1A proposal was once made in the senate that slaves should be distinguished from the free by their dress; 1then it became clear how great a danger would threaten if our slaves began to count us. 1Know that the same thing is to be feared if no one is pardoned; 1it will soon become clear how far the worse part of the state outweighs the rest. Many punishments are no less disgraceful for a prince than many funerals for a doctor; 1one who rules more gently is better obeyed. 2The human mind is by nature defiant, striving against opposition and towards what is hard, and it follows more readily than it is led; 2and just as thoroughbred and noble horses are better managed with an easy bit, so innocence follows clemency willingly and of its own impulse, and the state thinks it worth preserving for itself.
2More, therefore, is achieved by this way.