Niccolo Machiavelli and Martin Luther found themselves to be surrounded by darkness and heavy fog that clouded their vision. They both were feeling lightheaded from the heat and lack of stamina. Luther found a lit candle that allowed him to see Machiavelli a few feet away from him. As the two approached each other they began to recollect their final memories and their location. Luther is confused as to why he has been placed in purgatory and finds discomfort in his lack of effort to receive God’s promise of salvation. He turns to Machiavelli and the two enlist in a conversation that looks over their beliefs in the duration of their time at earth.
Luther: I understand that you, Machiavelli, believe it is justified for a Prince to find solace in creating a persona of being a pious and religious man if it means keeping the state maintained. You also approve of deception towards citizens because they are so ignorant and blindsided by the character they see that they would be unable to tell a difference.
Machiavelli: Yes, although it seems harsh there are many instances where Princes have kept little faith yet achieved great things for their people. For instance, Alexander the Sixth achieved all his desires because he mastered the art of being a fox and a lion. His cunning nature allowed him to manipulate a situation and his people to his advantage.
Luther: The honor that we hold of truth and righteousness is in the person who we believe and look up too. It’s an insult to
Author: The speaker of the excerpt is Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli is considered to be the first political philosopher. Employed as a diplomat of the state, Machiavelli wrote Histories, a book about the decline of prestige of Italian city-states. The Medici family had a grudge against Machiavelli, and therefore exiled him from Florence. After the powerful Medici family exiled him to his house in the countryside, Machiavelli wrote The Prince in attempt to make his political ideology known, and in hope to be reemployed by the state.
Machiavelli led us to a question that was continuously in disagreement. That question was “Is it better to be loved than feared, or vice versa” (p.392)? Machiavelli thought that one is to be loved & feared. Nevertheless, at the same time it’s tremendously hard to achieve being both loved & feared. Machiavelli believed that if one had to do without one of them that it would be a safer to be feared than to be loved. For example if a ruler was more loved than feared then if you served their men’s interest & were also devoted to them they would promise you their blood, possessions, lives, & children until you needed help because once you needed help you were on our own. If you’re more feared than loved then when you’re in trouble your
Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany on October 31, 1517. It contained a series of 95 complaints that the once monk had with the church. He was steadfast in his efforts to get the church to change. Even refusing to repeal his complaints when threatened with excommunication.
The earliest most famous Protestant reformer, Martin Luther went to the school of Erfurt to study law in 1501, but he quickly became more interested in theology. Luther was exposed to recent humanist writings and read extensively in classical Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In 1505, he enrolled in an Augustinian monastery. He spent a decade educating and preaching and visited Rome. The Reformation was a religious uprising in Europe in the 16th century, prompted by dissatisfaction with the set Roman Catholic Church, which directed to the formulation of the Protestant branch of Christianity.
Marin Luther, regardless of his intentions, is one of the most controversial men in all of Christian history. The growth of Martin Luther and essentially the whole Protestant Revolution begins by Luther walking in a storm and getting struck by lightning. At this time, he prays out to the saints in hopes that he will be saved; he promises them that if they save him, he will stop everything a become a monk. Luther is saved and does just that, he quit studying law and took his vows, and he began studying the bible as a monk. While studying the bible, Luther comes across a line in Romans 1:17 stating, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Luther’s interpretation of this is that no amount of pilgrimages, relics, or good deeds will save someone, what will save that person is his or her faith. At the same time that Luther comes to this conclusion, indulgences are being sold. An indulgence is a ticket to heaven which cleanses a person of all sins. A person pays for this certificate, which typically cost half a year’s earnings, and this will shorten the time in purgatory before going to heaven. The idea of what happened after death terrified some people so this gave those people a false sense of comfort.
Logos is one of the strongest appeals in his letter, critical as it helps and ensures that the reader establishes trust and confidence in the writer. Martin Luther King makes use of his experiences and the characters he has encountered in his life to writing his letter. For instance, Luther refers to St. Augustine who says that an unjust law is no law at all. He also refers to Paul in the Bible when he states that like Paul, he must react to the Macedonian call for help. In addition, he also refers to a number of his own life experiences, stating that “Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily” (King Jr., 1968). This brings out King as a caring person ready to help society. Using logical appeals helps to develop the reader’s confidence in the
In response to the clergymen’s letter stating that his action is “unwise and untimely”, Martin Luther King, Jr. step by step refutes the assumptions made by the clergymen. He makes effective use of storytelling, pre-counter and qualification of arguments, and appeals to logic, emotions and credence through morality.
Luther has said in his letter was very persuasive to me. Dr. Luther was a very intelligent man that was shown throughout the letter based on the words that he chose and the power that was amplified. I love how he is not asking for revenge or sorrow of the things he has done but rather he is expressing his thoughts and feelings through a calm and peaceful manner. He mentions how he was called an “extremist” and at first and how he was offended but then later he took pride in that name. Dr. Luther references how in the bible Jesus was an “extremist” for love and glory from God. He also says that we are all extremist in one way or another. I have never heard that phrase in a positive way before. This is my favorite part of his letter he says, “the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice?” Again this shows the level of commitment that he has for this cause that he his willing to write in this radical type of thinking and publish it for the civil rights
There was an argument between two great scholars, Robert Kolb and Hans Kung on whether Martin Luther’s reform improved the lives of European Christians. Kolb agreed that martin Luther made a positive impact on European Christians and he concluded that Luther was a prophetic hero, teacher and that Luther brought change and hope to the people. Kung on the other hand believes that Luther was a great orchestrator of change in the Christian church but also an indirect instigator of the violence and oppression that erupted among the people. In other words Luther had some positive effects but left more negative consequences on the people. This essay’s main focus is to identify which argument appears to be more convincing and persuasive but for
Martin Luther’s strict upbringing provoked his view of God as being a harsh judge and impelled him to depart from law school at Erfurt to become a monk. Luther was born on November 10, 1483 in Eisleben, Germany where his father Hans started out as a farmer and eventually reached moderate wealth by owning copper mines. Hans would have never been able to attain these copper mines without marrying Margarete (Lindeman) Ziegler who came from a fairly prosperous family. From an early age Luther was destined to become a lawyer and his parents were committed to see their son succeed in life. Luther obeyed his father’s desire for him to become a lawyer therefore he was sent to the most prestigious schools in the area. Luther started out going to Latin
Rotten. Exploitive. Faithless. The Roman Catholic church was seen as corrupt in the late fifteenth century.The populace struggled with the brazen capitalistic Roman Papacy that didn't meet the needs of its congregation. The clergy’s use of indulgences as a way to salvation lacked the piety that disciples desired. Criticism of Catholicism did not cause sweeping changes in the sixteenth century; instead, the Protestant Reformation occurred due to the confluence of events triggered by one priest, Martin Luther. (Schilling) Although some historians allege that Martin Luther’s theology was reactionary due to its roots in medieval Christianity, his beliefs that the hierarchy of the church was unnecessary and that salvation was
I agree with Luther's belief on "Knowing who you teach," for many reasons. I think
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
Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 - February 18, 1546) was a Christian theologian, Augustinian monk, professor, pastor, and church reformer whose teachings inspired the Lutheran Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of Protestant and other Christian traditions. Luther began the Protestant Reformation with the publication of his Ninety-Five Theses on October 31, 1517. In this publication, he attacked the Church's sale of indulgences. He advocated a theology that rested on God's gracious activity in Jesus Christ, rather than in human works. Nearly all Protestants trace their history back to Luther in one way or another. Luther's relationship to philosophy is complex and should not be judged only by his famous
Niccoló Machiavelli is perhaps the greatest political thinker in history. He was a historian, musician, a poet, and he wrote comedies. He liked poetry as much as he liked philosophy. Machiavelli wrote and collected poems. His works, which are inspired by his life experiences, have been read by many of the worlds greatest politicians. Niccoló Machiavelli’s writing was influenced by the Medici family, the Soderini government in Italy, and his own diplomatic career. His great work, The Prince, is legendary for its impact in politics and its controversial proposals.