During, The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, you notice symbolism throughout the story, to show hidden meanings though objects that are abstract in our eyes to create allow for the teachings of Machiavelli to be passed down. Machiavelli was known for being a crazy geek though he was actually a poor man in poor condition who believes deeply in the rule of the Medici family, though he still sees errors in their ones, the driving force in this book is to show how they can easily fix the issues he sees. Machiavelli gives directions to lie,cheat,steal and do whatever need be to get an army and control the land that is their own. He gives directions on how to gain control, keep control, not lose control, where to get control and even how lucky people are they are in control. Three major symbols or descriptions Machiavelli gives us throughout the story is the message of fox to lion and high …show more content…
Using the lion to fox analogy, is the best way to interpret one of Machiavelli's main symbols within the story. The lion to fox symbol shows how Machiavelli believes good prince’s and leaders need both traits from lions to fox and back again. If you are to be a leader like how Machiavelli describes you need to have the ability to transform your mindset quickly
Maintaining any relationship can be complicated, especially a relationship between a ruler and residents and especially when the advice is that you should oppress your people just enough to be able to control them, but not enough so they want to kill you.
Despite it's age, I believe that Machiavelli's writing about individualism in The Prince is relevant to people who are not princes because Machiavelli's main themes are applicable to people of all types. To prove this I have organized my paper into four main sections. Section one- Machiavelli's History, will move toward the thesis by showing that Machiavelli's life experience was not that of royalty. Section two- Individualism, will show how Machiavelli's writing was individualistic, and how that relates to modern people. Section three- The Prince, will explore the main themes of Machiavelli's chief written work, creating the basis of comparison between Machiavelli's writing and modern life. Section four- Machiavelli in Business, relates the themes of section three to modern business.
The basis of Machiavelli’s theory and ideas came from his most famous quote, “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both.” He has a very strict policy as to how a prince should act. Rather than being caring, he believes in strong punishment. He has a “Sit in the corner and think!” type attitude towards the people. His ideas were extreme, but they have been proved to work. They are effective and learning from Machiavelli is something any ruler should do. In his book he explains all the things a ruler shouldn’t do and balances it with all the things that should be done.
Machiavelli's writings dealt with many issues that had not been attacked in his time, and utilized his distinct brand of political philosophy to try and change the politics and government that shaped his era. The Prince, regarded as his most controversial and successful work, spelled out a method of amelioration; whether positive or negative, virtuous or severe, a prince was to uphold the strength of a nation and a government. The next few pages will take a closer look at the life that has followed Niccolo Machiavelli, the use of historical allusions and the explicitness used in The Prince.
When Machiavelli lost his office, he desperately wanted to return to politics. He tried to gain the favor of the Medici by writing a book of what he thought were the Medici's goals and dedicating it to them. And so The Prince was written for that purpose. Unfortunately, the Medici didn't agree with what the book said, so he was out of a job. But when the public saw the book, they were outraged. The people wondered how cruel a man could be to think evil thoughts like the ones in The Prince, and this would come back to haunt him when he was alive and dead. However, if the people wanted to know what Machiavelli really stood for, they should have read his "Discourses on Livy", which explain his full political philosophy. But not enough people had and have, and so the legacy of The Prince continues to define Machiavelli to the general public.
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
In The Prince, Machiavelli separates ethics from politics. His approach to politics, as outlined in The Prince, is strictly practical. Machiavelli is less concerned with what is right and just, and instead with what will lead to the fortification of the government and the sustainment of power. Machiavelli believed that a ruler should use any means necessary to obtain and sustain power. He says, “…people judge by outcome. So if a ruler wins wars and holds onto power, the means he has employed will always be judged honorable, and everyone will praise them” (Machiavelli, 55). According to Machiavelli, the ends of an action justify the means (Machiavelli, 55). His motivation for these views in The Prince was the reunification of the Italian city-states (Machiavelli, 78-79). Machiavelli wanted Italy to return to its glory of the Roman Empire (Machiavelli 78-79). Some of the beliefs of Machiavelli could be perceived as evil and cruel, but he found them necessary. Machiavelli was not concerned with making people happy. His purpose was outcome and success, and in his opinion, the only way to be successful was to be realistic. These views of Machiavelli could classify him as one of the earliest modern
In The Prince he writes to a ruler about how to keep power and that word – Prince – is used on purpose as a representation of a political system. The Discourses is a little less about power and a little more about behavior in politics and more of Machiavelli’s ideas’ themselves are talked about. This is where one of his most famous quotes comes from: “It is best to be both feared and loved. But if you have to choose between the two, it is better to be feared than loved.” This is a pretty good generalization in one sentence of his overall ideas on politics. He didn’t care about how things SHOULD work, he focused on how to be successful with how things DID work. He was a
In chapter 14, he discusses that the only thing a prince should think about was the art of war. In chapter 16 he explains the virtues and vices on whether or not to be generous or cruel. Last in the chapter 19, he discusses that main topic throughout the reading, which was that it was important for a prince to not be hated by his people. The main interpretation that I agree with overall would have to be chapter 16, because Machiavelli makes an important statement. Although being generous is morally right, being mean can also serve its purpose in protecting the people. Machiavelli advices throughout the reading could have been ethical or unethical to anyone, because of the fact that everyone thinks
(652) and those who do realize what the Prince is, dare not tell, for the Prince has the power of the masses to protect him. Machiavelli, in a sense, describes how to live, successfully and prosperously, by dealing with the human?s nature. He details how one is to manipulate
“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.
The common thread that ties together all of Machiavelli's beliefs is his basic view of human nature. Machiavelli believes that humans are greedy, dishonest, and are looking out for themselves above all else. The majority of what Machiavelli dictates to his audience is based on the fact that the prince has to be very careful in how he deals with his citizens, as well as those in other states. The prince has to keep them all satisfied, to avoid any attempts to dethrone him. Machiavelli even suggests that there are times in which the prince will be required to act immorally in order to keep the people of the state on his side. Machiavelli states "Any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come to ruin among the great number who are not good" (P.42). In this statement Machiavelli acknowledges that humans are selfish and dishonest, so for a prince to keep his authority, he must learn when to not exhibit virtuous characteristics. Simply put, some actions that seem virtuous will ruin a pr...
Machiavelli's writing in The Prince represented the Renaissance, in that its concepts--humanism, individualism, and secularism--were present throughout its discourse. He used ancient authority to support his arguments, he had a definitive sense of self, and he was completely independent from religion. These were the developments of the Renaissance. They would be built upon in the future. Humanism would transcend to the next plane of thought in the Enlightenment. Secularism would grow during the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and again during the French revolution. Individualism would be enhanced during the Enlightenment and realize its full potential in the Industrial Revolution. Without these basic ideas, none of these further developments could have occurred.
Machiavelli once said ‘Because men are wretched creatures who would not keep their word to you, you need not keep your word to them’. Machiavelli is seen in history as one of the most influencing men of all time. Matter a fact, “the name Machiavelli was a synonym for the devil” (Barnett page 6). Machiavelli established a lot of this reputation from his work The Prince, it was written in 1513-1514. But, a lot people thought that he was misunderstood considering he wrote many books and people focus mostly on one. Second you must take the time period into thought and realize how the world was about 500 years ago.
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.