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The Leader In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

1084 Words5 Pages

“A leader is a dealer in hope.” Even Napoleon referred that leaders are meant to be reassuring. Are all benevolent leaders successful? Niccolo Machiavelli, an economist in the Renaissance, will absolutely say no. His method of keeping immense power by using fear to manipulate citizens has been manifested for a long period of time, since the book The Prince was published. Similarly, his methods are manifested in William Shakespeare’s play, Julius Caesar with characters that are attractive and expressive, yet flawed. Although some of the characters from Julius Caesar did not manifest Machiavellian traits, those that did ran into the same consequences as those who didn’t, indicating that a disastrous ending awaits them either way. …show more content…

First of all, Caesar is overly lavish to Roman citizens. Therefore, he fell from power. Caesar believes that leaders are supposed be compassionate, as Antony states in his eulogy after the assassination. “When the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept ” (5.3.100). In contrast, Machiavellian traits seem to be contradictory to what Caesar values as a quality of a good leader. In Machiavelli’s masterpiece, The Prince, claims that a leader must be a miser rather than being an indulgent leader. (Machiavelli 8). Caesar was never a miser through out the play; he was very compassionate to the poor. Moreover, Caesar’s lavish attitude accelerated the feeling of detestation among the senators, including the members of the conspirators. “A prince should try to avoid, above all else, being despised and hatred; and generosity results in …show more content…

Machiavelli’s traits are occasionally powerful especially “it’s better than being feared than loved”, while its effect is merely temporary that leaders often lose its power after a short time of their glory and dominance. As a conclusion, Machiavellian thoughts can be manifested through out politics today, however in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar”, all the characters lose their power and fame, as if it’s their fate. Not only the characters from Julius Caesar, modern day dictators such as Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler ruled over fear along with Machiavellian qualities, which seemed to be glorious in the beginning. However, they both faced a catastrophic end at last. Likewise, leaders should not cling to a particular method, since there is no right answer to be a good

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