Machiavelli's The Prince

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The Prince, written by Machiavelli, was intended for a guide for rulers after him to follow by. He used this text to outline all the characteristics a ruler should have to be successful and trusted by his people. Machiavelli gives advice on a many genres that rulers have to understand; such as how the rulers’ power can have advantages and disadvantages, military rule and strategies, and how to become a strong power. The Prince follows a theme in each of the chapters that compose of military, acceptance of your people through kindness but also remain threatening, fortune, and human born nature. Each of these themes is discussed in a simplistic way so the reader can gain full understanding without confusion. The Prince was written during the …show more content…

The prince discusses how to form a strong military and the importance of having a strong military to develop the city states that Italy had. His guidelines give the reader the tools to conducting a good war. Not just on the battlefield, Machiavelli also discussed the use of politics and strategy and the importance of being smart and well educated not only on the battlefield to gain strength. Throughout the text, machievele reminds the reader in order to remain in power; he must be kind to the people but must also be feared by them as well. This allows the prince to have support from his people but also prevent the people s want to overthrow his reign. The next two themes of fortune and human nature go hand in hand throughout machievelles writing. The Prince discusses the idea that certain scenarios happen because of chance and a person can never have control over everything; just as people have no control over human nature. Machieveles general advice to princes is that a person can turn against you at any time and trust can be lost easily. If a prince is able to fulfill these four themes, machievelle predicts the prince will be powerful and in great

Niccolo Machiavelli - The the Man Behind The Prince
1254 Words | 3 Pages
Gauss, Christian. Introduction. The Prince. By Niccolo Machiavelli. Trans. Luigi Ricci, revised by E.R.P. Vincent. New York: Signet Classic, 1999:7-32
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Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince
856 Words | 2 Pages
At the time Nicolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, Spain was under the rule of Ferdinand II of Aragon. Machiavelli praised Ferdinand as an example to Prince De’ Medici, due to his successful implementation of the guidelines in the book. He was a king both loved and feared, he kept a good military even in times of peace, and his prowess was exceptional. In Machiavelli’s eyes, Ferdinand’s “achievements and designs [had] always been great” (The Prince, p. 78) and he had accomplished “great and…extraordinary” deeds throughout his rule (p. 77). But for every virtue a prince has, he must have a vice. In terms of moral compass, was Ferdinand truly as great a ruler as Machiavelli depicted him to be?
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Machiavelli in Modern Times
2071 Words | 5 Pages
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)
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Machiavelli’s The Prince
653 Words | 2 Pages
Niccolo Machiavelli lived in Florence, Italy in the 1400’s. The country of Italy was divided into city-states that had their own leaders, but all pledged alliance to their king. In time in which great leaders were needed in order to help the development of a city-state and country, Machiavelli had a theory that man needed a leader to control them. In his book The Prince, he speaks of the perfect leader.
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Analysis Of Machiavelli's The Prince
764 Words | 2 Pages
We view The Prince as a guide for political power plays and remains a polarizing piece of literature that still guides politics today. However, much of what Machiavelli refers to in The Prince is out of date and doesn’t apply to the leaders of the United States. In some ways, The Prince helps guide those involved in politics because to be involved you must be ruthless and unforgiving, however, The Prince was written at a different time in history, when rulers used military might to obtain
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George Bush as a Machiavellian Leader
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The most astounding aspect of The Prince is Machiavelli’s view that princes may indeed, be cruel and dishonest if their ultimate aim is for the good of the state. It is not only acceptable but necessary to lie, to use torture, and to walk over other states and cities. Machiavellianism is defined as “A political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power (Def.)” This implies that in the conquest for power, the ends justify the means. This is the basis of Machiavellianism. The priority for the power holder is to keep the security of the state regardless of the morality of the means. He accepts that these things are in and of themselves morally wrong, but he points out that the consequences of failure, the ruin of states and the destruction of cities, can be far worse. Machiavelli strongly emphasizes that princes should not hesitate to use immoral methods to achieve power, if power is necessary for security and survival.
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Machiavelli vs. Lao-Tzu
284 Words | 1 Pages
Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.
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The Prince
1508 Words | 4 Pages
...some of the concepts in Machiavelli’s The Prince outdated. The advice the book offers, though it is hardly any more useful to us today than in the past, cannot be denied of Machiavelli’s rules that do work. However, we need to realize since when has there been a mystery about winning a fight by being the one to throw the first punch or fighting dirty, it is the problem of playing within the rules that makes winning difficult. Further, we can see that once it had all been said and done, there has been a huge transitional change in politics, economics and peace among countries. Machiavelli wrote this book during the renaissance times, although The Prince offers meaningful insight in to specific situations as well as a look into concepts of war from a different perspective, a modern scholar cannot use it to show examples that are bestowed upon us in the 21st century.
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Virtue And Fortune In Prince
913 Words | 2 Pages
The Prince, written by Machiavelli is concerned with the issues politics, ruling a state and how a ruler or a leader should be. The key properties of a ruler are represented by Machiavelli in details and the inner and outer effects of the success in ruling are mentioned. One of the most important topics in The Prince is about the relationship of skillfulness (virtù) of the ruler and his good or bad chance (fortune) and their effects on gaining and keeping the power. Virtù, which has the present meaning of manliness, is used by Machiavelli as having skills, strength, intelligence and prudence of a ruler. It is the inner ability to gain the power and not to lose it easily. Fortuna, with the present use, fortune is explained as the word of God and the luck and opportunity that is given to the ruler. A ruler by fortune is dependent
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Machiavelli's The Prince: Still Relevant after All These Years
2155 Words | 5 Pages
... to the times of kings and princess, however it must be noted that the underlying human emotions and their motivations can only be dealt with decisiveness and deep plotting. The concepts discussed are applicable to all leaders and politicians holding offices. Bottom line is, some things never changes. Even though a lot has changed, principles of Machiavelli’s Prince are adapted and used widely yet secretly in a complex world of growth and prosperity with a greater demography and geography.
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Analysis Of Machiavelli
951 Words | 2 Pages
Machiavelli’s, The Prince, discusses topics with great importance. He has knowledge that is very useful to people in power. He also has a specific way of thinking when it comes to certain ideals. He had a different way of viewing things during his time which has made his knowledge so great. Machiavelli has exclusive outlooks on human nature, people, and
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Moral And Ethical Choices In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince
730 Words | 2 Pages
In Niccolo Machiavelli 's book The Prince, is an series of advice given by Machiavelli himself to a prince. During the chapters of 14 to 19, Machiavelli unravels the ideas and qualities it takes to be a prince. In the following sections, he also explains the virtues and vices that might be required for a prince. This paper will analyze certain sections from the reading and how the traditional interpretation of Machiavelli which advises immoral choices and from a different standpoint showing other possible ways that Machiavelli 's advice would be a moral or ethical choice. The idea of understanding these advices is to help the readers understand what the prince needs to know and what choices he needs to make, whether moral or immoral.
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Analysis Of Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince
1209 Words | 3 Pages
During the period of Medici’s ruling, politics and government was corrupted. In order to stop it, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote The Prince, stating the qualities for a successful ruler, to convince the Medici Family to start ruling Florence appropriately. He used his knowledge to deceive the Medici family in hope that the end justifies the means. Besides the main purpose of The Prince, Felix Gilbert claims Machiavelli was also signifying crucial insight to how the prince should act due to the fact that we live in an imperfect world, where politics is a science, and in order to keep society alive the prince must preserve his state and power.
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Traits of A Great Leader
739 Words | 2 Pages
Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince is a basically a list of controvertible attributes of a great leader. Machiavelli does compares good attribute to bad ones. In his comparisons he points out that although some traits are considered honorable qualities of a prince, they are the ones that harm the authority of the prince the most. Machiavelli explains how it’...
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Reaction to Machiavelli's The Prince
910 Words | 2 Pages
Machiavelli illustrates several key points in what it takes to be a "successful" Prince. In chapters 5-10, Machiavelli is giving us a true image of the coldhearted reputation he has carried throughout the years. He explains his ideas on taking over a "free" state or republic and how to conquer and rule with the peoples loyalty and respect.
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Machiavelli's The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli - The the Man Behind The Prince

Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince

Machiavelli in Modern Times