The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.
“No ruler should put troops into the field merely to gratify his own spleen; no general should fight a battle simply out of pique.”
The new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all.
The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him.