The Medici, masters of Florence, originated from a back room of a war shop managing a small scale operation: The Medici Bank. Through loyal clients and by ambitious risk taking the Medici family gained a great deal of power. Many of the techniques this family used to climb up the ranks in social hierarchy were credited to Niccoló Machiavelli, who prescribed his teachings in The Prince. In this book, addressed to Lorenzo de’ Medici, the Magnificent, Machiavelli discusses the qualities and actions a Prince needs to exhibit in order to gain power and to succeed. The actions of the Medici family illustrated the teachings of Machiavelli by manifesting how the ends justify the means, how politics are separate from ethics, by taking calculated risks …show more content…
The Medici family was willing to adhere by Machiavelli’s advice to reinstate their power and their name in Florence by any means necessary. To complete a task as a leader, it was crucial that they were able to dismiss all their ethical senses. They would unethically invade the city of Prato and show the people of Florence the effect of disobeying the Medici. As a result, due to violence and terror, Florence surrendered and the Medici family got its political gain. Even if it took the killing of a great amount of people, the Medici family followed Machiavelli’s teachings by going to extreme measures. Gaining power through unethical means extended to the Medici Pope, Leo. In the Medici Pope documentary, Pope Leo raised money to help support his lifestyle by selling jobs in the Vatican. Jobs were supposed to be earned through merit, not a scale of favoritism that benefitted the sitting Pope. In addition, he sold and approved improper indulgences, going against the teachings of the church. Leo betrayed church doctrine by allowing those who trusted him to commit acts that he knew were unethical. In order to gain popularity and loyalty, the Pope served feasts every night with 65 different courses, even though this act conflicted with Christian ethics. For a Pope to sell jobs and indulgences for personal gain displays the Medici family's willingness to sacrifice ethical standards to achieve political
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
Machiavelli was a Florentine Statesman. In 1512, the Florentine Republic collapsed and the Medico's came back into power. Machiavelli was labeled a traitor and was sent to prison where he was tortured and threatened with execution.1 He was subsequently released into exile. He went to the country and wrote “The Prince”. He had wanted to present it to Lorenzo Medici as a show of his loyalty but it did not have the effect that Machiavelli had envisioned.
In fact, Machiavelli’s morals are as questionable as those of Ferdinand II. Because Machiavelli believed that “it [was] unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities [he had] enumerated, but it [was] very necessary to appear to have them” (62), Ferdinand II seemed to be an excellent example of the advice given in the book. However, Machiavelli fails to see that Ferdinand II’s actions opposed one of his primary beliefs. Machiavelli specified that princes did not have to avoid cruelty and dishonesty if and only if their actions benefited the state, and that a prince must consider every action he took based on its effect on his country. As previously stated, Ferdinand II’s actions exclusively benefited himself. Considering the fact that this was a principal theme throughout Machiavelli’s book, why he saw Ferdinand II as such a “great and extraordinary” ruler is baffling. His love of the king is as hypocritical as the King’s character. There is a strong possibility that Machiavelli had a bias towards Ferdinand, considering he was the ruler when he wrote The Prince, and Machiavelli did not see his rule’s final outcome. This presents the question of how Machiavelli’s partiality affects his credibility. Provided he did, in fact, have that bias, what does that say about the rest of his work? Since Machiavelli did not have a neutral stance on politics, he may have steered Prince De’ Medici and all other political leaders who read The Prince in the direction of his own opinions, thus singlehandedly shaping history into his
The fourteenth century was an exciting time in Italy. Liberation from old traditions brought about a new interest in the arts and literature. The church's doctrine was no longer the sole basis of scholarly work. New ideas and concepts started to emerge which were unlike anything heard since the fall of Rome. Amongst the great thinkers of this time was a man by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli. (C4. and Wood, p.510) His most famous work was entitled, The Prince. The book is a compilation of historical examples past and present ( present being the sixteenth century), that were intended to guide a prince on the correct way to control his state. It advocated the use of any means necessary to survive in the political world, even if they were not particularly pleasant. (Strathern, p.6)
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527), Italian author and statesman, is one of the outstanding figures of the Renaissance, b. Florence. Machiavelli's best-known work, Il principle [the prince] (1532), describes the means by which a prince may gain and maintain his power. His “ideal” prince (seemingly modeled on Cesare Borgia) is an amoral and calculating tyrant who would be able to establish a unified Italian state. The last chapter of the work pleads for the eventual liberation of Italy from foreign rule. Interpretations of The Prince vary: it has been viewed as sincere advice, as a plea for political office, as a detached analysis of Italian politics, as evidence of early Italian nationalism, and as political satire on Medici rule....
Machiavelli chose many important points to bring up in his discussion on the necessity of military prowess. A leader must “…learn the nature of the terrain” (p. 36) that he is meant to protect. Machiavelli probably discusses this because the Medicis were not aware of the advantage that the French and Spanish were gaining by conquering the northern, mountainous regions of Italy. Militarily, higher ground is a much sought after advantage. The leaders of the land could in no
Lorenzo de Medici is one of the most important figures in the history of Italy. He lived and reigned during the golden age of the Renaissance in Florence in the late fifteenth century. Although not from a royal family or appointed to the throne, he held much political power as the ruler of Florence. Unlike the rulers of his day, he was among the few to directly immerse in the arts by commissioning works with some of the artists that led one of the most important eras in the world: the Italian Renaissance. Lorenzo de Medici was one of the most influential figures in this era due to his unorthodox politics as well as his generous contributions to the world of art. Because of these two themes, Lorenzo was the main proponent that helped start the Renaissance, and influenced Italian life thereafter.
When the word "Renaissance" is mentioned, an image of love for antiquity learning and fine arts usually springs to one's mind. Yet this perception, however legitimate it may be in many areas of Renaissance human achievements, shatters in the face of Niccolò Machiavelli's masterpiece The Prince. Unlike his contemporary Baldassare Castiglione who exemplified subtlety, Machiavelli was ruthlessly practical, nonchalantly callous, and admirably seamless in his logics about the bloody art of political power.
Written almost 500 years ago, Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince” brings forward a new definition of virtue. Machiavelli’s definition argued against the concept brought forward by the Catholic Church. Machiavelli did not impose any thoughts of his own, rather he wrote from his experience and whatever philosophy that lead to actions which essentially produced effective outcomes in the political scene of Italy and in other countries. While Machiavelli is still criticized for his notions, the truth is that, consciously or subconsciously we are all thinking for our own benefit and going at length to achieve it. On matters of power where there is much to gain and a lot more to lose, the concept of Machiavelli’s virtue of “doing what needs to be done” applies rigorously to our modern politics and thus “The Prince” still serves as a suitable political treatise in the 21st century.
However, the truth is that the Medici were actually nowhere near the most corrupt family in Europe. Many prominent families paid bribes and killed members of opposing families, in order to be the most powerful. Infact, families such as the Borgias, are regarded as being far more corrupt and villainous than what the Medici were. The Borgias were accused of, “a catalogue of sins, among them murder, bribes, incest, poisoning and bewitching.” These accusations are far worse than that of those against the Medici, who are only alleged to have bribed, and very rarely murdered members of opposing families.
“Machiavelli wanted to return to his longtime dream and understanding of politics. One of his goals in writing The Prince was to win the favor of Lorenzo de’ Medici, then-governor of Florence and the person
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.
“The Prince”, by Niccolo Machiavelli, is a series of letters written to the current ruler of Italy, Lorenzo de’ Medici. These letters are a “how-to” guide on what to do and what not to do. He uses examples to further express his views on the subject. The main purpose was to inform the reader how to effectively rule and be an acceptable Prince. Any ruler who wishes to keep absolute control of his principality must use not only wisdom and skill, but cunning and cruelness through fear rather than love. Machiavelli writes this book as his summary of all the deeds of great men.
To understand the writings of Niccolò Machiavelli, it is necessary to understand the world of Niccolò Machiavelli, Renaissance Italy. The region was not one nation as it is today, rather a collection of several city-states, which contained internal fighting between powerful families, fighting with each other. This era differed from the preceding middle ages in many respects, the pope's power was weakened, money controlled power instead of noble birth, and there was a revival of ancient Greek and Roman literature, architecture and art by a new breed of people, the humanists. These changes created the environment in which Machiavelli lived. He saw how the quarrelling was weakeni...
During the time 1469, a child by the name of Niccolo Di Bernardo Del Machiavelli was born. Some may know him as an Italian philosopher, humanist, or an evil minded fellow associated with the corruptness of totalitarian government. In Machiavelli’s home state of Florence, he introduces the modern political theory. Hoping to gain influence with the ruling Medici family, Niccolo wrote a pamphlet called The Prince (Prezzolini). Niccolo lived a nondescript childhood and his main political experience in his youth was watching Savonarola from afar.