Read the passage from chapter 17 of The Prince. Cesare Borgia was considered cruel; notwithstanding, his cruelty reconciled the Romagna, unified it, and restored it to peace and loyalty. And if this be rightly considered, he will be seen to have been much more merciful than the Florentine people, who, to avoid a reputation for cruelty, permitted Pistoia to be destroyed. How does the passage support Machiavelli's claim that a ruler must sometimes be cruel? with an appeal to emotions with a historical example with anecdotal evidence with empirical evidence

With a historical evidence.

Explanation:

Niccolo Machiavelli's analysis of how power is to be maintained, how it can be maintained and what a ruler needs to do are part of what he wrote in his political treatise "The Prince". He gave a detailed analysis and also suggestions for a ruler to keep his influence and political power over his people.

In Chapter 17 of the text, he talks about the need to be cruel and included the need to be merciful at times, though depending on the situation. He said that a ruler needs to be merciful but at other times, he must be cruel too if he wishes to keep his subjects in check. He illustrates this by giving an example of how Cesare Borgia was notoriously remembered in history as a cruel leader, but nevertheless, his cruelty also led to the unification of Romagna and restored peace and loyalty. This example of providing facts from history acts a support for Machiavelli's claims of what he was suggesting.

B. with a historical example