ipl-logo

Comparing Machiavelli And The Renaissance

1286 Words6 Pages

Even though people thought change was bad, Machiavelli writes about the renaissance rebirth because renaissance was the rebirth and change is good for the state. As stated in the Prince, Machiavelli believed in humanism and realism. “By pursuing, cities become superior by the interests of the community as oppose to the interest of private individuals” (Discourses, Bk.2, Ch.2). Interpreted from the readings, humanism was a system of action in which human interest, value and self-respect conquered and realism was being able to accept a situation and deal with it consequently. Listening to the people opinions meant greater contribution from them. Machiavelli suggests that if a Prince was given a situation he must handle it accordingly. First …show more content…

These two attributes are the main characteristics that determines the life path of every individual in the city. In his writing, he discusses in different situations but same verdict, that power is everything. If ever received the power, do whatever you need to, to stay in control of the power. Power creates change. The Renaissance was the direct outcome of change. The trick to staying in control was to recognize the needs of the people. The argument that Machiavelli portrayed in the Prince, was how an individual handles a situation, whether it is serendipitous luck or free will. “Many believe that governing the affairs of the world are governed by luck and God, not even intelligent individuals can control them. Therefore, one should allow chance to have its way” (Machiavelli, 550). Elaborating on this argument, many people believe that if something goes wrong, gamble on luck. However, Machiavelli believed that a bold ruler could change his path of his political life with skills. Also, if a ruler awaits on luck instead of pursing his duties, the ruler will fail. As Machiavelli said, “A ruler will be destroyed when his luck changes, if he depends on his good fortune” (Machiavelli, 551). The winds of change will blow and another ruler will benefit from their newfound

Show More
Related

First Global Age Analysis

716 Words | 3 Pages

The main point made by Machiavelli was that men are inherently bad, so a leader must rule in a way that takes this into account. He taught that because of man’s ungratefulness, it is safer to be feared than loved (D-4). This shows that Machiavelli believed that the power and success of a country will lead to the prosperity of its inhabitants. Both influential people believed that a country prospers the most under absolute power.

Read More

Compare And Contrast Pizan And Machiavelli The Prince

1056 Words | 5 Pages

Then for Machiavelli he talks about how a prince should show no fear instead for him to show that he is the one with power. That a prince's people should fear him. Both authors go on to talk on how their people react based on the prince and princesse act. The authors then go on to explain how they should view and run their people. Both authors also reflect the fact that the way their people are going to act towards them is mainly based off of how they treat them.

Read More

The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

676 Words | 3 Pages

In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.

Read More

Thomas Jefferson And Niccolo Machiavelli's The Morals Of The Prince

762 Words | 4 Pages

Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the

Read More

Niccolo Machiavelli's Influence On The Enlightenment

1834 Words | 8 Pages

Niccolo Machiavelli and his influence on the Enlightenment Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, also known as the father of “Modern Political Theory” was a well-known Italian diplomat, politician, humanist, historian, philosopher and writer from the era of renaissance philosophy. He belonged to several schools of thought, namely: Renaissance humanism, Political realism, Classical republicanism. His claim to fame was his popular book, “The Prince”, which was a handbook for politicians on the use of ruthless, self-serving, cunning inspiring the term “Machiavellian.” Before he wrote his book, Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy’s Florence Republic during the Medici family’s exile.

Read More

Hatred In Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

654 Words | 3 Pages

With this control, they could stage a revolt and displace the prince. The prince, with no control, has no option other than to respond with detrimental actions in an attempt to subdue the hatred and his impending removal. Machiavelli argues that this sequence of events can be avoided entirely by preventing hatred from starting in the first place. If the prince does this, then he controls how the civilians perceive him and he can act in ways to limit their desire to overthrow him.

Read More

Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince And The Discourses

1492 Words | 6 Pages

Machiavelli has clearly started a lot of thought on how the school of Realism operates. Though his view on humans and some of his methods may be extreme, The Prince and the Discourses shows a lot of insight on what do if a prince wants to hold his power and what action should be done to do

Read More

Machiavelli's Use Of Lying And Deception In Politics

954 Words | 4 Pages

One aspect of Machiavelli’s theory which significantly contributes to his reputation as the “philosopher of evil,” is his advice to the prince on keeping their word to the public. In chapter eighteen, Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply” (pg. 37). To simplify, Machiavelli says princes are obligated to lie in certain circumstances. He also states that while it is unnecessary for the prince to have positive qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, sympathy, compassion, or be religious, it is essential for the prince to be viewed so by the public (pg. 37). While many people argue that Machiavelli’s legitimization of lying and deception in politics is immoral, I argue the opposite.

Read More

Machiavelli's Views On Commoners

469 Words | 2 Pages

Machiavelli states rulers should gain and maintain power by whatever means possible, even brutality and manipulation. Machiavelli also believed that commoners were only loyal to their leaders when their needs were met. He thought manipulation should be used to convince the commoners that their needs and interest were met. Overall, Machiavelli viewed the commoners as an essential source of power for leaders, felt they were somewhat challenging to control, and must be carefully governed to gain stability in the state and avoid insurrection (Machiavelli, 1532/2003).

Read More

Analysis Of Niccólo Machiavelli's The Prince

1519 Words | 7 Pages

Renaissance means rebirth. The Renaissance was a time of renewal as well as of chaos in Europe since it was still recovering. More and more ideas of the ideal prince emerged, as there are many different city-states. One of the most noteworthy political philosophers of the sixteenth century was Niccólo Machiavelli whose book, The Prince, a political handbook for rulers, has brought him recognition. It can be seen that his ideas on politics and overall inspiration for the book mainly came from his views of the political problems that were taking place.

Read More

Qualities Of A Good Man In Machiavelli's The Prince

1284 Words | 6 Pages

In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice on how to maintain power leaves no room for compassion or generousity. While some may believe that these are qualities of a good person, Machiavelli believes these qualities lead to the downfall of rulers. He acknowledges that, in reality, it is impossible for someone to have qualities of a good person and simultaneously a good ruler. Machiavelli’s realistic outlook causes him to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion.

Read More

Principality In The Prince

1652 Words | 7 Pages

In chapters six and seven of his book, “The Prince”, Niccolo Machiavelli stated that the difficulty in keeping and maintaining new principalities depends on how the prince acquired them. The principalities can be acquired either by one’s own arms and abilities or by the arms of others and by relying on luck or good fortune. Although the two options will both mitigate different problems and issues, Machiavelli argues that those who rely least on good fortune will come out the strongest. In this chapter, the dependent variable would be the difficulty a prince would experience in acquiring a principality. The independent variable then will be the method in acquiring the principality, whether through ability or good fortune.

Read More

The Good And Bad Characteristics Of Machiavelli As A Prince

823 Words | 4 Pages

Being a prince is not as easy as it may seem. There are good and bad decisions a prince can make. Machiavelli has his own standards on how a prince should behave. According to Machiavelli, a prince could be considered a lion, a fox, or a wolf. The lion is fierce but doesn’t have the smarts, while a fox has the smarts but isn 't fierce.

Read More

Erasmus Vs Machiavelli

1034 Words | 5 Pages

Machiavelli has the most correct ideas on both controlling the people as a ruler and on being remembered as a great one. These two viewpoints had great influence during their time and for centuries to come, both with modern ideas and correct ideas even though they had a lot of contrast. Machiavelli’s The Prince may be thought of the more recognizable of the two in the present, but people in the present day have many of the same ideas that

Read More

Machiavelli: The Characteristics Of Being A Good Prince

1526 Words | 7 Pages

I. Machiavelli In his famous work the Prince Niccolo Machiavelli exposes what it takes to be a good prince and how only this good price and keep control over his state. There are many different qualities that make a man a good ruler but there are some that are more essential than others. In this work Machiavelli stresses the importance of being a warrior prince, a wise prince, and knowing how to navigate the duality of virtù and vices. Without these attributes there was no way that a prince could hold together their state and their people.

Read More

More about Comparing Machiavelli And The Renaissance

Related Topics

Open Document