Read the excerpt below and answer the question. … something which looks like a virtue, if followed, would be his [a leader’s] ruin; whilst something else, which looks like a vice, yet followed brings him peace and prosperity.

Machiavelli’s advice can best be paraphrased as .

Follow virtue, even if it leads to ruin.
Beware: vice can often look like virtue.
Take the action, whether virtuous or evil, that leads to peace and prosperity.
Make decisions quickly, without taking too much time to think about them.