Machiavelli And The Swerve Essay

In chapter XV Machiavelli discusses how it is important to appear as a virtuous ruler, but to not actually possess these qualities. He states, “ one is considered a giver, the other rapacious; one cruel, another merciful; one treacherous, another faithful; one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and courageous; one humane, another haughty; one lascivious, another chaste; one trustworthy, another cunning; one harsh another lenient; one serious another frivolous; one religious another unbelieving; and the like. And I know that everyone will admit that it would be a very praiseworthy thing to find in a prince, of the qualities mentioned above, those that are held to be good; but since it is neither possible to have them nor observe them all completely, because human nature does not permit it, a prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him” (The Portable Machiavelli 127). In this chapter Machiavelli is suggesting that a good ruler can’t be virtuous at all times because it would not be in the best interest of the people.

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, yet it continues to be a loved and powerful piece today, so much so that it is portrayed in modern day media such as Gossip Girl. Through The Prince, Machiavelli teaches the prince how to rule. Machiavelli counsels the prince on affairs of generosity and miserliness, war, and how he will be perceived. He shows the prince that it is not possible to be good because, “a man who wishes to make a vocation of being good at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good” (“The Qualities of the Prince” para. 7). He elaborates on the idea that virtue often ends in destruction, emphasizing that it is more important to have a bad reputation that will result in safety, in opposition to goodness, which will end in

Machiavelli uses a compound-complex sentence to inform those who want to be a leader the need of malevolent. Machiavelli uses an independent and dependent clause to gain attention from audience with the purpose of clearing his idea. For Machiavelli’s long sentences in the end of the first paragraph, the prince “profession of virtue” will get “destroyed” by other evil. This cause and effect sentence help the audience to have an images of the impossible of a perfect pure personality of a leader. He warn those who want to be a leader that the prince should be wise and knowing when to act evil rather than good. Moreover, he lists good and bad adjectives such as “cruel” and “compassionate” to imply that a good ruler need to be both moral and immoral. .After all the conventional moral advice, he convey to the prince that action that appear good will damage his position, prince’s power, while those that depict as bad will enhance it.

In other words Machiavelli says that human nature praises certain qualities and blame others, but there is no way that humans can do all the good things while avoiding the bad things. What makes a "good prince" in the eyes of Machiavelli is one that figures out how to not take so much blame when he does wrong, and tries to do as many good things as he can. For example regarding generosity and miserliness, Machiavelli says to be considered truly generous, one must be miserly at times:"A prince, therefore, being unable to use his virtue of generosity in a manner which will not harm himself... should, if he is wise, not worry about being called a miser; for with time, he will come to be considered more generous..." (53) In one final contrast, according to Machiavelli in regards to courage and cowardice, mercy and treachery he says "That every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel; never the less, he must take care not to misuse this mercy...Therefore, a prince must not worry about the reproach of cruelty, when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal" (55). According to Machiavelli,

Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and

In Machiavelli's work, The Prince, the concept of virtue is different from the standard meaning associated with the word, suggesting good morals. He uses the Italian word virtù, which could not be translated directly to English, but is closer in meaning to the Latin word virtus or manliness. This word is usually translated with difficulty, often expressed with words referring to unethical qualities that

Machiavelli believed wicked means were to be used to achieve a virtuous outcome. In his eyes, a successful ruler was able to balance ethical virtue with harsh, sometimes even merciless pragmatism.11 If this meant partaking in the most ruthless acts of murder, brutalizing,

Aristotle believed that the good is unobtainable and Machiavelli’s version is that one cannot obtain all of the good. Also from Aristotle came Machiavelli’s views for law. Aristotle had expressed that in a good government, what is necessary is appropriate. Machiavelli took this and applied it so that even cruelty was acceptable in certain situations.

Machiavelli considers society an immoral place. According to Machiavelli as stated in The Discourses on Livy, “for as men are, by nature, more prone to evil than to good”. The Prince is a manual for being a successful ruler in an immoral society. Often times that success is met by committing immoral acts. Machiavelli, an outsider to the inner workings of government gives what he thinks are the critical tools to being a successful ruler in modern society. “Sometimes you have to play hardball” is a saying from today that I relate to his philosophies.

Within the book, Machiavelli mentions many different critical topics, ranging from emotions to physical change, but his ideas on virtue are very unique. His concept of virtue or what he likes to call “virtú” as they describe different things is his general theory of

In Niccoló Machiavelli´s novel, The Prince, there are times when it’s plausible for a prince to be ethical and times when it’s plausible for a prince to be wicked, but since administering both will not give a prince stability, it’s better to choose one. According to Machiavelli, through wickedness, a prince can be successful by betraying allies, going against faith, and being without religion; however, because of his stubbornness and disloyalty, detrimental consequences to society are created. On the contrary, an ethical prince will appease to needs of the people while being loyal and virtuous. Concluding the ruler to have a successful rule by doing good for the country. Making the answer to the problematic discussion, ethical because

Written almost 500 years ago by the so called first political scientist in the world, Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” brings forward a new definition to virtue. A definition which argues against the concept brought forward by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli did not impose any thoughts of his own rather he only wrote from his experience and whatever philosophy that lead to actions which essentially produced effective outcomes in the political scene of Italy and in other countries. While he is still criticized for his notions, the truth is that, consciously or subconsciously we are all thinking for our own benefit and going

Here Machiavelli develops his concept of ‘virtù’, earlier seen in Chapter XV. Classical virtue can be defined as moral excellence; traits which make up the foundation of an honourable and ethical being. In contrast to this, Machiavelli’s virtù was whether a prince had the ability to rule, therefore encompassed an appropriate amount of ruthlessness to do so. Rather than being linked to the individual, virtù was connected to raison d’état, connoting that what needs to be done for the good of the state may be in juxtaposition with acting in a way deemed morally good. Machiavelli calls upon the example of Agathocles, admiring his ability (or virtù), however still condemns his actions, believing he was too ruthless. According to him, malevolent acts can be put to good use when carried out correctly. Machiavelli writes ‘when he [the Prince] is obliged to take the life of any one, to do so when there is a proper justification and manifest reason for it.’ Those evils done to establish a princes’ power and a new government can be excused, even in Agathocles’ case, as they are done for the amelioration of the state. A significant development of Machiavelli’s virtù is the origination of the diplomacy of ‘realpolitik’, which considers circumstances rather than ideological notions, often being referred to as pragmatism in politics.

Diverging from the classical and Christian interpretations of morality which emphasize being good and doing no harm, Machiavelli sees man as incapable of this mission and instead, supports a different sense of morality. In this, the idea of power is at the forefront of discussion. While Greek philosophers like Socrates view the quest for power as a corrupt act, Machiavelli sees it as natural. Thus, in order to analyze The Prince, we have to alter our perspectives to see that for

The Prince by Machiavelli is an essential piece of political literature, that describes the delicate balance that a prince must achieve in order to both gain and maintain power over a province. Machiavelli seems to have a pessimistic view of mankind, as he states “(men are) ungrateful, fickle, deceptive, and deceiving, avoiders of danger, eager to gain…”. This description reveals that Machiavelli is distrusting of man and believes that they cannot be