Question

read the passage from chapter 17 of the prince. nevertheless he ought to be slow to believe and to act, nor should he himself show fear, but proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity, so that too much confidence may not make him incautious and too much distrust render him intolerable. what meaning is emphasized by the words temperate, prudence, and humanity in the paragraph? that princes are even harsher than machiavelli describes that readers should not have sympathy for a prince that a prince should only be cruel when necessary that weak rulers must learn to be frightening

Explanation:

The passage from The Prince suggests a prince should act with moderation (temperate), wisdom (prudence), and kindness (humanity) to avoid being overly confident or distrustful. This implies that cruelty should be a last - resort measure.

Answer:

C. that a prince should only be cruel when necessary