Who Is Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince?

The Prince was written during a time of political turmoil and instability in Italy. In a land where city-states fought for power, empires desired domination, and neighboring countries favored control there was a void in political solidity. Machiavelli’s desire for this same conquest is prevalent in his work. He demonstrates his need for political advancement and his capabilities, as well as the necessity of the unification of Italy. By designating a set of rules or guidelines in government Machiavelli suggests that politics and ethics can be separated and focuses on how ethics, freewill, perception, and human nature all play a major role in governing an entity.

Before Machiavelli wrote The Prince, he was a respected Florentine diplomat. When Machiavelli lost his title, he wrote this work for Lorenzo de’ Medici, the governor of Florence at the time in hopes of obtaining his stature again. Machiavelli’s sole purpose was for Lorenzo de’ Medici to accept his ‘offering’ and give him back his title. Machiavelli says, “I have not sought to adorn my work with long phrases or high-sounding words or any of those superficial attractions and ornaments with which many writers seek to embellish their material, as I desire no honour for my work but such as the novelty and gravity or its subject may justly deserve” (4). Machiavelli clearly states that he in no way was writing this for anyone but Lorenzo nor did he intend on receiving any literary acknowledgment. This proves that The Prince could also have been an informative writing because he was not telling Lorenzo how to run a government or treat his people. However, when he did present the information in his work, he backed up his arguments and had many examples to show that his tactics had been proven to work or would work in future

In the text The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli works to create a political system that recognizes failures in human nature and attempts to manipulate them in creating stability. Machiavelli proposes a concept of the Prince and the

The Prince was written nearly 500 years ago; it serves as a practical guide for successful ruling. The book's 26 chapters can be divided into four sections: Chapters 1-11 discuss the different types of principalities or states, Chapters 12-14 discuss the different types of armies and the proper conduct of a prince as military leader, Chapters 15-23 discuss the character and behavior of the prince, and Chapters 24-26 discuss Italy's desperate political situation. The final chapter is a plea for the Medici family to supply the prince who will lead Italy out of humiliation.

writing. Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513. Its original title was in Latin and meant “About Principalities”. Machiavelli was an Italian diplomat, as well as a political theorist, and he wrote The Prince as a political treatise. The Prince was never written with the intention of becoming a famous novel. In fact, Machiavelli wrote this book to try to gain a position in the powerful Italian government controlled by the Medici family. The book was even dedicated to

1.During the time period that Machiavelli wrote the Prince, Italy was tons of different group of cities and states. Each one of them was trying to gain control and power over the others. Along with the small civil wars over power, other countries such as the Spanish, Germans, and the French. The French had an ally with one of Italy’s oldest and most powerful cities of Florence. When the French were defeated by the Pope, Florence was also taken out. Florence was important to Machiavelli because it was where he served as a diplomat and a counselor for thirteen years. When Florence was taken over, Machiavelli nearly escaped execution and was later charged with exile. He was not allowed to come back to his beloved city. Machiavelli continued to write letters to the government trying to convince them to let him come back to his usual position of power. Along with many of the letters

The Prince contains twenty-six Chapters in which Machiavelli attempts to gained favor from the Medici family. Chapters one and two contains subject matter focuses on New Princedoms. In the first sentence, Machiavelli effectively uses the word “state” in order to set the tone for the chapters to follow. Machiavelli explains that the “state” covers “all forms of organizations of power, whether republican or princely.” Machiavelli nots in Chapter one that it is much easier to rule over hereditary state rather than new principalities for two reasons. One, in the hereditary state citizens are accustom to the prince’s family’s rule and that the new prince only needs to keep such successful institutions intact. The second reason is that the prince

The Prince is a didactic examination of political power, how to achieve it, maintain it, and expand it. Machiavelli does not take into consideration what is morally right, or amoral, only what is useful and useless. The book is more like a technical manual, and technical manuals only state the facts. The book defines what turns a mere man into a great

Humanism is a term that is applied to beliefs, methods and philosophies that place human beings at the center all life and the universe. Humanists observe that the goal of human life is happiness on earth. Besides happiness, humanism is also grounded in “naturalistic metaphysics” (Lamont 13). It considers all supernatural things and beliefs to be mythical, hence warranting dismissal. It is also conceived of the idea that human beings are products of nature rather than supernatural creation. The earthly experience is more important than any forms of predestination or determinism. According to humanist, human beings have choice of action and have the capacity to shape their destiny. The process of self-definition also leads to critical inquiry

Written in 1513, The Prince gives advice to princes on how to expand and maintain political control. The author, Nicolló Machiavelli, spent a big part of his life studying history and different political situations. He put together a little book and sent it to Lorenzo the Magnificent, the governor of Florence. This gesture was done to grant Machiavelli a position in the Florentine government and get respect from the powerful Medici family. In the treatise, Machiavelli analyzes historical and hypothetical situations in order to demonstrate the correct and incorrect actions. Additionally, he discusses important rulers in history and how they dealt with the population of their land. Machiavelli often mentions human nature and how it can be

The Prince written by Niccolò Machiavelli was first published during the Italian Renaissance in 1532. The book teaches politicians how to be powerful and yet viewed positively among the people. Machiavelli discussed actions of past rulers of Europe and whether or not their actions were correct. He analyzed how these men seized, retained and lost political power as well as land. The book has lasted throughout the ages and is referred to as a classic by many. The reason behind this is that its messages are applicable to all forms of government even in present day. However this was not what Machiavelli intended when he first started writing the book. If read carefully, it can be seen that he mainly targets a certain area for his guide. Also, most

He drank in the company of peasants, fought in local villages and railed at his fate. At night, he dressed in the old robes of office, sat at his desk, and wrote. He drew on his experiences in government and composed a manifesto for pragmatic leadership (PBS).” Machiavelli used his own personal accounts and experiences in order to write The Prince. In the book, Machiavelli describes how to take and maintain control of foreign lands with any means necessary, regardless of morals. "Because how one ought to live is so far removed from how one lives that he who lets go of what is done for that which one ought to do sooner learns ruin than his own preservation: because a man who might want to make a show of goodness in all things necessarily comes to ruin among so many who are not good. Because of this it is necessary for a prince, wanting to maintain himself, to learn how to be able to be not good and to use this and not use it according to necessity (Machiavelli).” The Prince is different from other books about creating and controlling principalities because it doesn't tell you what an ideal prince or principality is, but Machiavelli explains through examples, which princes are the most successful in obtaining and maintaining power. Machiavelli draws his examples from personal observations made while he was on diplomatic missions for Florence and from his readings in ancient history. His writing has the mark of the Renaissance upon it because he sprinkles his text with Latin phrases and many examples are drawn from Classical

The Prince is a novel written in 1513 by Niccolo Machiavelli. This book contains 26 chapters, focusing on acquiring and maintaining political power. In other words, it could be seen as the “do’s and don’ts” of the political world. In Chapters One through Eleven, the author discusses the different

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

Niccolo Machiavelli is considered the father of modern political science. Living in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth-century's, Machiavelli was a citizen of the city-state of Florence where he served as a secretary to the city council and as a diplomatic envoy for 14 years. The Prince was published five years after his death and is regarded as his most famous work. The Prince is an articulate and precise explanation of the way to use the lesson of history in politics as an example to learn and build ideas from. The Prince can be broken up into four parts. Firstly, Machiavelli explains how a prince gets a state. Secondly, he explains how a prince holds on to a state. Thirdly, he