Recently in my doctoral class I was required to read Machiavelli's The Prince. It was brutal...until I realized it was secretly a strategy book for Duelers. Here now are selected quotes from The Prince:
"And here it is to be noted that a Dueler ought to take care never to make an alliance with one more powerful than herself/himself for the purposes of attacking other Duelers, unless necessity compels her/him, as is said above; because if they conquer you are at their discretion, and Duelers ought to avoid as much as possible being at the discretion of any other Dueler."
"Thus it will always happen that she/he who is not in your alliance will demand your neutrality, whilst she/he who is in your alliance will entreat you to declare yourself with cards to attack."
"A Dueler, therefore, ought always to take counsel, but only when she/he wishes and not when other Duelers wish; she/he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless she/he asks it...also, on learning that a Dueler, on any consideration, has not told them the truth, she/he should let her/his anger be felt with a Thermal Detonator."
"The Dueler who has more to fear from their own alliance ought to draw cards, but the Dueler who has more to fear from the enemy alliance ought to play cards."
"Therefore, it is unnecessary for a Dueler to be merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. But it is very necessary to appear to be."
"Nevertheless our experience has been that those Duelers who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of other Duelers by craft, and in the end have overcome those Duelers who have relied on their word."
"We have not seen great things done in a Duel except by those who have been considered mean; the rest have failed."
"And of that alliance's minor characters, you can be a ready giver; because it does not take away your health points if you squander the minor characters of your alliance partners, but adds to it; it is only squandering your minor character that injures (but then heals) you."
"A wise Dueler ought to observe some strategies, and never in peaceful times discard a card to draw a card, but increase his hand with industry in such a way that they may be fully carded in adversity, so that if fortune chances it may find her/him prepared to resist her blows with a Force Rebound."
"For a Dueler who wishes to act entirely up to her/his professions of virtue soon meets with what destroys her/him among so many Force Lightnings."
"Therefore, if she/he who is in an alliance cannot recognize who will betray them first, she/he is not truly wise; and this Insight is given to few. Like Yoda."
"Hence it is to be remarked that, in attacking a Dueler, the usurper ought to examine closely all the hit points which are necessary to inflict, and to do them all in one turn so as not to have to repeat them on the next turn."
"A wise Dueler ought always to follow the paths beaten by better Duelers, and to imitate those who have been supreme, so that if one's ability does not equal theirs, at least it will savour of it."
"One has to remark that Duelers ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a Dueler ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge."
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