Machiavelli's The Prince
During the renaissance there were many new ideas and philosophies about politics and government that started being established, none more important than Niccolo Machiavelli 's The Prince. What Machiavelli did was analyze past rulers and present rulers of his time period and create a manual for leadership. His ideas would spread all throughout Europe as a radical and revolutionary way on how to gain and maintain power, because to Machiavelli, great does not mean morally good. One cannot be a morally good leader if you are planning to be a considered a great leader (7). As exemplified in his book several Rulers of his time period like Charles V, Louis XII of France, and Cesare Borgia tried to adopt his philosophies and use them in an effort to
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strengthen and maintain their political status. These rulers attempted to model their monarchies and empires off of Machiavellian principles, some were successful while others failed miserably.
Many people thought that Charles V was innocent of Machiavellian politics and as a man of "absolute moral rectitude," however the facts would point to several conclusions (3). Charles V lived at a time of change, during the pinnacle of the Protestant Reformation. He spent his life trying to deal with this problem. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he was considered to be a ruler who was not respected because he kept the papacy weak and infirm. He had great difficulty in suppressing new religious ideas such as Lutheranism, and thus greatly weakened the influence of Catholicism in Western Europe. While Charles tried to live by the Machiavellian principalities, his failure to stop civil war, especially within Germany ultimately proved fatal. Machiavelli warns that a prince who is unable to prevent civil war will never gain honor, especially among his advisors (7). The pope, as head of the Catholic Church, which was arguably the most powerful institution in Europe, had always had power and privilege, and had ruled over his own states around Rome (9). However the popes (especially Charles V) of the Italian Renaissance added military conquest and aggressive fund-raising to the mix, becoming not only outrageously powerful but outrageously corrupt as well(8). These obvious flaws with the church caused religious unrest with the people, ultimately ushering in the Reformation. We can make a connection to the Crusades, and the fight for Catholicism in the east as an aggressive and violent way for the pope to gain power, much like the aggression we see in the Renaissance Era.
Machiavelli uses the military and political exploits of Louis XII in Italy as examples of what not to do in maintaining power over a newly conquered territory. Louis XII makes several crucial mistakes in his attempts to take, and keep Italy (9). The best methods are to go and live there yourself, to establish colonies in them, to protect the neighboring minor powers, to weaken strong factions within the state, and to guard against foreign powers. It is important to deal with developing political problems early, rather than wait until it is too late, because wars can never be avoided, only postponed (4). King Louis did not follow these policies in Italy and therefore failed to keep his territories. He also made another crucial mistake by making the Church more powerful, because to make others powerful is to weaken yourself. Machiavelli, in describing the king 's mistakes, emphasizes one key point: that he who causes another to become powerful ruins himself (7). We see this occur later on in French history when Louis XIV, too engrossed in his wealth to notice the severe famine and starvation of his people, did nothing to help them. Only realizing what he had caused after they had overthrown him, Louis was much too late act to save his crown.
Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI inherited much power and territory from his father.
He was greatly admired by Machiavelli, who met the Duke on a diplomatic mission in his function as Secretary of the Florentine Chancellery. Machiavelli was at Borgia 's court from October 7, 1502 through January 18, 1503. During this time he wrote regular dispatches to his superiors in Florence. Borgia is considered by Machiavelli to have been a most capable leader and the embodiment of what he believed a prince should be, as he would do the most to shape Machiavelli 's opinions about leadership (9). Borgia was a cunning, cruel, and vicious politician, and many people despised him. Nevertheless, Machiavelli believed Borgia had the traits necessary for any leader who would seek to unify Italy, because no prince should mind being called cruel for what he does to keep his subjects united and loyal (7). Machiavelli uses many events of Borgia 's life to illustrate how and why he was successful (8). Two episodes were particularly impressive to Machiavelli: the method by which Borgia pacified the Romagna, and his assassination of his captains on New Year 's Eve of 1503 in Senigallia. He suggests that an ambitious prince looking for a recent model to follow should imitate Cesare Borgia. We see modern day examples of people embodying the Machiavellian principle in dictators like Stalin in Russia, and Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican
Republic.
The main thing that sets apart weak, ineffective rulers and strong, influential kings is power. For Machiavelli, people are compelled to obey purely in deference to the superior power of the state (5). Machiavelli 's argument in The Prince is designed to demonstrate that politics can only be defined in terms of the supremacy of power. For Machiavelli it is meaningless and futile to speak of any claim to authority and the right to command which is detached from the possession of superior political power (6). The ruler who lives by his rights alone will surely wither and die by those same rights, because in the rough-and-tumble of political conflict those who prefer power to authority are more likely to succeed. Without exception the authority of states and their laws will never be acknowledged when they are not supported by a show of power which renders obedience inescapable (8). This is what sets the futile attempts of Charles, Louis or any other ruler trying to follow Machiavellian rule, from someone like Cesare Borgia, who 's lust for power led him to fully assimilate himself into the notion that "the end justifies the means" (7). We can link these ideas to the 20th century megalomaniac, Adof Hitler. He used Machiavellian strategies, and tactics to gain total control over Germany. Hitler 's insatiable lust for power led to the creation one of the most influential and successful regimes of the modern world. This was due to the fact that the people were convinced that he was their savior, and were willing to die for him. It was also due in part because of the diabolical and sickening cruelty he showed towards others of different race or religion (especially Jews). His Blitzkrieg across Western Europe led to massive bloodshed throughout Western Europe, and was the start of one of the most brutal wars in history.
Works Cited1."Cesare Borgia." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Borgia.
2."Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor.
3."Charles V." JSTOR. American Historical Association. 26 Sept. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(197110)76%3A4%3C1155%3ACV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3.
4."Louis XII in Context of the Prince." Free Dictionary. 26 Sept. 2007 http://machiavelli.thefreelibrary.com/Prince/4-1#Louis+XII.
5.Machiavelli, N., 1965, The Chief Works and Others, A. Gilbert (trans.), 3 vols., Durham: Duke University Press.
6.Machiavelli, N., 1988, The Prince, Q. Skinner and R. Price (eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7.Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1935.
8."Niccolo Machiavelli." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy. 13 Sept. 2005. Stanford. 26 Sept. 2007 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/#9.
9."The Prince." Book Rags. 26 Sept. 2007 http://www.bookrags.com/notes/pri/CHR.html.
strengthen and maintain their political status. These rulers attempted to model their monarchies and empires off of Machiavellian principles, some were successful while others failed miserably.
Many people thought that Charles V was innocent of Machiavellian politics and as a man of "absolute moral rectitude," however the facts would point to several conclusions (3). Charles V lived at a time of change, during the pinnacle of the Protestant Reformation. He spent his life trying to deal with this problem. Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, he was considered to be a ruler who was not respected because he kept the papacy weak and infirm. He had great difficulty in suppressing new religious ideas such as Lutheranism, and thus greatly weakened the influence of Catholicism in Western Europe. While Charles tried to live by the Machiavellian principalities, his failure to stop civil war, especially within Germany ultimately proved fatal. Machiavelli warns that a prince who is unable to prevent civil war will never gain honor, especially among his advisors (7). The pope, as head of the Catholic Church, which was arguably the most powerful institution in Europe, had always had power and privilege, and had ruled over his own states around Rome (9). However the popes (especially Charles V) of the Italian Renaissance added military conquest and aggressive fund-raising to the mix, becoming not only outrageously powerful but outrageously corrupt as well(8). These obvious flaws with the church caused religious unrest with the people, ultimately ushering in the Reformation. We can make a connection to the Crusades, and the fight for Catholicism in the east as an aggressive and violent way for the pope to gain power, much like the aggression we see in the Renaissance Era.
Machiavelli uses the military and political exploits of Louis XII in Italy as examples of what not to do in maintaining power over a newly conquered territory. Louis XII makes several crucial mistakes in his attempts to take, and keep Italy (9). The best methods are to go and live there yourself, to establish colonies in them, to protect the neighboring minor powers, to weaken strong factions within the state, and to guard against foreign powers. It is important to deal with developing political problems early, rather than wait until it is too late, because wars can never be avoided, only postponed (4). King Louis did not follow these policies in Italy and therefore failed to keep his territories. He also made another crucial mistake by making the Church more powerful, because to make others powerful is to weaken yourself. Machiavelli, in describing the king 's mistakes, emphasizes one key point: that he who causes another to become powerful ruins himself (7). We see this occur later on in French history when Louis XIV, too engrossed in his wealth to notice the severe famine and starvation of his people, did nothing to help them. Only realizing what he had caused after they had overthrown him, Louis was much too late act to save his crown.
Cesare Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander VI inherited much power and territory from his father.
He was greatly admired by Machiavelli, who met the Duke on a diplomatic mission in his function as Secretary of the Florentine Chancellery. Machiavelli was at Borgia 's court from October 7, 1502 through January 18, 1503. During this time he wrote regular dispatches to his superiors in Florence. Borgia is considered by Machiavelli to have been a most capable leader and the embodiment of what he believed a prince should be, as he would do the most to shape Machiavelli 's opinions about leadership (9). Borgia was a cunning, cruel, and vicious politician, and many people despised him. Nevertheless, Machiavelli believed Borgia had the traits necessary for any leader who would seek to unify Italy, because no prince should mind being called cruel for what he does to keep his subjects united and loyal (7). Machiavelli uses many events of Borgia 's life to illustrate how and why he was successful (8). Two episodes were particularly impressive to Machiavelli: the method by which Borgia pacified the Romagna, and his assassination of his captains on New Year 's Eve of 1503 in Senigallia. He suggests that an ambitious prince looking for a recent model to follow should imitate Cesare Borgia. We see modern day examples of people embodying the Machiavellian principle in dictators like Stalin in Russia, and Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican
Republic.
The main thing that sets apart weak, ineffective rulers and strong, influential kings is power. For Machiavelli, people are compelled to obey purely in deference to the superior power of the state (5). Machiavelli 's argument in The Prince is designed to demonstrate that politics can only be defined in terms of the supremacy of power. For Machiavelli it is meaningless and futile to speak of any claim to authority and the right to command which is detached from the possession of superior political power (6). The ruler who lives by his rights alone will surely wither and die by those same rights, because in the rough-and-tumble of political conflict those who prefer power to authority are more likely to succeed. Without exception the authority of states and their laws will never be acknowledged when they are not supported by a show of power which renders obedience inescapable (8). This is what sets the futile attempts of Charles, Louis or any other ruler trying to follow Machiavellian rule, from someone like Cesare Borgia, who 's lust for power led him to fully assimilate himself into the notion that "the end justifies the means" (7). We can link these ideas to the 20th century megalomaniac, Adof Hitler. He used Machiavellian strategies, and tactics to gain total control over Germany. Hitler 's insatiable lust for power led to the creation one of the most influential and successful regimes of the modern world. This was due to the fact that the people were convinced that he was their savior, and were willing to die for him. It was also due in part because of the diabolical and sickening cruelty he showed towards others of different race or religion (especially Jews). His Blitzkrieg across Western Europe led to massive bloodshed throughout Western Europe, and was the start of one of the most brutal wars in history.
Works Cited1."Cesare Borgia." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cesare_Borgia.
2."Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor." Wikipedia. 26 Sept. 2007 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_V,_Holy_Roman_Emperor.
3."Charles V." JSTOR. American Historical Association. 26 Sept. 2007 http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-8762(197110)76%3A4%3C1155%3ACV%3E2.0.CO%3B2-3.
4."Louis XII in Context of the Prince." Free Dictionary. 26 Sept. 2007 http://machiavelli.thefreelibrary.com/Prince/4-1#Louis+XII.
5.Machiavelli, N., 1965, The Chief Works and Others, A. Gilbert (trans.), 3 vols., Durham: Duke University Press.
6.Machiavelli, N., 1988, The Prince, Q. Skinner and R. Price (eds.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
7.Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Prince. New York: The New American Library of World Literature, Inc., 1935.
8."Niccolo Machiavelli." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy. 13 Sept. 2005. Stanford. 26 Sept. 2007 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/machiavelli/#9.
9."The Prince." Book Rags. 26 Sept. 2007 http://www.bookrags.com/notes/pri/CHR.html.