In Vincent Barnett's article that interprets Machiavelli's "The Prince" was intriguing. Many readers were shocked about Machiavelli's guide to be a leader, but he was only telling the truth. To be a successful leader, Machiavelli proposes that "the end justifies the means. " Machiavelli's critical manual was meant to appeal to leaders to reach their goal for the greater good.…
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote "The Qualities of the Prince" in July 1513 in Florence, Italy, to convey his idea of the strong, active, and perfect ruler to the current ruling the Medicis. The work is remembered and responsible for bringing “Machiavellian” into wide usage as a pejorative term. The essay takes a stringent position on the proper way to govern a nation. With a straightforward logic, a relevant idea, and an expressed method, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the Prince” is a practical guide for current…
Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince is a guide on how a proper prince should rule his nation. Machiavelli demonstrates how the past rulers have either been successful or not. Even as his audience were that of monarchs, many of his teachings’ outcomes can be seen in present day. In chapter 12, Machiavelli comments on the usage of mercenary troops.…
Machiavelli’s intentions are clear from the very beginning, the dedication of the book to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the ruler of Florence. The Prince is not particularly hypothetical or abstract, its prose is transparent and its logic incomplex. These attributes underline Machiavelli’s desire to provide coherent, efficient understandable advice. In his book, “The Prince,” Machiavelli stated that a good ruler should not only mirror previous great rulers and seek advice when needed “the prince must read histories and in them study the deeds of great men; he must examine the reasons for their victories and for their defeats in order to avoid the latter” (The prince, XIV), but he should also devote himself to the military operations and preserve power distinctly, and not to mention defeat or eradicate possible threats such as political conflicts and potential enemies.…
In one section of the article, Vincent Barnett discusses some of the alternative ways that Machiavelli’s The Prince can be interpreted. One interpretation was that Machiavelli possibly intended for his writing to be satirical, because certain facts, such as how Machiavelli had a family, refute his statement from the pamphlet that he believes all humans are evil. Also, it is possible that Machiavelli didn’t actually agree with the ideas in his writing, but he only wrote those things to gain favor from the leaders of his time. These are just possibilities, but knowing about Machiavelli’s life and his situation are important in order to understand his motives for writing The Prince. Just like Machiavelli, present-day leaders and authors make…
Niccolò Machiavelli is smart and a strategic author. There are many ways on how to interpret his famous work, “The Prince”. It is intriguing that Machiavelli did not provide a title for the book. In doing so, Machiavelli shows his strategic writing to challenge the reader. To read the book and accept it in a literal sense is questionable.…
It appears that Machiavelli’s purpose in writing The Prince was to eventually gift it to Lorenzo the Magnificent as a means of securing good favor from him. As to why he chose to write a novel as opposed to the more commonplace tribute of either gold or some other finery, the most feasible conclusion is that Machiavelli wished to indirectly guide Lorenzo in how he thinks his job should be done. Machiavelli wanted Lorenzo to implement the strategies detailed in The Prince so that Lorenzo may eventually garner even more power and prestige; in the hopes that one day Lorenzo would repay Machiavelli’s kindness by relieving him of his suffering and misfortune. In terms of more noble goals, Machiavelli hoped that the Medicis would use his knowledge…
Machiavelli is the “heir… to civic humanism” because he is keenly aware that any advice towards the ruling elite may be seen as a threat, and so he must validate his opinions through the use of examples from romanticized ancient Rome and Greece to show that his opinions were not an issue, but the truth behind them which would remain true even at his death or expulsion threatened the stability of any government. As is the case with Renaissance humanism, Machiavelli drew comparisons from knowledge of the ancient world to the world in which he lived, evaluating each based on each other. He took particular interest in the actions of the leaders, specifically the key points in history which led to their rise to and fall from power. He attempts to create rules or guidelines for future leaders to follow based on any consistencies he saw, giving him the title of “heir…to civic humanism.” Without further inquiry here it is impossible to say to what extent Machiavelli romanticized the ancient times, as he may have been picking and choosing stories which best aligned with his views, omitting contrary evidence, or he may have been using all the works available to him at the time.…
Spanning continents, centuries, and cultures, generosity, as defined by the Oxford Online English Dictionary, is “the quality of being kind, understanding, and not selfish; a willingness to ive money and other valuable things to others.” (Oxford Online Dictionary). Just as value may vary depending on context, generosity may be perceived in many different forms; it can be as simple as sharing a piece of food with a friend to donation large sums of monetary resources to the public. “The Ninety-Five Theses,” written by Doctor Martin Luther, illustrates the friar’s blatant protest against the Catholic Church, and its corrupted practices, through contrasting instructions that Luther deemed aligned with the Bible.…
In The Prince by Machiavelli, he brings up points in the way you should lead there are some to comply to and others not to, one strong point is that you should never stay neutral in a time a war, one not strong point is that you shouldn't have a lot of flatters. If you are a leader and you stay neutral in a time of war then you will not gain favor, money, land, nor powerful allies. When one of the sides you pick wins you can gain a powerful ally who can help you take over land and can give you resources you gained from that land. If you have powerful allies than you can gain power throughout the world because you and that state can grow together.…
Julius Caesar’s Liberality Machiavelli uses the example of Julius Caesar in his chapter concerning liberality and meanness. In this chapter, Machiavelli focuses on how a prince should regulate his expenses and whether it is better for a prince to be liberal or mean with his money, or in other words, how generous or ungenerous a prince is which his money. Machiavelli uses the example of Caesar so as to counter an opposing point one might bring up. He uses Caesar as an example of what a prince should not do with his own expenses: which is to use them lavishly to gain the reputation of being liberal. Machiavelli does not go into specifics, merely stating that Caesar was liberal so how exactly did Julius Caesar rise to power and in what ways did…
I would choose Niccoló Machiavelli to be the other student in my tutorial, Political Science: The Methods of Ruling. Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, who is best known for his work, The Prince. In this handbook, he argues that a prince or political figure needs to be cunning and ruthless in order to maintain his power. He also claims that it is better for a prince to be feared than loved by his people. Morally, I disagree with these assertions and a plethora of other principles that he acknowledges in his handbook, for history has displayed countless times that the people will rise up to overthrow a ruthless and feared leader; however, they will unconsciously obey a loved leader.…
This is exemplified in Socrates criticism of the jury for valuing wealth and political titles as a replacement for proper moral goodness. “Are you not ashamed that you give your attention to acquiring as much money as possible, and similarly with reputation and honor, and give no attention or thought to truth and understanding and the perfection of your soul?” (56). Not only is Machiavelli an avid supporter of gaining political power, he values gaining political power through one’s own ambition and cunning above other methods like inheritance. Furthermore, his realist view of politics and wealth’s role in maintaining the state unsurprisingly leads him to the conclusion a good prince must not fear a reputation of being cheap, describing it as necessary “if he wishes to avoid robbing his subjects, if he wishes to be able to defend himself, to avoid becoming poor and contemptible, and not to be forced to become rapacious.…
At face value, The Prince and the Discourses seem to have a conflicting nature, but both texts focus on the administration of a state and present textual similarities. Much of what Machiavelli writes in The Prince reinforces the Discourses, echoing both stylistically and thematically. Machiavelli uses pragmatic methods in both and accentuates the importance of historical studies. In The Prince, there is a significant amount of reference to Cesare Borgia, a man that Machiavelli admires, and he states, “I shall never hesitate to cite Cesare Borgia and his actions,” and his views on virtue and fortune come out of Borgia’s narrative . For Machiavelli, Borgia is the superlative example of a man who can compel any individual to do the distasteful…
“All states or dominions which hold or have held sway over mankind are either republics or monarchies” (Machiavelli, 5). Machiavelli states that both monarchies and republics are the most widespread, used forms of government; however, as Machiavelli critiques the way monarchies are run, specifically in Florence under the Medici family, The Prince highlights how republics could be more beneficial. Although The Prince, by Niccolò Machiavelli, discusses both forms of government, the text is still largely relevant to contemporary society. One example of this is that the overall ideas from the text are still practiced in modern politics and culture, fiction and nonfiction. Furthermore, Machiavelli predicted the outcome of fallen monarchies, which…