A prince, wrote Machiavelli, must imitate the fox and the lion, for the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves. Therefore, a prudent ruler ought not to keep faith when by doing so it would be against his interest, and when the reasons that made him bind himself no longer exist . . .
THESE WORDS ARE FROM THE EPIGRAPH OF ROOSEVELT: THE LION AND THE FOX, a book that Bill Clinton has spoken of fondly as his appreciation...
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