Machiavelli's Characteristics Of A Prince

When a prince is in need of force, he must channel his inner beast. Machiavelli believes that it is good to be both a fox and a lion, but it is wiser to be a cunning fox because lions are stupid. Machiavelli says, “It is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify wolves… Those who rely simply on the lion do not understand what they are about… He who has known best how to employ the fox has succeeded best.” What he means is that foxes are cunning and smart enough to get out of traps, but they are not able to defend themselves against wolves. Lions on the other hand are perfectly capable of keeping the wolves at bay, however they are susceptible to traps He says that lions are stupid as where foxes are cunning and thus it is better to be a fox. As a fox, the prince would know when and where to keep his promises as long as it still benefits him.

Machiavelli did not energize the thought in confiding in the ones that lead, however, “[…] men are a sorry lot and will not keep their promises to you, you likewise need not keep yours to them.” (230) He hoped for strategy, injustice, and unlawfulness from his kin and composed his tenets all things considered under the beliefs of being a pragmatist. While discovering “they are ungrateful, fickle, simulators and deceivers, avoiders of danger, greedy for gain” (228) the function of Prince was to hold and manage opposed to giving the general population a chance to thrive or set a

As a ruler learns to act as both lion and fox he does so out of necessity. A ruler acts out of expectation. Machiavelli tells the reader that a ruler needs to be both lion and fox, because of expectation. Thus by extension a ruler assumes any number of roles of expectation . Thus to be a ruler you must be able to use doublethink. In an Orwellian sense a ruler who instills fear is loved. The very reaction of fear creates a sense of security which his followers revel in. A leader needs to demonstrate, every role, from the jester, to commander, to friend, to follower, to caring father role. He acts every role so his followers can never figure him out. Thus an effective ruler must not only be beast-like , he must be a beast of camouflage. In every situation he needs to anticipate the needs of his followers. A ruler must be everything so he remains unpredictable. He is not one thing, he is everything. Both delightful and gregarious. He is capable of being merciful then destructive. He is isolated yet loved. He is everything at once to be effective. A ruler that is able to acts on demand is unable to be anticipated. At any moment he changes to a new role to serve his end. His followers in perpetual confusion, his power is assured. Machiavelli tells us that a ruler is not just a beast, he is an actor. A ruler who acts is never

Niccolò Machiavelli was an activist of analyzing power. He believed firmly in his theories and he wanted to persuade everyone else of them as well. To comment on the common relationship that was seen between moral goodness and legitimate authority of those who held power, Machiavelli said that authority and power were essentially coequal.9 He believed that whomever had power obtained the right to command; but goodness does not ensure power. This implied that the only genuine apprehension of the administrative power was the attainment and preservation of powers which indirectly guided the maintenance of the state. That, to him, should have been the objective of all leaders. Machiavelli believed that one should do whatever it took, during the given circumstance, to keep his people in favor of him and to maintain the state. Thus, all leaders should have both a sly fox and ravenous wolf inside of him prepared to release when necessary.10

According to Machievelli, a good prince should always choose to be cruel as opposed to being generous. If rulers did not further their own cause at the cost of others, they would be taken advantage of and lose respect – leading to anarchy. Therefore, in order to maintain their position at the top, and to be considered a ‘strong ruler’ they must be selfish as opposed to kind. Therefore, laws should be made to serve the interest of the stronger. However, through Plato’s analogy of the ‘great beast’, we may see that rulers do not possess the knowledge of what is good for society as a whole nor adapt a holistic approach. Consequently, rulers will promote laws that will only benefit themselves (as this is human nature) and society will blindly follow. In this case, Socrates argument of how a ruler should operate is more

After reading Machiavelli’s main points in “Traits of the Prince”, I would remix his traits and give these following advices to an up-and-coming presidential candidate:

Niccolo Machiavelli is a very pragmatic political theorist. His political theories are directly related to the current bad state of affairs in Italy that is in dire need of a new ruler to help bring order to the country. Some of his philosophies may sound extreme and many people may call him evil, but the truth is that Niccolo Machiavelli’s writings are only aimed at fixing the current corruptions and cruelties that filled the Italian community, and has written what he believed to be the most practical and efficient way to deal with it. Three points that Machiavelli illustrates in his book The Prince is first, that “it is better to be feared then loved,”# the second

Niccolò Machiavelli was brave enough to give the leaders of his day a how-to guide. In this work, The Qualities of a Prince, we are given a point-by-point description of what a leader should do to effectively lead his country. Machiavelli explains that, because leadership is (obviously) a position of command, "[war] is the only profession which benefits one who commands. " (p. 33)

Machiavelli says that a ruler must be a combination of a fox and a lion. A ruler needs to have the cunning mind of a fox but also needs to have the strength of a lion so that he can destroy anyone who opposes him.

Niccolò Machiavelli suggested in The Prince that a ruler should behave as both a fox and a lion, being both loved and feared. There are clever rulers who were strategic, courageous rulers who were effective, and successful rulers who possessed both qualities. Elizabeth I of England and Henery IV of France were two great rulers from Europe that were able to personify Machiavelli 's advice.

Machiavelli utilizes the illustration of the "fox and the lion" to clarify the mix of wiliness and intensity that a sovereign must rejoice so as to keep up control of his state. He revolves around that a ruler must understand how to duplicate both the fox and the lion so that he may draw on the basic qualities of these brutes when conditions ask for it. As showed by Machiavelli, a discreet ruler must grasp to new conditions and circumstances. Thus, he ought to go about as a fox with a specific end goal to "recognize snares" and as a lion to "frighten wolves". Machiavelli contends that the lion is exposed against machinations and intrigues while the fox is powerless to confront physical dangers.

In The Morals of the Prince Machiavelli expresses his presumption on how a prince should act. He expresses that a prince should be feared, merciful, stingy, etc. He is right because if a prince is loved and too generous then people will take advantage of him and that will lead to his down fall. A prince must act appropriately to remain in power. Machiavelli gives his best ideas to keep a prince in power.

1. In Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince”, declaimed that the best strategy to be a prince is to do best that you can to get what you want even if it is going to be cruel and unmerciful, but make sure that you will have the best strategy to make people like you. Machiavelli supports his claims by using the events and the strategies that successful leaders in the history uses like Cyrus, Hannibal, Julius Ceasar, Alexander and others. His purpose is to let the people know what is the nastiest most unpleasant activities leaders in his era uses to get the god, gold and glory that they want to achieve. He seems to be an inappropriate person to ask for leadership advice for people who is living in the present time.

Prowess refers to an individual’s talents, while fortune implies chance or luck. A prince who manages to gain power by relying on his own prowess will succeed at maintaining power because his prowess will have built him a firm foundation for ruling. Princes who succeed due to the sway of fortune or the goodwill of others lack a basis from which to rule and will have difficulty building it quickly enough to prevent power from slipping out of their hands. Thus, although princes who rely on fortune reach their position easily, maintaining that position is extremely difficult. Therefore it is commendable that a prince succeeds on their own prowess, which will help build stronger fundamentals for themselves. He will have the loyalty of his army, which is analogous to the allegiance of the boss’ employees and the respect of leaders of surrounding principalities, which is also comparable to the esteem of other companies. Overall, the more self-reliant this authority figure is, the more he will prove capable of success as he will be better equipped to deal with problems and

Speaking of such qualities as ruthless and mercy, Machiavelli argues that every ruler would like to be regarded as merciful and not cruel. Another thing is that often in order to retain power the ruler has to show cruelty. If the state is threatened with chaos or mess, the task of the prince is to prevent this even if it is necessary to arrange some reprisals. After all, with respect to the rest of the citizens, these executions will become a noble deed since riots and chaos would bring suffering to them (Machiavelli 24). Machiavelli provides an example of Cesare Borgia whose cruelty led to peace in the state. In that way, the