In The Prince, the notorious advice book of 1513, dedicated to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the new ruler of Florence, the erstwhile Florentine politician, Niccolò Machiavelli, admonished that “a ruler who wishes to maintain his power must be prepared to act immorally.” Rulers “maintain themselves better if they owe little to luck,” he counseled. Rulers “who have done great things are those who have set little store by keeping their word,” Machiavelli went on.

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