The Virtues of 'Old Nick'
Let the jangling chains of morality,
Fall by the wayside on the road to power.
Let them cascade away into the dust,
Look God in the eye and make him cower.
Right and wrong these are arbitraries,
They stray the course and erode your hold.
Build not your foundations on the sands of 'good',
For the cunning thrive exploiting the bold.
Calculate and scheme without constraint,
Virtues are virtuous until defeat.
Let the good be great and lead the charge,
Till power crumbles beneath their feet.
Be good and dwindle to the past,
Be Machiavelli and survive to the last.
3 comments add one below
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Peter Humfrey about 7 years ago
I kind of took inspiration from the expression 'the ends justify the means' which was attributed to Niccolo Machiavelli. I've had The Prince sitting on my shelf for years and this has spurred me to knuckle down and read it.
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Neville Hunt about 7 years ago
A princely piece, Peter. Old Nick would be proud of you.
(Il Principe : It's a really good read isn't it?)
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Peter Humfrey about 7 years ago
Just getting into it at the moment. Also reading Nineteen Eighty-Four for the first time so expect plenty of paranoid and cynical drabls over the next few weeks.
