or his minister and corrects the one and supports the other; and the minister cannot hope to deceive him and therefore remains good. For a prince to be able to know a minister there is this method which never fails. When you see the minister think more of himself than of you, and in all his actions seek his own profit, such a man will never be a good minister, and you can never rely on him; for whoever has in hand the state of another must never think of himself but of the prince, and not call to mind anything but what relates to him. And, on the other hand, the prince, in order to retain his fidelity ought to think of his minister, honouring and enriching him, doing him kindnesses, and conferring on him honours and giving him responsible tasks, so that the great honours and riches bestowed on him cause him not to desire other honours and riches, and the tasks he has to fulfil make him fearful of changes, knowing that he could not execute them without the prince. When princes and their ministers stand in this relation to each other, they can rely the one upon the other; when it is otherwise, the end is always injurious either for one or the other of them.
