Discourses on Livy/First Book/Chapters LI-LX  From Wikisource
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Machiavelli First Book (Chapters XI-XX)  Chapter LI: A Republic
or a Prince Ought to Feign to Do Through Liberality, That Which
Necessity Constrains Them[edit]  Prudent men always make the
best of things in their actions, although necessity should
constrain them to do them in any case. This prudence was well
employed by the Roman Senate when they decided that a public
stipend be given to the fighting men, it having been the
military custom of they maintaining their own selves. But the
Senate seeing that war could not be made for any length of time
in this manner, and, because of this, they could neither besiege
towns nor lead armies to a distance, and judging it to be
necessary to be able to do the one and the other, decided that
the said stipends be given: but they did it in such a way that
they made the best of that which necessity constrained them to
do; and this present was so accepted b