Chapter 14. Among the Highest and Greatest Goods of Kings—a Good Most Others Lack—Is Having Friends
1 But since I have mentioned friends, let me teach you something further on this subject, at greater length. For among the many good things that belong to kingship, none is so great as the reality—and even the very name—of a friend. The tyrant, for his part, is hedged about with fear, and has only threats and, again and again, killings, so as to have, he supposes, some sturdy and unbreakable bulwark. But you—fortify yourself with friendship, and be guarded, above all else, by goodwill. For nothing is so weak as a man hated by many, even if he is guarded by many bodyguards. His citizen may perhaps bow before him, extol him, speak well of him, and pray to the Almighty for the lengthening of his days—but “the tongue has sworn, while the mind remains unsworn.”[1] His lips are moistened, but his palate is not wet. And he is afraid to say aloud that he hates and abhors the tyrant, waiting for his moment; not in words but in deeds he will show his hatred, tasting his raw liver.[2]