Machiavelli The Prince

The Renaissance represented a new era in which values such as secularism and power became prevalent in society. Machiavelli expresses the need for politics and religion to be separated throughout his book "The Prince". Previously rulers had been restricted by Christian principals, but Machiavelli held the idea that rulers were warranted in any action so as long as it benefited the general public. Machiavelli believed that politics existed outside the realm of religion and morals. Subsequently, he approved of using any means necessary to gain and keep power, including lying, stealing, and murder. During this time Italy's city-states were in political chaos and condottieri roamed the streets. Machiavelli thought it was the ruler's duty to maintain discipline and peace in society at any cost. Despite his intentions to help Italy, Machiavelli's ideas were often seen as immoral and dishonest. The idea of a purely political action where morals were set aside is later referred to as the " Reasons of the state". In addition, Machiavelli felt a ruler must be sly

History 's most prominent leaders have shown extreme congruence. These leaders almost always hold reality over ethics. How can we classify lying and manipulative leaders as immoral when their duplicity is the very reason a society can maintain stability? This idea has of "means justifying the ends" has been a staple in History 's most prosperous of societies. Machiavelli 's novel The Prince was the first stab at understanding this human tendency of what is now known as Machiavellian. Machiavelli grasped the sad reality of our world and did not fall prey to other 's idealistic propaganda. Great leaders understand what the endless potential they hold, they can manipulate their followers to make best of what is possible and above all they understand sacrifice. Modern day Machiavellians and successful leaders think realistically and communicate through idealism. No matter the extremes of your belief, utilizing Machiavellian tactics have the capability to bring anyone to power.

The Prince by Machiavelli is a book full of advice for rulers on how to rule their kingdom. This essay compares the work of Macbeth by Shakespeare and the Prince and determines whether Macbeth was a good ruler. Macbeth is the main character in the play, who became king by overthrowing the former king. This essay reviews factors from the Prince which are visually perceived in the play Macbeth, such as the topics of an army, principalities, and the demeanor of a ruler.

The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli in July 1513 and dedicated to Lorenzo De Medici as he considered it would bring stability during the political turbulence in Italy. The Prince is simple and its logic straightforward. These traits highlight Machiavelli’s need to provide practical, easily understandable advice on how people should be ruled but, he does not set forth a vision of what society would be like without a civil government.

In the sixteenth century, barbarians from France, Spain, and Germany constantly fought for power in Italy, a country already fractured into quarrelling city-states. During this time, the exiled diplomat Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a guide for Lorenzo di Piero De’ Medici, Italy’s chosen ‘deliverer,’ in the hopes of being welcomed back into society. Throughout his guide, Machiavelli created the image of an ideal leader, shaped by the defeats and accomplishments of previous rulers. To sustain one’s rule successfully, Machiavelli believed that a leader needed the wisdom and prudence to act appropriately in difficult situations, as well as harbor minimal dependence on others for strength; a leader, most of all, was capable of facing

A family of monarchy which tortured Machiavelli for months causing him great suffrage and sorrow. He writes to Lorenzo “May I trust, therefore, that Your Highness will accept this little gift in the spirit in which it is offered: and if Your Highness will deign to peruse it, you will recognize in it my ardent desire that you may attain to that grandeur which fortune and your own merits presage for you.” This enough is confusing because if this is the same principality that caused so much suffering why dedicate a book to let their reign continue into longevity? As to add to this confusion, Machiavelli explains how a prince should use cruelty and violence correctly against the people. To use cruelty and punishment all at once so that the people learn to respect you by fear. He includes that if you had a choice on either being loved or feared, be feared for love can change as quick as it came. Fear of punishment, people would avoid and be subservient. He also goes on to put out that a prince must be cunning like a fox yet strong and fearsome like a lion. To use Realpolitik, morality and ideology left out for the world is not these things as you should not be as well. Furthermore, Machiavelli explains what must happen when a new ruler overtakes a new city and the people in it. “And whoever becomes the ruler of a free city and does not destroy it, can expect to be destroyed by it,

Plato has also mentions how the soul is made up of three important parts. The first one is the capacity for reasoning, according to Plato the “rational” part of the soul is designed to help an individual to seek to make rational decisions, which is an important element found in guardians. The second element is “courage” which is what is presented when one acts in the best interest of the state to protect the state. The third element is “temperance” which is “unlike courage and wisdom,” it has the ability to “produce harmony of the weaker and the strong and the middle class,” (pg.69) which is discovered in the producers of the social class because they have the ability to be the middle ground and maintain a sustained lifestyle by producing

Machiavelli’s goal in writing The Prince was to not only praise the great examples of rulers and politics he had observed, but also as a plea for someone to come in and liberate Italy. He dedicated The Prince to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was the governor of Florence at the time the book was written, as a token of his devotion. Part of the downfall of Italy was they kept bringing in foreign troops who weren’t loyal to the state. Machiavelli emphasized the importance of having a military made up of a city-state’s own citizens to ensure their loyalty. “The arms with which a prince defends his state are either his own, or they are mercenaries, auxiliaries, or mixed. Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous…

Machiavelli wrote his book, The Prince as an instructional guide for all potential and current leaders to use as a rule of thumb in order to efficiently rule over their subjects in a successful manner. Machiavelli makes it seem quite important that the only way that a kingdom can be stable is for the leader to have all of the control, because things like nobles only get in the way, and can be corrupted. Machiavelli’s book has the purpose of mainly to guide leaders in techniques that can hopefully be used to help them maintain their power and position. To Machiavelli, the best-case scenario would be to have a country that seems so stable so moral that even the cruelest actions are able to be seen as justifiable, because they were done

According to the text, Machiavelli believes that in order to obtain and keep political power, a prince must stand with the people. I know this because in the text it says “a prince must always live with the same people, but not always live with the same nobles.” I interpreted this as meaning that because the prince will always live with the same people, and not the same nobles, then he might as well choose the people over the nobles. Another reason he should choose the people over the nobles is because the majority is the people; “Add to this, that a prince can never secure himself against a disaffected people, their number being to great, while he may against a disaffected nobility, since their number is small”. He also said that you cannot

Humanism is a term that is applied to beliefs, methods and philosophies that place human beings at the center all life and the universe. Humanists observe that the goal of human life is happiness on earth. Besides happiness, humanism is also grounded in “naturalistic metaphysics” (Lamont 13). It considers all supernatural things and beliefs to be mythical, hence warranting dismissal. It is also conceived of the idea that human beings are products of nature rather than supernatural creation. The earthly experience is more important than any forms of predestination or determinism. According to humanist, human beings have choice of action and have the capacity to shape their destiny. The process of self-definition also leads to critical inquiry

In 1513, an Italian man named Niccolo Machiavelli, wrote The Prince. Machiavelli was positioned as Second Chancellor of Florence after being a man of letters. He then failed in serving as a diplomat until 1512, but showed strength in wanting to unite the states. After leaving his diplomatic position, Machiavelli was forbidden to face politics and only focused on writing. His writing was suspected of conspiracy. It is also suspected that Machiavelli wrote The Prince to gain office and to have an affect on policy. Generally in his text, Machiavelli discusses several philosophies on how to be a good ruler. The Prince is a classic form of text because it has crossed over time and people have been reading it for thousands of years. It has also provided

Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a "training guide" for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all "training" must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case.

Machiavelli has another argument “concerning those who become princes by evil means.”# He believes that cruelty can also be used to benefit the prince but only in modesty. If a prince frequently relies on cruel acts then he will not live in power for long. Proper use of cruelty is only achieved when it is done “out of the need for safety” and when it is done swiftly as to make sure that the act is quickly forgotten, and the people can return to a feeling of safety.# His idea that cruelty should be swift is excellent, this way the citizens will feel more at ease with there prince, because if he were to drag out the atrocities then the people may feel the need to revolt to protect their personal freedoms and civil rights. Many people may think these are evil ideas, but it is completely practical, during Machiavelli’s era (and even today) a prince will always face a moment in this rule that he will have to act in a cruel manner, in no way is this statement cruel it is just a practical way of dealing with a inevitable situation. He also believes that “benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavour of them may last longer.”# As much as people may be discusted by this

Relying on the needs of the society of that time, Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that the most important task is the formation of a single Italian state (Machiavelli 15). Developing his thoughts, the author comes to the following inference: only a prince can become a leader capable of leading people and building a unified state. It is not a concrete historical personality but someone abstract, symbolic, possessing such qualities that in the aggregate are inaccessible to any living ruler. That is why Machiavelli devotes most of his research to the issue of what qualities should the prince possess to fulfill the historical task of developing a new state. The written work is constructed strictly logically and objectively. Even though the image of an ideal prince is abstract, Machiavelli argues that he should be ruthless, deceiving, and selfish.