*He who would attack that state from the outside must have the utmost caution; as long as the prince resides there it can only be wrested from him with the greatest difficulty. The other and better course is to send colonies to one or two places, which may be as keys to that state, for it is necessary either to do this or else to keep there a great number of cavalry and infantry. A prince does not spend much on colonies, for with little or no expense he can send them out and keep them there, and he offends a minority only of the citizens from whom he takes lands and houses to give them to the new inhabitants; and those whom he offends, remaining poor and scattered, are never able to injure him; whilst the rest being uninjured are easily kept quiet, and... are anxious not to err for fear it should happen to them as it has to those who have been despoiled... (O)ne has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because... the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge... (T)he prince who holds a country differing in the above respects ought to make himself the head and defender of his less powerful neighbours, and to weaken the more powerful amongst them, taking care that no foreigner as powerful as himself shall... get a footing there... The Romans were brought into... every... country where they obtained a footing they were brought in by [malcontent] inhabitants... (T)hey sent colonies and maintained friendly relations with the minor powers, without increasing their strength; they kept down the greater, and did not allow any strong foreign powers to gain authority."*
