Book One, The Development of Rome's Constitution, The Use and Abuse of Dictatorship, The Road to Ruin, Sundry Reflections Based on the Decemvirate Summary and Analysis

Sections 33-36 concern the use and abuse of dictatorship. First, Machiavelli argues that if there is a dissenting faction within a state or against a state, it is best not to suppress it but rather to temporize or moderate it. Such movements' power is hard to assess at the outset. The dictatorial power given to the Roman Caesar was a good thing for the Roman republic and is a good thing generally so long as citizens freely grant the power. The real problem is when citizens take more power for themselves than they have the authority to...