Nicolo Machiavelli
The first great political philosopher of the Renaissance was Nicolo Machiavelli
(1469-1527). His famous treatise, The Prince, stands apart from all other political
writings of the period insofar as it focus on the practical problems a monarch
faces in staying in power, rather than more speculative issues explaining the
foundation of political authority. As such, it is an expression of realpolitik, that is,
governmental policy based on retaining power rather than pursuing ideals.
Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy at a time when the country was in
political upheaval. Italy was divided between four dominant city-states, and each
of these was continually at the mercy of the stronger foreign governments of
Europe. Since 1434 Florence was ruled by the wealthy Medici family. Their rule
was temporarily interrupted by a reform movement, begun in 1494, in which the
young Machiavelli became an important diplomat. When the Medici family
regained power in 1512 with the help of Spanish troops, Machiavelli was tortured
and removed from public life. For the next 10 years he devoted himself to writing
history, political philosophy, and even plays. He ultimately gained favor with the
Medici family and was called back to public duty for the last two years of his life.
Machiavelli's greatest work is The Prince, written in 1513 and published after his
death in 1532. The work immediately provoked controversy and was soon
condemned by Pope Clement VIII. Its main theme is that princes should retain
absolute control of their territories, and they should use any means of expediency
to accomplish this end, including deceit. Scholars struggle over interpreting
Machiavelli's precise point. In several section Machiavelli praises Caesar Borgia, a
Spanish aristocrat who became a notorious and much despised tyrant of the
Romagna region of northern Italy. During Machiavelli's early years as a diplomat,
he was in contact with Borgia and witnessed Borgia's rule first hand. Some believe
that Machiaveli saw Borgia as the model prince. Some readers initially saw The
Prince as a satire on absolute rulers such as Borgia, which showed the
repugnance of arbitrary power (thereby implying the importance of liberty).
However, this theory fell apart when, in 1810, a letter by Machiavelli was
This compare and contrast essay will focus on the views of leadership between Mirandolla and Machiavelli. Mirandolla believes that leadership should not be false and that it should follow the rule of reason. He believes that leaders should strive for the heavens and beyond. On the other hand, Machiavelli believed that leadership comes to those who are crafty and forceful. He believed that leaders do not need to be merciful, humane, faithful or religious; they only need to pretend to have all these qualities. Despite both of them being philosophers, they have drastically different views on leadership, partially because of their views on religion are different. Mirandolla was very religious, and Machiavelli was a pragmatist, which means that he was not interested in religion.
...d 10 years later in prison of complications from cirrhosis. In the meantime, he had attacked a girlfriend at her house. He stabbed her in the stomach and dragged her into the backyard to rape her and then kill her before the girlfriend’s sons chased him off. He also was arrested for threatening neighbors and dealing heroin. When he died, his mother thought so little of him that she pocketed the money that the state provided for burial expenses and let her son be buried in a potter’s field.
After he got a job as a journalist and essayist and helped a Scotsman named
2. He moved to New York and got a job as a free-lance writer but failed, he then
...ptly stricken by an illness which landed him in the hospital. He died on April 9, only two months before his 92nd birthday.
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.
despised by even those who's careers he began, and lives he had changed. In one meeting
was marked by as much misfortune as was his military career. Not till his later
...ns who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. A few years later he ended all public appearances.
Niccolo Machiavelli stressed that “one ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved…for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.” He felt that a true leader must be cunning and deceptive, winning the hearts of his people through power and influence. If he could not be liked, he could at least get by knowing he has intimidated these below him into submission. However rash or cruel this may seem, Machiavelli’s argument is not one to be countered easily.
with the criminal and decided to go on a personal crusade to restore individualism to his world.
realised that if he wanted to write he had to change, and find a world
His father left him and his mother died of tuberculosis as did his father a little while later. He became an orphan. Most of his books reflected the childhood he had. He got taken in by a family and then joined the army. After that he became a writer.
The time of the Renaissance is one filled with growth of intellect, beauty of nature, the dignity of mankind, and the rising of artists. It is characterized from the move of scholasticism, a devotion specifically for the theological and philosophical teachings of the Church to humanism, a devotion to the humanities of rhetoric, arithmetic, and other subjects. One example of this movement can be seen in Machiavelli’s The Prince in which describes Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideal ruler and how to obtain stability, which was lacking as during the time of his writing this, there was a power shift from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. How Machiavelli describes his ideal prince and his leadership is one that in which he is
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 a evil minded fellow associated with the corruptness of totalitarian government. In Machiavelli’s home state Florence, he introduces the modern political theory. Hoping to gain influence with the ruling Medici family Niccolo wrote a pamphlet call The Prince (Prezzolini).