With this context kept in mind, let us turn to Machiavelli’s diabolical guide to political statecraft, The Prince. What exactly in The Prince was so dastardly? Well, there is a scathing view of human nature for starters. Machiavelli recommended that ‘a prudent ruler cannot, and must not, honour his word when it places him at a disadvantage … Because men are wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need not keep your word to them’.