A theme that runs thru the books of Machiavelli, The Prince, Discourses on Livy and Florentine Histories, is the use of good and bad cruelty.
An academic paper I recommend is embedded below as a PDF and I also took the time and converted it into an Audiobook, links below. Before you begin and put the book in your mind, three quotes from Machiavelli:
- “…I believe that this follows from severities (cruelties) being badly or properly used. Those may be called properly used, if of evil it is possible to speak well, that are applied at one blow and are necessary to one’s security, and that are not persisted in afterwards unless they can be turned to the advantage of the subjects. The badly employed are those which, notwithstanding they may be few in the commencement, multiply with time rather than decrease.”
- “For injuries ought to be done all at one time, so that, being tasted less, they offend less; benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavor of them may last longer.”
- “Coming now to the other qualities mentioned above, I say that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel. Nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency. Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only.”
PDF → Machiavelli and the Use of Good Bad Cruelty (will open to PDF which can be downloaded from there)
Audiobook (can be downloaded with the down area button in the player)