Answer:
C. Observing what happened to the Spartans and the Romans shows that it is best to destroy a newly acquired state that is accustomed to freedom.
Explanation:
Nicolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" is a book that details how a ruler may acquire and maintain power over a city-state. The book deals in great detail about how power can be acquired and how a ruler may sustain the maintenance of his power over any state.
In the given paragraph from Chapter 5 of the book, Machiavelli states how a city-state that is accustomed to freedom is less likely to be kept fully under control. Rather, it is best to destroy such type of city-state for it presents no real future for a ruler/ prince. This, he claimed, is based on observing what had happened to the Spartans and Romans.
Thus, the best summary of the given passage is option C.
