Machiavelli's House of Cards

What Machiavelli  means when he says that "Rivers and men can be controlled but cannot be trusted" is that as tameable as rivers and men are, they are at heart unpredictable and can never be trusted in all totality. Rivers can be dammed, diverted and canalled thus controlling the river and how its water may be used. However, a river is a natural force and cannot be fully controlled by men so therefore is unpredictable as a natural force ought to be. Rivers erode, overflow and dry up. No matter how much you try you cannot trust a river completely to fulfill the purpose you have assigned it, and so the same with man. Men can be bribed, bought and blackmailed, but they are still imperfect and therefore cannot be trusted completely. So what Machiavelli means is that you can control both men and rivers to a point, but they are both unpredictable, imperfect constructs which cannot be trusted wholeheartedly.
This phrase reminds me very much of the political systems of today,  or at least how they are represented in Hollywood. In "The House of Cards" with Kevin Spacey, the majority whip of US congress does all he can to control people and manipulate them, but in the end they are just that, people. Even his own wife ends up breaking his trust as she has multiple affairs with different people. The series is all about the distinction between control and trust. All in all, Machiavelli's quote shares great relevance with the politics of today as well as the politics of a forgotten time. And House of cards is awesome.
:)

                                 House of Cardswi