Qualities Of Mali Machiavelli

Trying not to overstep the boundaries of the citizens to get kicked out of power or not doing enough that they replace you. With the power gained from leading it is expected that other princes will try to take power away so the only way to prevent this from happening is to make alliances and maintaining a strong military. Later on, in the novel Machiavelli goes on to focus on what qualities a prince should have and how virtu plays a role in making a proper prince. Although a short novel, it is Machiavelli’s most widely known work and is responsible for creating a negative view on rulers/politicians and also making it seem like anything you do, even immoral, is justifiable if the end goal is worth it. Machiavelli writes “He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation” showing that the use of immoral means is justifiable when the end goal is survival and glory. This book follows the ideals of Italian humanism from the author being from Florence, the heart of the renaissance, dedicating the novel to Lorenzo de’ Medici, an example of a man who invested a lot in helping people learn about philosophy and such subjects to become better humanists.

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.

Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and

In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote “The Prince,” in which he discussed the characteristics that qualify a leader to have control of his people. Machiavelli claimed that a leader ought to associate with vices that have a positive impact to his rulings to avoid embarrassment, thus building a strong leadership. This claim is policy because it delivers the message of ruling. Machiavelli’s audiences are former rulers or anyone aspiring to become a leader.

In this paper, I will argue that a leader needs to be beast-like and must break their word when it suits their purpose. It's my position that a leader needs to assume characteristics of a lion to be effective, then I will argue that a leader needs to be cunning like a fox when breaking their word so it serves their purpose. Below I will argue why a ruler assumes characteristics of a lion to rule effectively.

Niccolo Machiavelli’s book “The Prince” speaks about what a great ruler should possess in order to have the loyalty and unity of his people. That to be a great Prince your people must see you as compassionate but behind the curtain you may act as your true self, even if that self is cruel. As long your subjects see you as a compassionate ruler, your rule will be a great one and known even after death.

Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince is a book that examines the qualities and strategies required for a ruler in order to maintain power. Despite being composed in the 16th century, the ideas presented are applicable even to mythical kings from texts over a thousand years ago. Throughout the story of Seneca’s Oedipus, substantial connections could be made between Oedipus and The Prince’s ideas of rule, such as methods in acquiring principalities, channeling subjects’ fear, the use of cruelty and controlling circumstance. In this essay, I will first talk about these ideas presented in The Prince, then suggest how Machiavelli might evaluate the character, strategies, leadership, and fortunes of Seneca’s Oedipus. Based on these four factors, I

Niccolò Machiavelli, established himself as a prominent Renaissance figure when his book The Prince, shared his political philosophies on how to gain and retain power. The “Princely Virtues” were a set of standards that discussed what he considered to be good and bad characteristics of a ruler. Ultimately, Machiavelli explained that morals were not always required to play a part in politics, which in contrast opposed many principles established by his predecessors. Some of the listed characteristics contest his views, meanwhile others disagree. According to Machiavelli’s opinions, always acting moral will ruin a person as the number of immoral people in the world outweigh the good. Machiavelli writes “Other things seem to be vices, yet if put into practice will bring the prince security and well-being,” (186). In this case, if a ruler has the desire to keep his status, he must learn not to be virtuous when it is required. From Machiavelli’s notion, four “positive” attributes a ruler should acquire are cruelty rather than compassion, egoism instead of philanthropy, greediness versus being open-handed, and finally, inflexibility in preference to being easy to deal with. Machiavelli stands by these rules, as he knows a feared leader is more beneficial than a beloved leader. For example, a compassionate, philanthropic leader implies generosity to the people. If the

“Those best at playing the fox have done better than others. But you have to know how to disguise your slyness, how to pretend one thing and cover up another.” The connotations of a leader being like a fox depicts a deceitful and manipulative leader. Through this, Machiavelli reveals that the most successful leaders in history were those who could disguise their fox-like slyness and manipulate those in power. Both Machiavelli and Shakespeare explore the relationship between one’s manipulative capabilities and their success as a leader.

In fact, Machiavelli justifies that Hannibal’s acts of inhuman cruelty not only instilled fear among his troops, but was tolerable mainly because of Hannibal’s ability to demonstrate virtue in which he was viewed with great respect and admiration (55). Furthermore, Machiavelli claims how the most successful rulers are those who demonstrate virtue through deceit, in which a prince is then able to avoid hatred (56). Though Machiavelli advises that a prince should always try to appear virtuous, he further argues how acting virtuously as a means to achieve moral excellence can be detrimental to a ruler.

In Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, Machiavelli redefines what it means to be a “good prince.” Prior to the Renaissance, the notion of “good” implied one who was morally righteous and virtuous. However, Machiavelli’s concern lies with appearances rather than reality. In this way, he believes a prince must only seem good, but not truly be good.

Machiavelli claims to possess deep knowledge on how one acquires power, sustains power, and employs power. Throughout his life, he observed patterns in history on the rise and fall of certain rulers, and the reasons of their demise. Using his knowledge, Machiavelli wrote The Prince, a philosophical political-science book. At the time of the book’s writing, Lorenzo de Medici held a leading role in the state. Machiavelli addressed The Prince to Lorenzo de Medici in hoping that he would utilize its contents in becoming an effective and competent ruler.

In Niccolò Machiavelli, The Qualities of the prince a passage in A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers by Lee A. Jacobus describes the essentials of being a prince. Machiavelli discusses the ability to being a great leader is to have knowledge of war, avoid being hated, being feared is better than to be loved, to be cunning, and to keep up appearances. By having these qualities Machiavelli believed having such characteristics would keep what one is leading with efficiency and forward thinking. This thinking was in a setting with war-torn countries, battling for land and resources during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. Another author in Lee’s book for college writers, a Chinese philosopher and writer during the sixth century B.C.E., emphasizes his view points on how to lead and how civilization would react to such leadership. in Lao-Tzu’s passage called Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching, describes that imposing fear and all type of greed would lead to people doing the wrong thing such as stealing. Lao-Tzu writes one should not enforce such idealistic’s but to let things “take their course” (59), opposite of machiavelli’s ideas of enforcing justice. Many of what both Machiavelli and Lao-Tau speak of is about human nature and the way common people would behave in different situations.

The importance of learning from history. What is an example he provides of one good ruler and one bad ruler and what did they do that made them “good” or “bad”

Relying on the needs of the society of that time, Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that the most important task is the formation of a single Italian state (Machiavelli 15). Developing his thoughts, the author comes to the following inference: only a prince can become a leader capable of leading people and building a unified state. It is not a concrete historical personality but someone abstract, symbolic, possessing such qualities that in the aggregate are inaccessible to any living ruler. That is why Machiavelli devotes most of his research to the issue of what qualities should the prince possess to fulfill the historical task of developing a new state. The written work is constructed strictly logically and objectively. Even though the image of an ideal prince is abstract, Machiavelli argues that he should be ruthless, deceiving, and selfish.