In1500hewassenttoFrancetoobtaintermsfromLouisXIIforcontinuingthewaragainstPisa: thiskingitwaswho, inhisconductofaffairsinItaly, committedthefivecapitalerrorsinstatecraftsummarizedin "ThePrince," , also, itwaswhomadethedissolutionofhismarriageaconditionofsupporttoPopeAlexanderVI; whichleadsMachiavellitoreferthosewhourgethatsuchpromisesshouldbekepttowhathehaswrittenconcerningthefaithofprinces.
Machiavelli'spubliclifewaslargelyoccupiedwitheventsarisingoutoftheambitionsofPopeAlexanderVIandhisson, CesareBorgia, theDukeValentino, andthesecharactersfillalargespaceof "ThePrince." Machiavellineverhesitatestocitetheactionsofthedukeforthebenefitofusurperswhowishtokeepthestatestheyhaveseized; hecan, indeed, findnopreceptstooffersogoodasthepatternofCesareBorgia'sconduct, insomuchthatCesareisacclaimedbysomecriticsasthe "hero" of "ThePrince." Yetin "ThePrince" thedukeisinpointoffactcitedasatypeofthemanwhorisesonthefortuneofothers, andfallswiththem; whotakeseverycoursethatmightbeexpectedfromaprudentmanbutthecoursewhichwillsavehim; whoispreparedforalleventualitiesbuttheonewhichhappens; andwho, whenallhisabilitiesfailtocarryhimthrough, exclaimsthatitwasnothisfault, butanextraordinaryandunforeseenfatality.
OnthedeathofPiusIII, in1503, MachiavelliwassenttoRometowatchtheelectionofhissuccessor, andtherehesawCesareBorgiacheatedintoallowingthechoiceoftheCollegetofallonGiulianodelleRovere (JuliusII), , whencommentingonthiselection, .
