Throughout The Prince and Discourses, Niccolò Machiavelli talks in great length, and seems to endorse, power, deception, and cruelty. There is one passage in particular that I found to contradict Machiavelli’s viewpoint on dominance and to support the fact that he is perhaps a classical republican. The way Machiavelli praises Rome in Chapter 2 of Discourses shows that he believes there is a way to make the system work without a “prince” being feared by his subjects.…
Throughout the excerpt Machiavelli uses logos to talk about this issue in a logical manner. His first step in approaching this topic is when he states to the reader that others have tried to discuss how a prince should act. Machiavelli states that he is doing something along the same lines but what he says is that a prince must be able to do what is not…
Machiavelli was an author and an aspiring political figure who had a strong influence on several aspects of Europe’s government. Due to his critical writings in The Prince, many historians see Machiavelli as a cruel and diabolical political figure whose true intentions were to gain power for himself. However, after looking further into Machiavelli’s political past, one can see that Machiavelli is in fact an intelligent man who possesses a hidden motive to write his novel. In his work, he covered several topics that were used by future city-state leaders to help them become successful. Machiavelli proves to be an astute political mind who used his political experience to assess the actions of famous princes and to write The Prince as a noteworthy…
In Machiavelli's The Prince, hints of future democratic theories can be pulled out of Machiavelli's plan for the success of a prince of a state. Within Machiavelli's concentration of plotting out successful achievement of a stabilized state within a principality, he often reveals the importance of the satisfaction the people within the governing walls of that principality. One of the themes to Machiavelli's plan included the dismissal of the affection of virtue of the nobility as well as the significance of an honest people. Even though Machiavelli may have had other motivation for the writing of "The Prince",…
The prince may gain power, but not glory. He gains esteem and glory through his courage. He must have wisdom to choose the least risky venture and act on it courageously and wisdom in picking his advisors. It is extremely important to gain the support of the people because you will need it in times of trouble. It also takes that same courage and wisdom to keep up the morale of his people during those troubled times. That is why a prince needs to relate to his people. He does not have to be loved by the people, but he must not be hated and should always be respected. However, Machiavelli makes a powerful case that it is better for a leader to be feared than loved. He feels that men respond more strongly to fear than love. Fear is constant, but love of the people can easily change. The prince cannot make people love him, but he has control over his people’s fear of him. Therefore, the course of action that the prince can best control is what he should pursue. In answering the question of whether it is better to be loved than feared, Machiavelli writes, “The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being…
However, Machiavelli, no matter how extreme, violent at times, rigorous, and blunt he may come across, by setting examples and guides structured around the utilization of ruthlessness and egocentric cunning as the process of gaining political power, showed what a clear mind he had on what it takes to be an awe-inspiring leader, master of the art of winning a battle, and conquering lands. In this paper, by comparing the two, human nature and political potency, through the use of different ideologies of both, Plato and Machiavelli, corroborated that they were very powerful, unparalleled influences in the philosophy of human nature and the processes of political power as theorist of their…
Machiavelli asserts, “... of men generally; they are ungrateful, fickle, feigners and dissemblers, avoiders of danger, eager for gain” and that men are “treacherous and would not keep their promises to you.” Do you agree with his assessment of people? Explain.…
Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…
The Prince was written by Niccolò Machiavelli while he was in exile. In his efforts to return to politics, Machiavelli wrote the Prince in order to exert the true nature of a successful leader, and once again be in the good graces of the Medici’s who were rising to power in Italy. The Prince reveals what Machiavelli views to be a successful leader. The Prince also reveals how Machiavelli views the nature of humans and how that effects how a dictator/leader should rule. Machiavelli believes human beings are selfish, greedy, easily manipulated, and incapable of self-governing as it often ends in their own demise. “[F]or men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves, and this hope induces them to take up arms against him who rules: wherein they are deceived, because they afterwards find by experience they have gone from bad to worse” (Machiavelli 201). Human selfishness inhibits the individual’s ability to make rational long-term decisions thus deeming them incapable of self-governing. If given the people the right to make their own decisions, their greed ill cloud their judgment and cause them to make decisions that may not be in their best interest. If the society is not capable of self-governing they will need a strong leader and Machiavelli has the recipe for the perfect…
Machiavelli repeated himself numerous times throughout the piece. The purpose of this was to relay the importance of the advice given. To illustrate this point, Machiavelli says that if a prince wants his people to respect him, he must “keep his hands off the property and the women of his citizens and his subjects.”, in paragraph 15. In paragraph 25, he reiterates the same concept of not being rapacious. He says, “As I have said, what makes him hates above all else is being rapacious and a usurper of the property and the women of his subjects;”. Another example, is to not worry about what the masses call you. Machiavelli says this multiple times with different adjectives attached. Machiavelli informs the reader that a prince must not worry about being called things such as a miser, cruel or cheap as long as it is for the good of the state. By repeating the concept, Machiavelli shows that if a prince is doing what is right as he should, there is no need to fret upon names one is called. Machiavelli is very successsful in reaching his point through repetition, it drilled the ideas into the minds of the readers.…
Machiavelli thought human nature was two-dimensional. He saw humans as predictable, foreseeing their responses to the princes’ actions. Because humans are so unsophisticated in Machiavelli’s eye, they can only love or hate their prince, making them unable to see an intermediate to the good and bad in their ruler. Humans’…
Essay #15 Machiavelli believed that a leader should possess the ability to heroically and decisively for the good of their country. Machiavelli’s suggestion that a ruler should be like a lion and a fox was fairly true in Europe. Machiavelli uses a lion in comparison to a ruler because he thought a king should be strong and maintain an honest image. He also uses a fox as a symbol to show how a ruler is deceitful.Catherine the Great of Russia and Elizabeth I of England were both like a lion and a fox through their way of handling problems that they confronted during their reign. Elizabeth I of England and Catherine the Great of Russia were both good rulers who had policies against peasants/serfs, foreign countries,and religion. Catherine the Great of Russia had a strong army as well as Elizabeth I of England only difference was that Elizabeth I of England tried to avoid war but secretly encouraged Francis Drake to destroy Spanish fleets. Catherine the Great of Russia used her wisdom to decide when to use her powers to benefit Russia.Catherine the Great of Russia was like a lion because she suppressed the revolt of serfs which made her look strong. Peasants serfs tried to revolt but were not successful due to Catherine the Great of Russia. Another thing that made Catherine very powerful was the Russian military. She gained a large portion of Poland by leaving conquered Danubian area. Catherine the Great of Russia was like a fox because she controlled the nobles. She had earned the nobles loyalty by giving them control of the serfs. Thanks to the support of the nobles Catherine the…
author of Prince. They are both philosophers but have totally different perspective on how to be a good leader. While both philosopher's writing is instructive. Lao-tzu's advice issues from detached view of a universal ruler; Machiavelli's advice is very personal perhaps demanding. Both philosophers' idea will not work for today's world, because that modern world is not as perfect as Lao-tzu described in Tao-te Ching, and not as chaotic as Machiavelli illustrated in Prince.…
Machiavelli’s text, The Prince, includes a list of traits that he thought a Prince should possess. An…
The person that I chose to represent Machiavelli’s ideas is Muammar Gaddafi. He is the longest serving head of state in the world next to Queen Elizabeth II. He is known for his controversial political strategy and his very unusual personality. Gaddafi is easily spotted in animal skins and colorful clothing. His name regularly pops up on lists of the worst dressed world leaders. Ronald Regan named him the “Mad Dog of the Middle East.” Muammar Gaddafi’s reputation ranges from a popular revolutionary to an international reject.…