Machiavelli on why borrowed strength lets you down. From The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, 1513.
In the summer of 1500, Machiavelli was at the camp outside Pisa. Florence had no army of its own, so it leaned on soldiers sent by the king of France.
The siege fell apart, and the borrowed troops broke up and left. Machiavelli was sent to France to explain. By 1506, he was training a militia of Florence’s own farmers.
In chapter 13 of The Prince, Machiavelli warned against borrowed armies: if they lose, you are ruined, and if they win, you are their captive. He had watched troops sent by France fail Florence at Pisa in 1500. His proof was David, who refused Saul’s armor and fought with his own sling.
Strength you borrow can be taken back; strength you build stays. Practical advice: name one thing you lean on someone else for, and start learning it yourself.
Well established · checked against 5 sourcesPick one task you always hand to someone else, and learn to do it yourself.
“My career leans on my boss’s name and contacts. How do I build something that’s truly mine?”
Fight in Your Own Armor and the other 11 ideas of The Prince, a minute at a time.
Download on theApp StoreEvery 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.
