ipl-logo

Machiavelli The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

1690 Words7 Pages

In “The Prince,” Machiavelli discusses the terms and procedures he believes a prince should take to govern his society. Many perceive his views on human nature and leadership as evil and cruel towards his people. He justifies his views on human nature as he draws examples from the tactics and traits of successful leaders from the past. His ideas are comprised from justifying the means of his actions by its ends. Machiavelli selects the aspects of admirable historical figures to produce and describe his ideal prince. He says a prince should be fully committed to war and discipline because it is the only responsibility of one who commands. War should be a prince’s only focus and if he is to ever prioritize luxury over war, his title will be …show more content…

Being hated or praised by his people is a sector that comes with the high ranking of a prince. A prince cannot possess all the qualities that are regarded as honorable. Some of a prince’s acts that appear to be wicked are beneficial to the state. Due to the impracticality of a perfect ruler, a prince should contain some aspects of evil, despite the hatred of his people. What some may believe to be the acts of a malicious ruler are, in fact, in the best interest of the state. Machiavelli states that a prince should regard himself miserly, so his people may believe that he is investing in the commonwealth. Liberality will lead to increased taxes to support a prince’s lavish spending. Therefore, a lavishly spending prince will only be hated and untrusted by his people, which will lead turmoil. In addition, a prince that strays from generosity will be regarded as a miser. While stinginess might lead to shame, generosity will lead to contempt. Therefore, a prince should avoid being benevolent and, instead, treat his subjects with a reluctance to assist. As a parsimonious leader, a prince will have plenty of money for defending his state and embarking on tasks that will not burden his people. He will be perceived as generous to those he does not take from, the majority, and perceived as miserly to he does not take from, the few. A prince should be reputable for misery in order to …show more content…

I am firmly opposed to the manipulation of one’s subjects for the better of the ruler. Machiavelli’s concept for a prince’s soldiers is a malicious brainwash. A feared ruler will only induce despise from his people. I regard Machiavelli’s justification for a prince containing aspects of evil to be a unethical form of governing a society. His depiction of a feared ruler disregards the prosperity of his people and does not account for their pursuit of happiness. They must live in fear and refrain from angering their malicious prince. A ruler should not be concerned with his own prosperity, instead, he should seek to benefit his people. I believe Machiavelli’s opinion on how a prince should rule is evil, and I find no justification in his

Show More
Related
456 Words | 2 Pages

The Prince: A Decidedly unMedieval Piece of Work The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, was a secular handbook that dealt with modern statecraft and leadership. In fact, this was the first modern book that discussed political science. This book has influenced many well-known leaders, such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. This essay will discuss the past behaviours of Machiavelli to prove that this book, The Prince, is a decidedly unMedieval piece of work which does not follow the idea of living life so that it is worthy of respect and honour, as stated in the Medieval Code of Chivalry.

Read More
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
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
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
654 Words | 3 Pages

In The Prince (1532), Machiavelli lists elements a prince should have. The biggest thing Machiavelli cautions against is breeding hatred. He claims that “[…] a wise prince should establish himself on that which is in his own control and not in that of others; he must endeavor only to avoid hatred” (Machiavelli 82). Hatred will lead to loss of control. If the civilians hate the prince, then they have control over him.

Read More
1416 Words | 6 Pages

How Princes Should Act Chapters 16 to 23 of The Prince are concerned with answering a number of questions a ruler may have when conducting the affairs of state and since a ruler acts out of necessity for the state, the advice given reveals what Machiavelli believes about the state (Nederman (2014), chapter 2). Machiavelli regularly employs historical examples or analogies in order to explain the political utility of decisions made by rulers and is much less concerned with the perception of a ruler by the subjects. Since the perception of the ruler is of little concern, legacy should not be a concern for a ruler because the only legacy worth remembering is the continued success of the state. This is however not usually the case because the masses are more likely to remember a person for their vices; Adolf Hitler and Germany comes to mind as an example where the state grew stronger but the leader is remembered as indisputably evil.

Read More
206 Words | 1 Pages

Machiavelli states that it is “splendid” for a prince to have a reputation of generosity; and that a prince who is sincerely generous “will come to grief.” This is because if “a prince want to sustain a reputation of generosity, the prince must be ostentatiously lavish” in order to get the people’s attention. The prince who spends so abundantly he “will soon squander all his resources” and find himself forced “to impose extortionate taxes” on his people. This will make his people hate him. Thus, a prudent prince will “not mind being called a miser.”

Read More
159 Words | 1 Pages

A prince must be able to control his people in order to keep the princedom united. If this does not happen, the prince’s princedom will not be stable and the prince will not be a good ruler. “For he who dwells disorder by a few signal examples will in the end be more merciful than

Read More
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
910 Words | 4 Pages

Through all these conflicting characteristics, a side of Hamlet is seen in a new light; a Machiavellian prince. This aspect of Hamlet is the ruthless and cunning tactician who is open to using deceit for his own ends. Machiavelli, in his book 'The Prince ', shows a set of guidelines and philosophical arguments for a ruler to embody. He states that a ruler cannot always be virtuous and good as different situations could lead him to evil and inhumane acts as shown in his statement "learn how not to be good"(Machiavelli, Ch. XV). Machiavelli also stakes his point on a ruler been versatile with his analogy of the fox and lion.

Read More
1421 Words | 6 Pages

As modeled by Niccolò Machiavelli in The Prince, a great leader should hold an even amount of love and fear over his citizens. In today’s day and age, many principles from this work have been disproven but as we take a look at contemporary art, such as television, it is seen that many ideas have found their way in. In the story told by the show Game of Thrones many characters embody traits Machiavelli describes in The Prince, some more rather than others.

Read More
224 Words | 1 Pages

According to Machiavelli, a prince who keeps his promises is generally praised. But history demonstrates that most success is achieved when princes are crafty, tricky and able to deceive others. A prince can fight or succeed by using law or by using force. The use of law comes naturally to men and the use of force comes naturally to beasts. Hence, to achieve success, the prince must learn to fight with a balance between both law and force.

Read More
1034 Words | 5 Pages

Both of these highly influential authors had different opinions on ruling that would shape how people would rule during their time and for rulers to come. One of Machiavelli’s major points in The Prince was that it was better to be feared than to be loved. He said this was because while both ways can be useful tools to help one rule, men are less likely to turn a ruler if they were afraid of punishment. Machiavelli had little faith in the common man and had this to say about them, “They are ungrateful, fickle, deceptive and deceiving, avoiders of dangers, eager to gain”(pg.353).

Read More
1526 Words | 7 Pages

They must recognize that not all virtù is good and that not all vices are bad because the complexity of the human condition (Machiavelli, 33). Machiavelli states that most people see princes as having either good or bad traits. They see them as black or white, free spending or misery, generous or grasping, merciful or cruel. These dualities however are not necessarily good or bad and they can both be present at times. He says that it is dangerous to be a free spending prince even though it seems like a virtù.

Read More
930 Words | 4 Pages

According to Machiavelli, ideal prince is a risk-taker who puts a military on action, as the people respect the warrior. An ideal prince thinks for himself rather than relying on others, knows how to read characters, and does not surround himself with flatterers. He lives in reality, not fantasy. He works hard, utilizes his own mind, and makes survival of his guide. The ideal leader is neither loved nor hated, but respected.

Read More

More about Machiavelli The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document