In the mid 1400’s and early 1500’s, there was a lot of chaos in Europe. Most of this chaos was a result of invading countries and war brought by these countries and territories. To help Europe gain some order, two men named Desiderius Erasmus and Niccolo Machiavelli wrote what they thought would help a prince or upcoming prince effectively run his country or territory through advice and examples. Though both offered advice for princes, the differed in many areas, but both wanted to achieve the same goal of stability for the ruler.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a man who experienced almost everything possible during his life in Italy. He was a proud civilian of Florence for many years, but witnessed to rise and collapse of many different governments and leaders through the years.
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For example, Machiavelli and Erasmus have two different opinions on whether you should show cruelty or mercy towards your subjects. When Machiavelli talks about cruelty vs. mercy, he uses the example of Cesare Borgia a ruler who displayed cruelty towards his people which restored the order within his kingdom and brought unity and obedience to his people. Machiavelli also gives an example of when a prince has been to kind to his subjects and he says they don’t stay loyal through troublesome times. Machiavelli uses these examples to show that it is better for a prince to be both feared and loved, but if he must be one they should be feared. Machiavelli then states that it is difficult for a prince to be both, so choosing feared is the better option. If a prince is loved, then his subjects won’t feel bad about turning their backs on him because there won’t be very bad consequences if any. If a prince is feared, his subjects won’t even think about going against the prince’s orders because they fear the consequences that will