“A prince must seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, and religious, and be so; but have his mind ready to turn to the opposite, if necessary.”Niccolò Machiavelli · Principele · 1532 · capitolul XVIII
A leader must be and appear virtuous, but be prepared to act contrary if necessity demands.
Machiavelli says appearances matter enormously for maintaining power: a prince must be perceived as merciful, faithful, and religious to gain subjects' trust. The mechanism: reputation is political capital. But the impure reality of power sometimes requires cruelty, deceit, or unscrupulousness. For example, a prince who appears religious but secretly orders the execution of conspirators preserves both image and power.
Why it matters In modern leadership, public image and stated values matter, but difficult decisions sometimes require compromises that are not made public.