undertaken.

And as the observance of the ordinances of religion is the cause of the
greatness of a State, so their neglect is the occasion of its decline;
since a kingdom without the fear of God must either fall to pieces,
or must be maintained by the fear of some prince who supplies that
influence not supplied by religion. But since the lives of princes are
short, the life of this prince, also, and with it his influence, must
soon come to an end; whence it happens that a kingdom which rests wholly
on the qualities of its prince, lasts for a brief time only; because
these qualities, terminating with his life, are rarely renewed in his
successor. For as Dante wisely says:--

"Seldom through the boughs
doth human worth renew itself; for such
the will of Him who gives it, that to Him
we may ascribe it."[1]

It follows, therefore, that the safety of a commonwealth or kingdom
lies, not in its having a ruler who governs it prudently while he lives,
but in having one who so orders things, that when he dies, the State
may still maintain itself. And though it be easier to impose new
institutions or a new faith on rude and simple men, it is not therefore
impossible to persuade their adoption by men who are civilized, and
who do not think themselves rude. The people of Florence do not esteem
themselves rude or ignorant, and yet were persuaded by the Friar
Girolamo Savonarola that he spoke with God. Whether in this he said
truth or no, I take not on me to pronounce, since of so great a man we
must speak with reverence; but this I do say, that very many believed
him without having witnessed anything extraordinary to warrant their