Machiavelli's 'Princes Are Praised Or Blamed'

Erasmus believed in many characteristics of a good prince, a living similarity of God, who is at once good & powerful. The prince has great goodness, which encourages him want to help all; & his power allows him to do that. A good price must hold the life of each individual person more cherished than his own. He’s to work & strive each & every day & night so that he can be the best for everyone. He’s to give incentives to all ‘good’ men & he may not seek recompensation. He must look out for the well-being at great risk to himself. He is to remember that all of his wealth is in the hands of his nation. He’s to always be alert & on watch so that all of his people may sleep without the fear of being invaded. The prince may not grant vacation to himself because he’s to always devote his life to peace of his country. He must do everything including the whole kit & caboodle as well as allowing everything that can possibly bring never-ending peace to his country.

The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli was created as a gift to Lorenzo de ' Medici, this gift was what Machiavelli considered to be most precious, it served as an “opportunity of understanding in the shortest time all that I have learnt in so many years.” Written initially in Italian, Machiavelli used this gift as a chance to teach young Medici to how be a successful prince, but first let us better understand a bit more about Machiavelli’s early life and the events that occurred that lead him to write this primary source. .

Machiavelli opens The Prince with a dedication to Lorenzo ‘The Magnificent’ de Medici. In the address, the author adopts a remarkably deferential tone which highlights the power gap between himself and the ruler of Florence. Machiavelli underlines his social inferiority and presents his writing as beneath Medici “I judge this work unworthy to come into your presence” (Machiavelli and Gilbert 1965, v.1, p. 10). Yet, the writer aims to legitimize his counsel in the eyes of the Lorenzo de Medici for advising him is the highest political position that Machiavelli may aspire to reach as he was born a commoner. With that in mind, the author highlights that Medici would benefit from the outlook of a well-read ordinary citizen like Machiavelli. He

Of the Qualities for Which Men, and Most of all Princes, are Praised and Blamed

As the Prince is described as demanding his character proves that he understands the level of power and control he has. The prince also understands how much respect he expects from his subjects.

The Prince had no actual characters, but instead discussed and analyzed the political policies of political leaders, highlighting their faults and strengths. The setting was 1513 Europe. This is the same time when major areas were having power struggles and religious conflict was rampant. His tone is that of the ambitious leader. It conveys the thoughts of one who knows how to gain and maintain power. Though this is true, the thoughts are built upon principalities probably learned by way of many mistakes made by one who will never again be in the position to imply his theorems and strategies. Machiavelli's own ruthless mind probably served as the bases for him knowing the ways of the corrupt. The thesis seems to

Machiavelli addresses the topic of whether it is safer to be cruel or loved. He states:

Throughout The Prince are guide lines for a ruler to follow concerning matters of how he is going to be viewed by the people. Machiavelli says that a prince should take care to not be too generous or too cruel as either could have a negative effect on his reputation. While these two ideas might seem to have little relevance to one another it is just an example of how Lao-tzu’s and Machiavelli’s ideas about how important the rulers public persona was to their ability to rule successfully.

Niccolo Machiavelli was a writer from Renaissance Florence, and was born in 1469. Machiavelli was a cynic, meaning he believed that people were only interested in themselves and that they were untrustworthy. Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a guidebook to all princes to show them how to become a prince and hold and keep power. Niccolo Machiavelli did not have a humanist view while writing The Prince. The repetition of how Machiavelli portrayed his view about the average citizens living this time imply the point of view that The Prince is not a humanist writing.

power. A prince had to be tricky and should harm people to own his legacy and to

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

The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli in 1513 in his native Italian language, was a book dedicated to Florence’s then leader Lorenzo de’Medici in an effort for Machiavelli to gain a position in Florence’s new government. The book was intended to help guide Lorenzo and other present and future leaders in gaining and maintaining power, more specifically to aid Lorenzo in unifying Italy under one ruler. Machiavelli lived during a time of great political strife in Italy as the small city-states of Italy, the Papal States, and the powerful states of Spain 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

Those private citizens who become princes through fortune alone do so with little effort, but they maintain their position only with a great deal; they meet no obstacle along their way since they fly to success, but all their problems arise when they have arrives…such men depend solely upon two very uncertain an unstable things: the will and the fortune of him who granted them

In the book, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli thoroughly explains the lifestyle a proper prince should uphold and the skills/actions he should keep in his arsenal, if the time ever comes. I’ve chosen chapters 15, 16, and 17 to further my claims on whether or not these ideas should be used in today’s government. Chapter 15 mainly focuses on the things for which men, but mainly princes, are praised or blamed for in an everyday society. Chapter 16 touches on how often one should be generous and liberal. Finally, chapter 17, the most controversial chapter of Machiavelli’s book discussed among many, tells the famous line of whether it is better to be loved