In the second
place, he should be seen to collect taxes and to require public
services only for state purposes, and that he may form a fund in
case of war, and generally he ought to make himself the guardian and
treasurer of them, as if they belonged, not to him, but to the public.
He should appear, not harsh, but dignified, and when men meet him they
should look upon him with reverence, and not with fear. Yet it is hard
for him to be respected if he inspires no respect, and therefore
whatever virtues he may neglect, at least he should maintain the
character of a great soldier, and produce the impression that he is
one. Neither he nor any of his associates should ever be guilty of the
least offense against modesty towards the young of either sex who
are his subjects, and the women of his family should observe a like
self-control towards other women; the insolence of women has ruined
many tyrannies. In the indulgence of pleasures he should be the
opposite of our modern tyrants, who not only begin at dawn and pass
whole days in sensuality, but want other men to see them, that they
may admire their happy and blessed lot. In these things a tyrant
should if possible be moderate, or at any rate should not parade his
vices to the world; for a drunken and drowsy tyrant is soon despised
and attacked; not so he who is temperate and wide awake.
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