Machiavellian Rulers Are Focused on War in Machiavelli’s The Prince

According to Machiavelli, the most important resource a prince can have is the support of the people. he feels that a prince who is able maintain a positive relationship between

Prince, Machiavelli describes an image of what he believes an ideal prince should be. He explains his ideas on how to conquer and rule with the peoples’ loyalty and respect. Machiavelli argues in chapter five that the way to take over a free state is initially to destroy it and by destroying the city, the citizens have no other choice but “let [the] prince win and maintain his state” by following his commands. Later Machiavelli describes what he believes leadership is. Leaders, he explains, are followers in many ways. All leaders are imitating great rulers in history. A leader who truly wishes to achieve glory does so by his own talent. Anyone can inherit a kingdom, but not anyone can rule it with natural leadership. Machiavelli also explains that a leader should not try to buy his subjects, because they will only be temporarily loyal. A prince needs to eliminate his enemies and do so all at once. Even if a prince does not succeed in ruling by his own skill in his lifetime, he is still setting a good foundation for future princes. The next chapter explains the level of evil needed in order to rise to power. He gives a clear insight into the pros and cons of obtaining power by evil means and how to use evil in ways that will be beneficial. Machiavelli believes very strongly in manipulation. If a prince can unleash all of his evil and destruction at one time, the people will forget and move on

Author and philosopher, Niccolo Machiavelli, in the excerpt from his book, “The Morals of the Prince”, describes the different ways of being a successful prince. Machiavelli’s purpose is to show readers how hard he life of a prince really is. He adopts an informative tone in order to convey to his audience that princes are only human and they will be criticized for every little thing. Machiavelli effectively convinces his audience of what makes a good prince through the use of formal diction, appealing to ethos, and appealing to logos.

18). A true prince in Machiavelli’s eyes is someone that the nobles, people, army, and neighboring states will be dependent on. To Machiavelli humans are by nature power hungry and greedy and that as long as there is dependence on the prince whether it is due to heredity, fear, or a variety of other factors, he will remain in power.

The next section of The Prince discusses what kind of qualities a prince must possess. It

The Prince, written by Niccoló Machiavelli, is essentially a guide for to-be rulers on how to be successful, in running a state, monitoring political issues, and so on. The book is a handbook that was dedicated, as said by Machiavelli in the dedicatory letter, to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who was the governor of Florence at the time. Machiavelli discusses, in thorough detail, necessary characteristics that a leader should possess in order for him to become victorious in his reign. An important concept that Machiavelli address is how virtue and fortune connect and affect the ability of the ruler to keep power. In Chapter XVIII, he implicitly defines virtue as the qualities needed by a prince to rule effectively and in favor of the people.

Machieavelli’s The Prince serves to demonstrate the relationship between virtue and fortune by which a prince gains and maintains his power. Though a prince may achieve power through fortune, either by luck or wealth, he will not be able to maintain his power without the execution of virtu, a characteristic indicating strength and skillfulness. Machiavelli demonstrates how the concept of virtu is inconsistent with the conventional denotation of moral excellence, such as charity, truthfulness, compassion, etc., for every action the prince makes must be taken into account in terms of its affect on the state. Though Machiavelli advises for the prince to inspire fear among his subjects rather than love, it is crucial for the prince to emanate

A famous aristocrat named, Niccolo Machiavelli, wrote the book, “The Prince (1513), his most celebrated work, was a general treatise on the qualities the prince (that is, ruler) must have to maintain his power” Jacobus (84). Within this essay, he writes about the “Qualities of the Prince,” which is a guide for princes and future princes to follow, in order to be successful and keep their power. Machiavelli is very practical in his way of thinking, and doesn’t recommend princes to be good, on the contrary he suggests for them to be very practical. He states they should ensure power by direct and effective means. Modern politicians are likely to succeed by following most of Machiavelli’s recommendations. One

In The Prince, Machiavelli explains what a good and successful prince should be like. He advocates a strong, cutthroat authority figure and encourages the winning of power by any means necessary. The main theme in The Prince is that mob rule is dangerous, for people know only what is good for themselves and not what is good for the whole. The common people, in Machiavelli’s view, “are ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers, they shun danger and are greedy for profit; while you treat them well, they are yours”. He believes that these commoners should be

Machiavelli lists qualities that every prince strives for: merciful, trustworthy, humane, blameless, and religious. He considers it impossible for an effective prince to have all of the aforementioned qualities and practice them regularly. In fact, it is not necessary to possess any of them, but it is essential to appear to have them. A prince must be careful with his words and how he presents himself to convince the public that he does, in fact, have all of these qualities. Because everybody “sees what you appear to be [and] few perceive what you are,” the public must be deceived (Machiavelli). The public will not support a ruler that does not have the qualities they desire. Because men are quick to judge, a ruler that appears to have them will earn the respect of many, thus making it easier to maintain power. This applies in republics today; if a ruler is excessively cruel, inhumane, and plainly dishonest, his people will not respect him and even grow to hate him. In Boston University Today writer John O’Rourke’s interview with James Johnson, recipient of a Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1996, the two were discussing the relevance of The Prince today. Johnson considered Machiavelli to be famous for “shifting the sense of ‘virtue’ from moral worth to effectiveness” (Johnson). This is the essence of Chapter XVIII: separating morals and politics to achieve effective

Machiavelli’s The Prince is just as applicable to the lives of leaders in the 1500’s as it is for leaders in modern times. Although any person who is in a position of authority might not say that they use Machiavellian tactics. Through their actions it is evident that the teachings of The Prince are still used on a global scale. Concepts such as safeguarding the state, and becoming wealthy, are just a few of the concepts that are beneficial to a strong government and reflected in current political situations at home and abroad.

So, Machiavelli begins by listing a couple of good behavioral traits in a prince and their oppositions. Instead of just stating a prince should be this or that so on and so forth. He actually states a prince should be both which makes complete sense. For example he states that a prince should be both cruel and merciful because if he is always merciful people could die due to the breakdown of the law but if he is always cruel he shall be hated. So he must find an equal ground between the

By analyzing the guide to become a prince, one can determine the characteristics that portray virtue to exhibit one’s capability to overcome difficulties. In Chapter Six, Machiavelli asserts that virtue can provide everything a prince would need in order to become a great ruler of a principality. Without virtue, the goal to become a prince would become a mere dream; something impossible to achieve. Success is not simple, but rather complicated; it

In The Discourses Machiavelli explains on why a prince is chosen to be the wisest, not the strongest or bravest. “This Caused them, when they have afterwards to

More advice given to the prince by Machiavelli was on general good governance, meaning how to rule, all supported by historical examples. He writes, "…the prince will avail himself of the occasion… to secure himself, with less consideration for