Response To Machiavelli's The Prince

662 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Summary essay on the prince by machiavelli

The Prince by Machiavelli was written to gain favor by giving a customary gift to the Prince. Machiavelli wrote a guide that advised how to gain and retain power. His ideas of fortune; which can be managed by adaptation and strength, military; that is the foundation of the state and only native troops can be trusted for the guardianship of the state, and lastly the justification of an immoral act are for the betterment of the state.
Machiavelli described fortune as a fickle tide that controls half of our actions and leaves the rest more or less in our power to control. Yet, fortune has the ability to wash away anything in its path, he defined the power of the “torrential streams” by writing, “everyone yields to its onslaught” (67). The power …show more content…

He claimed that a strong military or good arms is necessary for the state. Whether a state is new or old a strong military according to Machiavelli is important to lay a strong foundation for the state. The state is supported by good arms and good laws. He wrote that where there are good arms good laws will follow. The military will create for a better state and as long as there is a good military everything else will follow. The best troops as he described are native troops from a rulers subjects. The other two types are not suitable for the defense of a prince’s state. “Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous” (34). Mercenaries are unreliable. They are paid by the prince’s coin and happy to take the money in peace time but as soon as there is a war they run with your coin. In war they turn tail and run but in peace a prince is at their mercy. They are ruled by desire for money not loyalty to man. Auxiliaries are unreliable as well. They are made up of men loyal to another ruler. That leaves the prince entirely at their mercy, “… when they lose they carry your cause down with them, and when they win, you remain their prisoner” (38). Mercenaries and auxiliaries cannot be depended on and trusted with the defense of a state only troops comprised of one’s own subjects or citizens can be sure to keep the state

Show More
Related

  • The Qualities Of A Prince Rhetorical Analysis

    740 Words  | 2 Pages

    A prince should still not worry about his reputation, and be cruel when necessary to others versus showing mercy to everyone. For example, if you let a few bad citizens go without punishment, they will continue to hurt the rest of the people in one way or another. If you choose to punish one or a small group of people who do harm to the community, less people will be hurt in the long run. Furthermore, every prince should be somewhat feared by his people. If you are not feared, as well as show too much compassion, then you will not be

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince: The Perfect Prince

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    The book “The Prince” was made by Nicolo Machiavelli and is still followed by politicians to this day. Nicolo Machiavelli was an Italian politician, writer, historian, philosopher and humanist in the 16th century. He wrote a book describing many aspects on how he believed the “Perfect Prince” should act like. The book was first written in 1513, but it was not published until 1532 and it was dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici. Many people say that Machiavelli would (in some aspect) consider Adolf Hitler a true prince. Adolf Hitler was born on April 20th, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria-Hungary. When he first came to Germany he joined WW1 and that is when his love for war developed. After WW1 Hitler entered politics, and since Germany was

    Read More

  • The Differences and Similarities of the Ottoman Empire and Early Modern Europe

    2130 Words  | 5 Pages

    Prior to my research, there were two interesting articles that have struck my attention regarding the states and issues that are being discussed in this essay. The first article is A Survey of the Turkish Empire by Sir William Eton. In the article, Eton discusses his admiration of the glorious army that had once belonged to the Ottoman Empire. He describes the Turkish army as “formidable”, and organized. Eton tune quickly changes by criticizing their faults and ultimately what led to their demise. Eton states that “it is a mob assembled rather than an army levied.” This article had great impact because while researching the topic, I was able to better understand the role of the military in the Ottoman Empire.

    Read More

  • Wellbeing Of The People In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

    764 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machiavelli believes that it is important for a prince maintain a respectful relationship with his people. If the people are abused or otherwise mistreated, the prince will not have a strong following and the people will not obey his orders. Machiavelli states, “Therefore, one who becomes prince through the support of the people should keep them friendly to him, which should be easy for him because they ask of him only that they not be oppressed” (40). Through interpretation of this statement, without

    Read More

  • The Preatorian Guard

    1798 Words  | 4 Pages

    Their name alone invokes many vivid images; from heroic men clad in Roman red iron to bloody battlefields, where they stand disciplined and ordered while chaos reigns all around, and even of the quiet corridors of the Emperors’ palace, where a change in power and leadership is only a blade thrust away. These fierce and hardy men formed the iconic symbol of the Ancient Roman Army: the Praetorian Guard. Rigid and unwavering, these soldiers were the bodyguards of the most powerful men in the ancient world: The Emperors of Rome.

    Read More

  • The Evolution of Absolutism

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    To begin with, Machiavelli’s “The Prince” laid out the foundation of what absolute rulers should be. Machiavelli thought that princes should be well educated in war since he would then have the power to stop uprisings. “The quickest way to lose a state is to neglect this art [war]; the quickest way to get one is to study it. Thus a prince who knows noth...

    Read More

  • Comparing Machiavelli’s Principles and the Ten Commandments

    714 Words  | 2 Pages

    All about a prince is the danger of death. This danger may come from treason within his government, war with foreign enemies, or a rebellion of his people. The situation is always kill-or-be-killed, and the Fifth Commandment - "Thou shalt not kill." - is discarded before it is ...

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's The Prince: Still Relevant after All These Years

    2155 Words  | 5 Pages

    The subject of human nature has great emphasis in “The Prince”. Human beings are viewed as rational decision makers who try to maximize their self-interest. They are inclined to help whoever will give them the most benefits and by definition, may easily betray someone to whom they were previously loyal seeing a better opportunity. A large part of being a prince or a politician is being able to lead people, and therefore it is of utter importance in how to deal with their behavior. “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will fin...

    Read More

  • Cruelty In Machiavelli's The Prince

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Prince also does not need to have all excellent traits. He is allowed to show his merciful, humane and religious side, but he is also allowed to show the sides that contradict these traits in order to keep a balance. He gives an example of a present day Prince who preaches and practices both peace and good faith, and due to this lost his authority and his kingdom

    Read More

  • Machiavelli: The Prince of Political Writing

    1219 Words  | 3 Pages

    Another topic he covers is cruelty, if cruelty is used in the right way the prince will gain much respect and it will preserve a prince’s safety or will help secure the state; it is safer for a prince to be feared than it is for him to be loved because no one will listen or respect a leader who they take to be a joke. Men fear punishment, and this can be used to a prince’s advantage. Men will not disobey if there is a chance of them being killed or thrown in

    Read More

  • Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    Though The Prince was written 500 years ago, many modern politicians still use its concepts such as: keeping a wartime mind, being praised or blamed, choosing liberality or meanness, and determining to be lo be loved or feared. One of Machiavelli’s concepts is that to be a successful prince he must keep a wartime mind set. With this being said, the prince should always concern himself with everything involving war. The people will not follow an unarmed leader. The Prince infers that “a prince who does not understand

    Read More

  • Machiavelli's The Prince: Literary Analysis

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the sixteenth century, there were three sets of socioeconomic statuses that one could acquire or be a part of, the clergy, the nobility, and the peasantry. The divide between these three generalized classes was far more complicated in reality that it seems, as socioeconomic classes consist of multiple branches. Nonetheless, it all essentially came down to two undeniable factions, the oppressors and the oppressed. Niccolo Machiavelli, being a mixture of the two due to his living situation while writing the book, gained a middle-ground which allowed him to achieve omnipotent intelligence that so many rulers normally lack, first hand experience of what it like to live both lives, one as a peasant and the other as a nobleman. This omnipotent

    Read More

  • Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince

    1256 Words  | 3 Pages

    The goodwill of the people can serve as a protection against the threats of both rebellion from within the state and war from external forces, as in either situation, the people would ideally want to retain the prince as their leader, and wouldn’t rally to the cause of the challenger. He should, however, ought to be careful to not put the desires of the people above the good of the state, but should instead focus on avoiding their ire. Guarding against hatred is more important than actually being liked by the people, and the prince should be sure to not be needlessly violent or cruel to the people so as to keep them from hating him to the point of violence. In this area, a virtuous prince would be one who would know how to appease the people and keep their opinions of him either generally neural or positive.

    Read More

  • Machiavelli The Prince Review

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli isn't about one man's ways to feed his power hungry mindset through gluttony, nor is it just explaining altercations between a nation's states. This writing is regarding to how one's self-confidence can make them become powerful in a society and also, the way morals and politics differ and can be separate in a government. Originally, Machiavelli wrote The Prince to gain support from Lorenzo de' Medici, who during the era, was governor of Florence. As meant as writing for how a society should be run, this book has been read by many peoples around the world who want to have better knowledge of the perfect stability of beliefs and politics required to run a good civilization.

    Read More

  • Reaction to Machiavelli's The Prince

    910 Words  | 2 Pages

    Machiavelli argues in chapter 5 that the key to taking over a free state is initially to destroy it. By destroying the city, Machiavelli believes that the citizens will have no choice but to follow the direction of the new prince. He goes deeper to say that if a prince who occupies these cities does not destroy it, he risk the probable outcome of a rebellion. This rebellion is brought fourth by the tradition held by the citizens and the memories of the former way of government. The second step is to live there in person to establish loyalty and the third step is letting the people live by its own laws, but establish a small government who is loyal to you to keep it friendly. Chapter 6 gives us some insight on what Machiavelli feels leadership is. Leaders, he explains, are followers too in many ways. All leaders are imitating great rulers in history. A leader who really wants to achieve glory, does so by his own prowess, meaning by his own talent. Anyone can inherit a kingdom, but not anyone can rule it with natural leadership. This kind of leadership is what makes great leaders in history such as Moses or Cyrus. Chapter 7 explains that a leader should not try to buy his subjects. If a prince buys his subjects they will only temporarily be loyal. A prince needs to eliminate his enemies and do so all at once. Even if a prince does not succeed in ruling by his own prowess in his lifetime, he is still setting a good foundation for future princes which is just as important. Chapter 8 explains the level of evil that should be done in order to rise to power. He gives us clear insight of the pros and cons of obtaining power by evil means and how to use evil in ways of benefit. Machiavelli was a man of manipulation.

    Read More

More about Response To Machiavelli's The Prince

Open Document