Any prince who demonstrates himself to be strong enough to protect his people must also prove himself to be strong enough to be feared, but not by being cruel to his people. Above all, a skillful prince must recognize that he does not live in a perfect world. Therefore, he should "learn not to be good" when a particular event renders it more useful to be bad. Machiavelli discusses how a prince often can commit crimes, break promises, and usually behave viciously for political advantage. He also maintains that a prince should learn to evade the hate that is likely the result of bad behavior. He should instead build a reputation for "goodness," even if that reputation is not true. In other words, for Machiavelli's prince, it's better to look
