Lucrezia Borgia

Although the idea of Machiavellianism is synonymous for sinister, ruthless, and most often heartless, Machiavelli proves near the end of chapter ten in book one of the Discourses that he in fact does not condone such behavior and even that such will be the root of destruction. In this passage, Machiavelli focuses on what a society is like with a “good” prince versus what a society is like with a “bad” prince. When Machiavelli describes a prince as bad he means that they acquired power by…

Would Socrates Support a Machiavellian System? During a time of political turmoil, it is hard to know who to trust, and who should lead. In “The Prince” Machiavelli lists a plethora of guidelines as to how a prince should gain political power along with ways for them to ensure this power is long-lasting. Although Socrates and Machiavelli both lived in time periods with serious political issues, Socrates would not support Machiavelli’s concept of a Prince, or any type of government created as a…

Free will, is a thing we all have and use. Machiavelli sometimes used the words “fortune” and “Virtue” to talk about two different ways a prince can come to power. “Virtue” refers to a person's actions or skill, while “fortune” talks about chance or luck.The Prince determines how much of a prince’s successfulness or tragedies are caused by his own free will and how much is chosen by nature or the environment in which he lives. Machiavelli applies this question specifically to the failure of past…

virtù is introduced, as an essential component that a prince must possess. It could be translated as the ability, quality or determination that secures political success (Ryan, 2012, p.375). Machiavelli finds an example of a virtuous prince in Cesare Borgia, described as a skillful leader who was only defeated by the negative effects of fortuna (Ryan, 2012, p.371). On the other hand, Agathocles is presented as a tyrant, whose form of ruling was dishonorable. He was freely elected by the citizens…

square.” The scapegoat is an essential part being to a true Machiavellian leader, but it can be utilized poorly. The mark of a good ruler is the ability to know when and how to use their de Orco. In the Prince, Machiavelli retells the story of Cesare Borgia or Duke Valentino. The Duke is a man that controls his own fate and makes plans to counteract Fortuna. As Machiavelli says…

Victor Hugo says in Les Miserables, "Machiavelli is not an evil genius, nor a demon, nor a cowardly and miserable writer; he is nothing but the fact…" making it clear that contrary to the dominant belief he sees Machiavelli to just be the narrator of thing around him. Machiavelli’s, book the prince has been the centre of debate since the time it was written owing to its insight in the matters involving virtu, morality, fortuna, freewill, authority to exercise power and power itself. It is…

History of Dolce & Gabbana Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are two Italian born artist that begin the Dolce & Gabbana empire we know today. Through groundbreaking achievements and outwardly approach to the taboos of society, these two men established what sex, glam and fashion had in common, the people. In the early 1980s two colleagues turned partners created a brand that represented their lifestyles while including and rooting for the outcasts of society. The two men worked with one…

Describe Machiavelli’s life and the political climate in Italy while this book was being written. Machiavelli was a bureaucrat under the Republican government before he lost his job to the supporters of Medici during 1512. At the end of 1513 or even the early 1514, the time period when Nicolo Machiavelli, wrote The Prince. During that time period, Machiavelli was seeking to regain his status in the Florentine government. Meanwhile, the Medici family had been driven from power in Florentine.…

government based on the life of Cesare Borgia. According to Machiavelli a good ruler should be ruthless and at times unethical in order to maintain power. In addition he stated that preparations for war should be the foremost occupation of a successful leader. Most importantly a successful prince should exhibit virtue. The first most emphasized characteristic in Machiavelli’s theory of an ideal prince is power. Machiavelli provides an entire chapter based on Cesare Borgia, who rose to…

The Prince is a quite the interesting book. Upon reading it, I believe I’ve gained a much better understanding on how rulers, whether those who inheritated or those who became so via conquest. What I found incredibly important is his distinction between the two types of rulers. One would be lead to believe that the only difference is the method in which they obtained power. However, what I believe the book did very well was explain the challenges and advantages each obtained. The Prince starts…