retain those states which he held only by the fortune and arms of another. It is unquestionably possible for a man of a superior mind, who has not yet laid the foundation, to lay it afterwards; but this can only be done with much trouble to the architect, and with great danger to the edifice. If we examine the whole conduct of Borgia, we shall perceive all he did, and all that had been done to lay the foundation of his future power. This examination will be far from superfluous; for I know not how to give a new prince a better lesson than by laying before him the actions and example of the duke as his guide; and if, after adopting all these measures, he did not succeed, it was not his fault, but rather the effect of that ill fortune which never ceased to persecute him. Alexander VI; wishing to give his son a sovereignty in Italy, could not but encounter great obstạcles in the outset, and foresaw greater which might occur in future, In the first place, he saw no means of making him sovereign of any state which did not belong to the church. If he should determine on dismembering any one of those, he knew that the Duke of Milan and the Venetians would never consent to it, Since Faënza and Rimini werę already under the protection of Venice, he knew that the armies of Italy, and in particular those of which he could have availed himself, were at the disposal of those who had reasop to fear the aggrandisement of the pope.
