Machiavelli 's ' The Prince '

Many great leaders have ruled throughout history, but what made them great? Throughout the ages many very intelligent men have sought to enlighten the world on how to best govern their people. Many of these ideas were written down in great literary works, including: Plato’s “The Republic”, Marcus Aurelius “Meditations” and Machiavelli’s “The Prince”. Plato Sculpted his ideal society with his philosopher king at the head. Marcus Aurelius lead by example as the poster child for stoicism. Machiavelli on the other hand broke away from Plato’s ideal society and placed the strong above all others with his real politik. While these men were all very intelligent and sought the same goal of security, there can only be one victor. The best way to govern a people is the Machiavellian way, his methods are based on historical events, his methods were proven effective and they are based on realism.

Machiavelli’s The Prince talks about many issues of modern political philosophy, it was written to help rulers stay in power. His common themes are ruling through fear, being as powerful as a lion and as intelligent as a fox, and to maintain the state at all costs. One of the common discussions about his writings is what he means by “one must learn how to not be good.” For what reason should a ruler learn to not be good? He claims that being good and continuing to be good could only make a ruler more weak. He continues to list good and bad qualities of a ruler and claiming that every ruler will have at least one of the bad qualities but the way he conquers his unpraised attribute is most important. A ruler should hide his flaws so that he only

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

Machiavelli’s work The Prince is, evidently, a bit dated. However, the points that it expresses maintain their significance, even when monarchies are no longer the primary form of government. The Prince is relevant to contemporary society in today’s age as it relates to contemporary elements such as North Korea, World War II, and more.

In this paper, I will argue that a ruler should be beast-like and dishonest when it is beneficial. In section one, I will argue that deception is necessary to obtains one’s self-interests. Following that, being beast-like is necessary to keep a position of power such as being a ruler or politician. Lastly, I will present that it is better to be feared than loved. The ideas in The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, are known to be relevant in society today along with its time.

Niccolo Machiavelli, who lived during the Renaissance, was a politician, a philosopher, and an author. His most highly regarded book, “The Prince” details the ways in which Machiavelli believes the world should be run. By using real world examples, as well as his own opinion, Machiavelli puts up points about everything that could harm a ruler, but also about what could lead to a leader becoming one of the greats. Machiavelli’s work was accepted widely around the world, and still to this day is read around the world; not necessarily as a guide, but as an insight into the world that Machiavelli wanted. Leaders around the world currently follow many different methods to rule their people, however if they followed some of Machiavellis rules, there might be less backlash towards those in power. Rulers, in Machiavellis mind, must be smart and cunning, but also thoughtful of those he is ruling, because in the long run, the people of his kingdom can determine his fate.

In addition to the concerns of the people, another important factor a ruler must consider is how easily it is for him to be blamed for something; actions among his kingdom can very quickly be trailed back to his decisions. Machiavelli suggests that, “it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how now to be good, and to use this knowledge and not us it, according to the necessity of the case” (p. 63). Again, we see Machiavelli arguing that a prince must use the most basic practicality in addition to understanding the various virtues that complement it. This use of common sense for the benefit of the state calls for generosity, mercy, and craftiness as well as an appropriate level stubbornness and imperiousness.

Determining the qualities in which a leader should possess has been a argued about for centuries. In “The Qualities of the Prince” Machiavelli describes the qualities he believed that a leader should have. The quality that brought the most interest to me was “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved.” Being a loved leader creates the opportunity for others to manipulate them easily, where a leader who is feared is in control, and is respected. Machiavelli states that “since men love at their own pleasure and fear at the pleasure of the prince, a wise prince should build his foundation upon that which belongs to him, not upon that which belongs to others: he must strive only to avoid hatred.” There are many examples of leaders who are

The prince is a twenty-six-chapter handbook that was written by Niccolo Machiavelli to teach the rulers of his time how to obtain and maintain power. Above and beyond, he did not like the way politics were being run and he was troubled by the problems so he made it clear on how a ruler should be in its state. He mentions that with virtue one must possess the skills, strength, and wisdom, to be a successful ruler. On the other hand, the good and bad represent fortune. Machiavelli was the son of an attorney born in the year of 1469 in Florence, Italy. When in fact, Florence was ruled by the Lorenzo di Medici. Even more, Machiavelli was raised around politic and political fortune so he knew a lot about it so his upbringing helps him advance within

A leader makes decisions for the people under his or her control. Back in the 1500s, kings or princes ruled most countries. In Niccolò Machiavelli’s “The Prince,” his interpretation of the power of princes in the 1500s is explained through a series of references to rulers whose decisions either benefitted or harmed them. Machiavelli explained the qualities and abilities he felt were necessary for a prince to have in order to be a successful ruler.

In the novel The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, Machiavelli depicts two types of leaders: those who are loved and those who are feared. Throughout the chapter, he goes on to state the positives and negatives of both — and it isn’t until the end of the chapter when he makes his judgement on which is better. At the end of the chapter, Machiavelli explains how both are good qualities for a leader to have as long as they are balanced. Similar to 1916 when The Prince was written, those qualities of a good leader can still be applied years later and even today. Two of the greatest leaders of the 20th century include Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Both leaders played significant roles in the Allied victory in World War II, possibly because of one of these qualities that these men used to help them win the war.

This is a biography of Machiavelli’s life written by Harvey Mansfield and is part of Britannica Biographies, and is available through the History Reference Center. This biography goes through the life of Machiavelli in detail, covering his political career and his most important writings, one of them being The Prince.The

Niccolò Machiavelli wrote “The Prince” as an essential guideline for how to obtain a kingdom and even furthermore ensure the continuance of the kingdom. In doing so, he put forth his ideas that would earn a ban from the Catholic church due it challenging their ideals and often seen as tyranny. While the work is written as a basic guideline for the many aspiring rulers, Machiavelli discusses his wishes for the unity of Italy which somewhat contradicts his ideas in the way a person would be able to obtain a kingdom. Instead of believing in the possibility of the popular utopian society, Machiavelli believed that we should instead treat and govern people for how they really are which can stray far from the utopian mold. Machiavelli was one of the first to publicize the

The Prince is a political novel written by Niccolo Machiavelli, a famed Italian political theorist. In the novel, he does an extended analysis of how to acquire and maintain political power. Machiavelli’s words have influenced many leaders throughout contemporary history. For example, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin are all Machiavellian leaders. They applied his concepts to their power, therefore helping them to rule more effectively. This essay will look at three different Machiavellian quotes, and connecting them to the leaders listed above.

The Prince is a straightforward and educational book written by Niccolò Machiavelli to properly illustrate and advise princes on how to run their territories. Despite being a short book it took me many days to read because of the language used and how in depth the book goes into, what I thought, were some pretty mundane topics. I’m not familiar with how royalty is expected to govern, so I found it difficult to comprehend the politics that Machiavelli described. I discovered, quite quickly, that most of the topics written about in the book could've been summed up in one or two sentences instead of a whole chapter. While some of the chapters were quite extraneous, some made good points quite relative to the subject at hand.