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Keeping Order In Machiavelli's The Prince

920 Words4 Pages

The Prince, a brilliant book written by Machiavelli, was primarily concerned with the issue of how to keep order, and how a leader of a state should control its state. Machiavelli describes to the reader the types of leaders that have achieved their way to being a leader either through their hard work of virtue or by the lucky chance of fortune. Machiavelli approaches fortune by putting a negative connotation towards the kings who have achieved their power by their inheritance and the chances and opportunities that God gives them. As for virtue, it is described as the better way of achieving and continuously keep the power, it relies on one’s own skills and talents rather than the help of outside forces. The issue with achieving a leader’s …show more content…

A state overthrown by a natural leader will have a much easier time controlling the land, rather than being handed down a territory in which one does not know how to rule over. Once over thrown, the ruler may have to deal with many challenges dealing with achieving a new order. Introducing a new order may be one of the most dangerous tasks a ruler can do. Citizens of a state may not completely agree with a new ruler imposing changes, but a ruler with virtue will force the issue onto the citizens either making him a more respected individual or they may rebel. It was said that people were “…easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them in that persuasion.” Machiavelli means that a virtuous ruler will have the skill to change and keep their citizens to follow the new order, and make sure that they will not revolt or become dangerous to the ruler. Machiavelli uses examples of Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, and Theseus , they acquired their thrown by virtue, and they show they knew how to control their state. The climb to power had their obstacles although, once they were at the top, it was easy for them to maintain their

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