Borgi Cruelty In Machiavelli's The Prince

Another example of Borgia’s wisdom as a duke can be identified when examining the period of rule after he had taken over Romagna. Machiavelli is especially enthralled by Borgia’s cunning and effective use of cruelty. He even encourages the actions of Borgia to be “imitated” by future princes (29). This example of “cruelty-well-used”, as Machiavelli calls it, is recognized after Borgia notices the civil disunity within his kingdom. The subjects were so used to having their possessions taken from them under the rule of the old families that many resorted to violence and robbery just to survive (29). Borgia wanted to correct this chaos and establish “good government” by introducing ruthless henchman, Remirro de Orco, to the province. De Orco’s violent and excessive methods of punishment created fear amongst the citizens of the kingdom. As a result, order was quickly restored and de Orco was hated for committing atrocities against his own countrymen (29). It is here that Borgia determined his pawn had done what was required of him. His next move …show more content…
Some of the actions used by the Duke in order to secure power such as, the abandonment of diplomacy, vigilance and eradication of potential problems, and the establishment of “good government” to maintain order and respect amongst subjects are all worth imitation in the eyes of Machiavelli. This is due to the fact that all of these methods are necessary and require virtues contradictory to those of the Christians. This is ironic considering the cause of Borgia’s ruin, his inability to completely abandon all Christian values. Machiavelli cited this as Borgia’s major error because, in the end, forgiveness made him weak and naïve. Borgia’s belief in the capacity of his enemies to forgive all the wrong doings he committed against them ultimately failed. His miscalculation further illustrates that religion and politics cannot coincide