Question

It is much safer to be feared than loved. . . .

Among the wonderful deeds of Hannibal this one is enumerated: that having led an enormous army, composed of many various races of men, to fight in foreign lands, no dissensions arose either among them or against the prince, whether in his bad or in his good fortune. This arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty . . . but without that cruelty, his other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect. . . . That it is true his other virtues would not have been sufficient for him may be proved by the case of Scipio, that most excellent man . . . his army rebelled in Spain; this arose from nothing but his too great forbearance, which gave his soldiers more license than is consistent with military discipline.

–The Prince,
Niccolò Machiavelli

Which words in the passage have negative connotations?

Answer 1

Words with negative connotations in the passage include:

- feared — fear is unpleasant and threatening
- inhuman — implies brutal, lacking compassion
- cruelty — explicitly harsh, violent mistreatment
- dissensions — suggests conflict and disagreement
- bad — directly negative (as in “bad fortune”)
- rebelled — implies disorder, disobedience, breakdown of authority
- too great forbearance — framed negatively here (excessive leniency)
- license — used negatively to mean excessive freedom or permissiveness

Each of these words/phrases carries unpleasant or critical associations in the context.