Genesis Gonzalez Mr.Lee-5 AP European History 29 October 2012 “The Prince” Project Of the Qualities for Which Men, and Most of all Princes, are Praised and Blamed 1. Which qualities does Machiavelli say leaders will reap praise? Blame? a. Praise: courageous, merciful, faithful, religious, trustworthy, generosity, humane b. Blame: coward, miserliness, cruelty, treacherous, unbeliever 2. Which kind of qualities does Machiavelli recommend rulers to follow? Machiavelli recommends the rulers to follow the good qualities, unless needs to protect himself from a vice who would not lose the state for him or be prudent enough to escape a vice who would lose the state for him. Of Liberality and Miserliness 3. Why does …show more content…
A prince is respected as well when he is a true friend and a true enemy, meaning that he sides with another prince against another with no reservation. A prince should show that he that he is a lover of talent and give recognition to men who have ability. He should encourage his subjects to be free in trade and reward them because they are benefiting his city or state by aggrandizing it. How Flatterers Should Be Avoided 13. What is the danger of flattery? The danger of flattery is that it is common that powerful men become self-absorbed, and wanting to defend yourself brings the danger of being despised. 14. How should a prince go about avoiding flattery? A prince should go about flattery by making men understand that telling the truth will not offend him. He should only let wise advisors speak to him and only when he calls for their advice. He should not listen to anyone else and be firm in his decisions. If the prince is kept from the truth, there will be punishment. Analysis: 15. Describe the ideal leader, according to Machiavelli. According to Machiavelli, the ideal leader has good qualities in him unless provoked and in need to protect himself. A leader should not be too generous because then he will become poor. He will also start himself a reputation that will backfire. If he runs out of money to give, and can give no longer, he will be hated for not giving.
An example where the prince does not concede his dignity is when he is able to escape from servitude. Even though he is able to run away during his servitude, he has to return because he is unable to discover a way to survive on his own. While in the woods, he had a realization of what his fate was and he accepted that this was his life from this point on. He decided to return to Foster and keep his dignity by accepting his life as a slave. He expected to be killed and or severely punished upon his return. Neither of those happened and the Prince accepted his life in captivity, began to work in the
In chapter XV Machiavelli discusses how it is important to appear as a virtuous ruler, but to not actually possess these qualities. He states, “ one is considered a giver, the other rapacious; one cruel, another merciful; one treacherous, another faithful; one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and courageous; one humane, another haughty; one lascivious, another chaste; one trustworthy, another cunning; one harsh another lenient; one serious another frivolous; one religious another unbelieving; and the like. And I know that everyone will admit that it would be a very praiseworthy thing to find in a prince, of the qualities mentioned above, those that are held to be good; but since it is neither possible to have them nor observe them all completely, because human nature does not permit it, a prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him” (The Portable Machiavelli 127). In this chapter Machiavelli is suggesting that a good ruler can’t be virtuous at all times because it would not be in the best interest of the people.
In The Prince, Machiavelli doesn’t hesitate to recommend that a ruler employ conventionally immoral methods against his own subjects to maintain authority over them, but he does imply that whatever a ruler does should ultimately benefit the community. A Prince’s actions may be cruel, manipulative, or otherwise immoral, but they put him in the position to govern. On occasion, Machiavelli even suggests that gaining power through immoral acts is the best way to improve a community because immorality is pragmatic in a way morality is not. A strong ruler established by immoral means can then do good for his state; Machiavelli indicates that simply having power is not enough. A ruler should also use it well. Admittedly, a ruler may only want to do good for his state in an effort to secure his own position at its head, but the effect he has is no less good for the lack of selfless reasoning behind it. Machiavelli implies that a strong ruler who necessarily acquires and keeps power through immoral actions has a generally good effect on his state, which is a naturally moral byproduct of otherwise immoral deeds.
A prince has plenty to worry about during times of war and everyone is out to get you so you must be greedy and heinous in times of war. The prince declares that the nation state comes first before individuals.
To start, he often showed the prince as a symbol for the victories of others. “The well-being of the Prince…is of
In other words Machiavelli says that human nature praises certain qualities and blame others, but there is no way that humans can do all the good things while avoiding the bad things. What makes a "good prince" in the eyes of Machiavelli is one that figures out how to not take so much blame when he does wrong, and tries to do as many good things as he can. For example regarding generosity and miserliness, Machiavelli says to be considered truly generous, one must be miserly at times:"A prince, therefore, being unable to use his virtue of generosity in a manner which will not harm himself... should, if he is wise, not worry about being called a miser; for with time, he will come to be considered more generous..." (53) In one final contrast, according to Machiavelli in regards to courage and cowardice, mercy and treachery he says "That every prince must desire to be considered merciful and not cruel; never the less, he must take care not to misuse this mercy...Therefore, a prince must not worry about the reproach of cruelty, when it is a matter of keeping his subjects united and loyal" (55). According to Machiavelli,
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.
pride and honor does not stem from a lack of it, but rather as recognition of the rules and conduct of the court. In the court of King Arthur, the way that one behaves must not be considered boasting, as this was thought to be arrogant and rude. Pride was kept in check by the code of chivalry.
While boasting plays a central role in a Scandinavian warrior’s career, the Knights of the Round Table practice humbleness instead. Both Beowulf and Sir Gawain are preceded by their reputations. For instance,
Nobility is a trait that many men seem to desire. It is not necessarily genetic nor can one purchase it like other traits, such as clothing, but rather is earned demonstrated. What makes one noble is not easily determined, despite being the desire of many individuals. Whether it is nobler, more honorable, and more admirable to live on one’s knees or to die on one’s feet has been a source of debate for centuries. In his tragic play Hamlet, William Shakespeare proves that it is nobler for one to die for what he believes in than to live in inaction.
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.
"Machiavelli identifies the interests of the prince with the interests of the state." He felt that it was human nature to be selfish, opportunistic, cynical, dishonest, and gullible, which in essence, can be true. The state of nature was one of conflict; but conflict, Machiavelli reasoned, could be beneficial under the organization of a ruler. Machiavelli did not see all men as equal. He felt that some men were better suited to rule than others. I believe that this is true in almost any government. However, man in general, was corrupt -- always in search of more power. He felt that because of this corruptness, an absolute monarch was necessary to insure stability. Machiavelli outlined what characteristics this absolute ruler should have in The Prince. One example of this can be seen in his writings concerning morality. He saw the Judeo-Christian values as faulty in the state's success. "Such visionary expectations, he held, bring the state to ruin, for we do not live in the world of the "ought," the fanciful utopia, but in the world of "is". The prince's role was not to promote virtue, but to insure security. He reasoned that the Judeo-Christian values would make a ruler week if he actually possessed them, but that they could be useful in dealing with the citizens if the prince seemed to have these qualities. Another example of Machiavelli's ideal characteristics of a prince
Machiavelli goes on in Chapters Fifteen through Twenty Three to discuss his advice to the reader in the ideal behavior and characteristics of a prince. He mentions that doing good would only lead to the ruin of a prince’s kingdom. He claims that a prince should be stingy and cruel as opposed to generous and merciful. He then, of course, adds in examples of successful rulers who were both moral and immoral alike. A prince should break promises more than he keeps them, according to the author. He also suggests that, while behaving in the aforementioned ways, a prince should do his best to avoid being despised by leaving his subjects’ land and women alone and by undertaking great projects to boost his reputation. As suggested at the beginning of Chapter Nineteen, a prince should not be “fickle, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, [or] irresolute,” (70). ¬¬¬He should also choose wise, as opposed to flattering, advisors.
Machiavelli, specifically, had an idea in mind of how a leader should conduct himself and what morals he should value. Straightforwardly, he explained that he considered it unnecessary for a prince to have moral qualities; a prince should instead only “seem” to have them. Thus, it is “useful to seem compassionate, faithful, humane, [and] honest”; however, if one possesses these attributes, it can be destructive (Machiavelli 95). This is since a prince “is often required to act against faith, against charity, against humaneness, and against religion” to maintain his position (Machiavelli 95). Regarding reputation, Machiavelli clarifies whether it is better to be feared or loved by the people. Both are important, but when they are in conflict, “it
The “ideal” idol gained their power through being remarkably intelligent and liable. Machiavelli is the perfect example of this, gaining his power through being a political leader, accessible for people to seek themselves in. This justifies people’s need for power, and therefore envying Machiavelli, due to his political power. Machiavelli influences the modern political science we still use today, and continue to pave his paths. His book, The Prince uses Renaissance values and applies them to politics, intriguing most everyone. His book targets powerful men, teaching them how to gain and maintain power. “It is not at all necessary for a prince to have all the good qualities which I have named, but it is necessary to seem to have them” (Machiavelli). Although Machiavelli gained his power, not every man can, to this extent, Machiavelli is saying that in order to build the status of an idol, you must project the idea of power. It is of known fact that people with power are admired, thus, Machiavelli wrote a book teaching individuals how to gain power, and become and idol themselves. This allowed Machiavelli to “create a stir” and “shock the Western world” (ABC Clio), and become the idol that we know him as today. Machiavelli is the turning point where men start to value power, seeking to find Machiavelli in