There has been legendary rulers throughout history. The question is what makes them legendary? Is the fact that they are remembered this great is their capabilities at war? Or maybe their attitude towards their people. Machiavelli has some challenging ideas about this topic. He believes that a ruler can't be a lion. A lion may be the king of jungle but in order to achieve greatness, a ruler should be a fox in the silhouette of a lion.
A lion is known with his courage and raw power whereas a fox is known with his cunning and deceiving acts. Machiavelli believes that it is not enough to be strong, honest and courageous to be a good ruler. In fact he states that it is better if you don't possess some of those qualities. He believes that honesty is not a luxury a ruler can have. I believe that his thoughts on this subject is true. There are greater things in life than honesty. Lets take freedom as an example. Imagine a man whose country is invaded. He wants to give his people freedom but he does not have the power to do this. He needs to become a powerful ruler to do this. Becoming a powerful ruler is not something you can accomplish with honesty. He needs to be cunning until he reaches his goal. He can sacrifice some values in order to gain a higher value for himself and for his people.
I agree with your statements, but Machiavelli thinks a ruler should also have the properties of a lion, not need to give up on them as it may be interpreted from your writings. He simply thinks they are beneficial for different situations, as when he states a fox can't protect itself from wolves.
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