This chapter and the two following concern arms and armies. It is tempting to interpret Machiavelli's quotable line that there cannot be good laws without good arms as just a variation on "might makes right," but this was probably not his intent. Because force is an inseparable part of the state, a well-governed state needs a good army. If the reader interprets "good laws" not in the strict legal sense, but as the conditions that make for orderly life in society, Machiavelli's observation loses some of its radical edge. Even in the modern world, the state that does not rely on police or military force to keep order and protect its citizens is rare indeed. Machiavelli further observes that where there are good arms there must be good laws, meaning that a ruler who is capable enough to raise and command a disciplined army must also be capable enough to keep his state well ordered.
Equally important is what Machiavelli chooses not to discuss. Just as in Chapter 1, where he declined to discuss republics, here he declines to discuss laws, confining himself to a prince's command of the military. However, the world he describes is clearly one of cutthroat competition and violence, in which only the well armed can live free. In such a world, the weak will quickly be exploited by the strong unless they can defend themselves.
"Good arms," in Machiavelli's view, can be only the state's own troops; that is, its own citizens, rather than outsiders. Keeping with his view that independence and self-sufficiency are the only security, Machiavelli asserts that dependence on foreign troops is the kiss of death to a prince's power. He had good reasons to think so, having observed the widespread use of foreign mercenaries in Italy and what he felt were its disastrous consequences. He blamed the mercenaries for lacking the spirit of soldiers who were defending their own lands and homes. In his opinion, the mercenaries were lazy, looking only for the easiest way to get their money, regardless of whether this benefited the state that employed them. They were also untrustworthy, because if they worked for a prince's money, they were probably just as willing to work for the prince's opponent.
