Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

The Prince, written by Niccoló Machiavelli is a guide for ruling. In the opening chapters Machiavelli gives some basic knowledge to the readers so that they will be able to understand the scope of the book. Machiavelli explains that all states are either republics or principalities. The Prince focuses entirely on principalities because Machiavelli has already discussed republics in a different book. Throughout the rest of the book, Machiavelli explains many different qualities of a leader that are essential for a successful reign. These qualities range from how one obtains rule of a state to the type of army a leader must have to be successful. Niccoló Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. Machiavelli was a Florentine Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, …show more content…
In chapter XIV Machiavelli explains the importance of a leader who is knowledgeable about wars and strategies. He believes the only thing a prince needs to study is the art of war, and that that is what will make him a distinguished leader. Machiavelli states, “A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war, its methods and its discipline, for that it not only keeps hereditary princes in power, but often raises men of lowly condition to that rank.” (Machiavelli, Ch. XIV) This chapter is truthful because a nation will not stand behind a cowardly leader or one who has no war ambitions. A good analogy is presented in this chapter. Machiavelli presents two men: one armed, the other unarmed. The armed man is not going to obey the unarmed man, the unarmed man is going to be suspicious of the armed man, and the armed man will feel contempt for the unarmed man, so cooperation will be impossible. To bring it full circle, a prince who does not understand warfare attempting to lead an army is like the unarmed man trying to lead the armed