Machiavelli's Report

Improved Essays
Niccolo Machiavelli’s dissertation The Prince (1513) is a guide to become a successful leader. Leadership is represented through the salient image of the tree which initially captures the viewer’s gaze. This book therefore includes how to conquer principalies and maintain power. The renaissance marked the birth of a period of revival, diverging from the medieval values of religion. It allowed the rise of the new philosophy of humanism which is reflected in Michiavelli’s treatise where he presents a pragmatic understanding of genuine politics. This historical context is portrayed as the roots of the tree through _______. Various forms of contexts have influenced Niccolo’s purpose of this book which includes continuing his passion for politics …show more content…
This includes manipulation and cruel acts to establish the prince’s power. Morality represented in the flyer through the dying branch. However, the tree itself flourishes remaining healthy which indicates it is unrequired to become a great leader. Manipulation includes lying, façade. Acts of cruelty include exterminating the old ruling family___. Machiavelli states it is better to be feared than loved through deductive reasoning. than to be loved as you are able to control whether someone fears you but unable to decide if someone loves you. “Cruelty is short lived and decisive, no more than is necessary to secure your position… If you don’t do all it takes at the beginning… You’ll always have to be wielding the knife”. This quote explains cruelty is used to establish respect. The metaphor of the knife conveys with a lack of cruelty at the start, it is required to be constantly cruel for your subjects to obey you which inevitably leads to being despised. Cruelty further allows for effective control as your subjects are more likely to achieve the task which you have set out for them. This is shown in the quote “Men are less worried about letting down some who has made himself loved than someone who makes himself feared”. Manipulation compliments cruelty as it is able to mask it as piety which inevitably leads to respect. Machiavelli states to appear as a good person but do what you need to do to attain

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    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…

    • 85 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Machiavelli’s reputation rests primarily on his works, The Prince, this brought him a reputation as an atheist and an immoral cynic. The Prince is an extended analysis of how to obtain and preserve…

    • 1636 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Niccolo Machiavelli and The Prince Introduction Niccolo Machiavelli is a famous statesman, thinker and one of the founders of modern political science. He was born in the year 1469 at Florence. That is the age of political chaos. The whole country was separated to city governments。In this case, he wrote his masterpiece, The Price, which to be as much praised as blamed. Machiavelli used terse and forceful words elaborate his argument, which had a profound influence in history.…

    • 1199 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his guide to obtaining political power, The Prince, Machiavelli asserted that effective leadership comes only through instilling fear in one’s subjects rather than promoting a loving environment. Machiavelli appears to ignore the powerful combination that fear and love create when put together: respect. In order to become a successful leader, cultivating respect among one’s followers is far more advantageous than choosing fear or love alone. Both fear and love are relatively easy to establish among a population, but are prone to escaping one’s control. Fear becomes almost synonymous with hate when it is utilized by an inept ruler and can quickly lead to revolt.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When is the rule by cruelty necessary, according to Machiavelli? According to Machiavelli, he claims that the prince needs to rule by cruelty, especially in terms of crime and justice. If the prince is generous at all times, including the period of disorder, people will lose trust. With courage and cruelty, the prince should abandon his personal qualities, rule by cruelty, and eliminate all possible crimes and misdeeds for the safety of the country.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The paper would give a small biographical section on Machiavelli describing his life, but more importantly how he arrived at his state of mind concerning religion. He needs placement within the context of his society and peers as well. His internal fight with humanism largely played a role in shaping his worldview. However, the paper focus’s mainly on The Prince and the Discourses of Livy in an effort to note the way in which Machiavelli portrays religion. From there the project would look at the influence of the ancient writings and religion on Machiavelli.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Machiavelli's Summary

    • 2626 Words
    • 11 Pages

    PART A. IDENTIFICATIONS 3. “This division of labor, from which so many advantages are derived, is not originally the effect of any human wisdom…it is the necessary consequence of a certain propensity in human nature…to truck, barter and exchange one thing for another.” Adam Smith (pg.21) - In this quote, Adam Smith introduces the idea that although the specialization of skills in division of labor leads to efficiency when it comes to production, this is bad for the people because they lose other skills. People are so focused on their specialty that their other skills are not improved upon and start to deteriorate so they become good for one thing, their specialty.…

    • 2626 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Machiavelli: Republic and Principality Best Fit for the People Niccolo Machiavelli is one of the most influential political thinkers of all time. In his two works, The Prince and The Discourses, he presents ways to successfully form and run both a Republic and a Principality by tying them with the fate to the people. In The Prince, Machiavelli discusses how a ruler can gain power regardless of his morals. While in The Discourses, he talks about how the public should be implemented into a democratic governing system, as well as how institutions could work in the best possible way.…

    • 1139 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Machiavelli’s Prince seeks to recruit and educate a ruler in the art of ruling. His ideal rulers are founders, men who created a fatherland and were not afraid to sacrifice lives and their self-interests for the common good. Machiavelli stresses that a ruler needs to appear virtuous while using vices when necessary to achieve positive results. Machiavelli teaches the ruler to divide his self. “It is essential, therefore, for a Prince […] to have learned how to be other than good, and to use or not use his goodness as necessity requires” (Machiavelli, 40).…

    • 1300 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This book set forth the most efficient way to gain and maintain power during the Renaissance. His tactics included ideals such as: the ends justify the means, take calculated risks and rule without ethical thought. Many of the Medici ruling strategies were incredibly similar to those written in Machiavelli’s book; therefore, the actions of the Medici family directly exemplified the advice Machiavelli provided in The Prince.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    I. Introduction: topic and each political theorist Throughout history many political thinkers have quoted the words of Niccolo Machiavelli. Founding father, John Adams and philosopher John Locke claimed to be students of Machiavelli (Viroli Intro). Machiavelli is considered a founder of political philosophy, but his work is not without opponents. Leo Strauss, a political philosopher, argued that Machiavelli was a “teacher of evil” in his book Thoughts on Machiavelli, written in 1958, in which he discusses his interpretation of Machiavelli’s work.…

    • 2341 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He’s trying to say who would one be less disappointed in, a person that loves and forgets one or the murder or would kill you for disappointing them. He’s saying more people would follow his actions if his was feared from my perspective. I think from a man with powers perspective he would want to be feared to assert his dominance and let everyone know what all they have. For an average person it would probably be better to be loved because, they don’t have the support from people if they were feared and they could get injured. In all, if one has the backup and headed an organization feared would probably be the better option, however; an everyday normal person should pick loved because they don’t have the support of others for…

    • 916 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In many political philosopher’s eyes, there is a special relationship between the ideas of moral goodness and legitimate authority. Some of these political philosophers believed that the use of political power was only morally correct if it was exercised under a ruler who had virtuous morals. These rulers who had virtuous morals were then told that in order to be successful, they needed to make decisions in accordance with the standards of ethical goodness. This moralistic view of authority is what Machiavelli criticizes in his work “The Prince.” In Machiavelli’s book, “The Prince,” the readers are introduced to political values that do not necessarily give full recognition to morality or religion.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In Machiavelli’s manifesto, The Prince, published posthumously in 1532 and written during his time spent in exile in order to try and regain the Medici’s acceptance back into a political position, can be perceived as a guide to the modern world since he recognized that in order for a government to become successful and powerful, they must establish a strong military and the main leader (or ruler) must place aside personal self-interest and virtues, yet remain charismatic and charming in order to successfully rule in conjunction to remain favored amongst his or her people. Moreover, this written guide was straightforward and practical since Niccolo addressed the concerns that are affiliated with every type of government. so that the people…

    • 119 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli’s understanding of virtue and effective rule emphasizes the maintenance of political power and the disregard for morality, differing from the ideology of the classic political philosophers. Machiavelli’s concept of virtue is centered around the glorification of a ruler, facilitated by behavioural traits such as bravery, cleverness, deceptiveness, and ruthlessness. Effective rule requires these attributes, as the successful application of these characteristics towards the acquisition and maintenance of power will allow one to become a powerful leader. Machiavelli first explains the foundations of various principalities, such as hereditary and mixed principalities, as the maintenance of power differs…

    • 806 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays