ChapterTwoBookOne83

There are other kinds of people in states who ruin themselves by dint of work, not so much out of necessity as out of greed to earn; their enormous avarice hardens their bodies so much that they make surprising efforts beyond what nature can bear, but in the end they exhaust themselves and succumb, and when they do not die, they at least become disabled and useless for other work, which is a loss for the state. The prince must seek a remedy for this by fixing the time and hours of work and by ordering that only cattle can be used for certain works that exhaust the (323) strength of men too much, and that one person can never undertake the work of three or four. In this way, the greed and avarice of one person cannot take away the occupation of others; he will be prevented from ruining himself through work, and others will not lack work.

Too many holidays[^1] is also prejudicial to the true conveniences of the state because the common people[^2] are accustomed in this way to laziness and debauchery by spending all the fruits of their labor at the fetes and afterwards strive to regain by excessive and tiresome work what they have spent and what the holidays have prevented them from earning. The prince must come to an understanding with the clergy, who initiate most of these holidays, (324) to decrease rather than to increase the number of them. Public festivities that are held to make the people feel that the pleasures and amenities of life belong to them as to the great and the rich must not be neglected by the prince; they are one of the best ways to attract the people’s fondness and to make them more receptive to whatever the prince wishes to impose on them for the good of the state. These things are needed to entertain those who work more and have more troubles than others.