Niccolò Machiavelli lived more than eighteen hundred years after the lifetime of the ancient philosopher Plato. Because of the difference in the societies the two lived in, it can appear that their ideas are irreconcilably different and that Machiavelli totally discards Plato’s philosophy. Machiavelli even appears to mock Plato’s Republic when he writes that “many writers have imagined republics… [and] anyone who abandons what is done for what ought to be done achieves his downfall” (53). However, upon closer examination, it becomes clear that, in many aspects, Machiavelli is building on Platonic ideals rather than ignoring and contradicting them.
One of Plato’s core ideas is that there is more to an object than what you can perceive by looking …show more content…
“Anyone who abandons what is done for what ought to be done achieves his downfall rather than his preservation” (Machiavelli 53), a statement to which princes are not exempt. Machiavelli asserts the importance of the prince being able to “learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity” (Machiavelli 53). Machiavelli, like Plato, understands the importance of virtue, but unlike Plato, he advises for its use only for strategic success rather than for all things. Machiavelli’s prince must quickly learn “that something which appears to be a virtue, if pursued, will result in his ruin” (Machiavelli 54) and that vice can “secure his safety and his well-being” (Machiavelli 54). From Machiavelli’s perspective, mercy leads to instability, which ultimately results in excessive cruelty, whilst cruelty leads to stability which creates the conditions for appropriate mercy and internal …show more content…
Plato ignores or does not consider that the murder of the enlightened ruler could be detrimental to society, and so asserts that the philosopher king should pursue enlightening his citizens even at the risk of his own life. Machiavelli reasons that a good and just ruler putting his life at risk is ultimately risking that his citizens be taken over by someone with little idea of how to rule justly, a situation that is far more detrimental than any minor sins, such as not immediately forcing enlightenment on the public. For Machiavelli, there is a great deal of importance placed on the prince’s ability to maintain his state; he gives several situational pieces of advice regarding this in the earlier parts of The Prince when he discusses methods of obtaining
One of Plato’s core ideas is that there is more to an object than what you can perceive by looking …show more content…
“Anyone who abandons what is done for what ought to be done achieves his downfall rather than his preservation” (Machiavelli 53), a statement to which princes are not exempt. Machiavelli asserts the importance of the prince being able to “learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity” (Machiavelli 53). Machiavelli, like Plato, understands the importance of virtue, but unlike Plato, he advises for its use only for strategic success rather than for all things. Machiavelli’s prince must quickly learn “that something which appears to be a virtue, if pursued, will result in his ruin” (Machiavelli 54) and that vice can “secure his safety and his well-being” (Machiavelli 54). From Machiavelli’s perspective, mercy leads to instability, which ultimately results in excessive cruelty, whilst cruelty leads to stability which creates the conditions for appropriate mercy and internal …show more content…
Plato ignores or does not consider that the murder of the enlightened ruler could be detrimental to society, and so asserts that the philosopher king should pursue enlightening his citizens even at the risk of his own life. Machiavelli reasons that a good and just ruler putting his life at risk is ultimately risking that his citizens be taken over by someone with little idea of how to rule justly, a situation that is far more detrimental than any minor sins, such as not immediately forcing enlightenment on the public. For Machiavelli, there is a great deal of importance placed on the prince’s ability to maintain his state; he gives several situational pieces of advice regarding this in the earlier parts of The Prince when he discusses methods of obtaining