I raise it before it grows?”

Sources.

  1. The Prince, translated by W. K. Marriott, Niccolò Machiavelli (Project Gutenberg), 1513The text
  2. Machiavelli, Niccolò, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (Treccani), 2006
  3. Niccolò Machiavelli, Wikipedia, 2026
  4. Louis XII, Wikipedia, 2026
  5. Ludovico Sforza, Wikipedia, 2026
  6. Roman-Seleucid War, Wikipedia, 2026
  7. Niccolò Machiavelli, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2023

The Prince, in 12 ideas.

  1. 1
    See It As It IsMachiavelli on how people really live, not how they ought to
  2. 2
    Catch the Fever EarlyMachiavelli on dealing with trouble while it is still small
  3. 3
    Change Has Lukewarm FriendsMachiavelli on why change has fierce enemies and lukewarm friends
  4. 4
    Build Banks in Calm WeatherMachiavelli on fortune as a flooding river, and the banks you can build
  5. 5
    Feared, Never HatedMachiavelli on whether to be loved or feared
  6. 6
    Be the Lion and the FoxMachiavelli on the lion that misses traps and the fox that cannot fight
  7. 7
    Make the Decision StickMachiavelli on why leaders who waver end up despised
  8. 8
    Bad News All at OnceMachiavelli on doing hard things at once and good things slowly
  9. 9
    Judged by Your CircleMachiavelli on why people judge a leader by the people around them
  10. 10
    Ask Widely, Decide AloneMachiavelli on taking advice without losing your own mind
  11. 11
    Get Off the FenceMachiavelli on why staying neutral rarely keeps you safe
  12. 12
    Fight in Your Own ArmorMachiavelli on why borrowed strength lets you down
PreviousSee It As It Is
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Read the rest in Counsel.

Catch the Fever Early and the other 11 ideas of The Prince, a minute at a time.

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Every idea is drawn from the public-domain text, and its names, dates and quotes are checked against the sources listed with it. The paintings are made for Counsel; they show the scene, not a historical record.

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