“Although one should not reason about Moses, as he was a mere executor of things that had been ordered for him by God, nonetheless he should be admired if only for that grace which made him so deserving of speaking with God” (22). In the context of The Prince, this statement proves to be duplicitous because Machiavelli claims that he will not reason about Moses, but then uses the following pages to do precisely that. Furthermore, Machiavelli draws extensively from the actions of Moses and the Old Testament God, although Machiavelli is often regarded as an antagonist of the Church. Machiavelli’s handbook for princes consists of concrete advice for rulers that directly reflect the more abstracted stories in Exodus. For instance, Machiavelli’s description of human nature in The Prince mirrors Moses’ experiences as the leader of the Israelites in Exodus.
Machiavelli opens The Prince with a dedication to Lorenzo ‘The Magnificent’ de Medici. Machiavelli adopts a remarkably deferential tone which highlights the power gap between himself and the ruler of Florence. The author emphasizes his social inferiority and presents his writing as beneath Medici “I judge this work unworthy to come into your presence” (10). Yet, Machiavelli aims to legitimize his counsel to the eyes of Medici for advising him is the highest political position that Machiavelli may aspire to reach for he was born a commoner. With that in mind, the author underlines that Medici would benefit from the outlook of a well-read ordinary citizen like Machiavelli.
I have had enough of the manipulative, dishonest and not to mention rather ugly Niccolo Machiavelli. Ever since he decided to join the Florentine Republic as sectary and second chancellor in 1498 at the age of 29, he has been nothing but a scheming, and lying figure, and to believe that people follow his book and call him the “father” of political science is truly unthinkable. When Machiavelli joined the Florentine Republic, he blew up and met people such as Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and perhaps most importantly a prince of the Papal States named Cesare Borgia. He also carried out a number of diplomatic missions and even helped set up a militia.
The first half of his life was spent in the Golden Age of Florence, the heyday of the Renaissance, and the second half in a period of war between France and Spain and other powers competing in Italy. 《 The prince》was written during the period of Machiavelli's dismissal from office, and he makes it clear that his purpose in writing the book was to offer it to the Florentine authorities for reappointment. In this book, he strives to demonstrate the political wisdom he has acquired through his long political practice, limiting his subject matter to the analysis of the monarchy, which is central to his discussion of how monarchs can retain their states. Machiavelli’s political ideology was shaped by his belief in the importance of power and the need for a strong, centralized government.
Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. Machiavelli was believed to be one of the most contentious political philosophers of his time. Machiavelli began working in the Florence government at a young age, employed as a "Florentine secretary." Throughout his employment with the government of Florence, Machiavelli started to notice the power that one person had over an entire country. In 1513 Machiavelli wrote what would become one of his most well-known works “The Prince,” in which Machiavelli voices his political concepts of ruling a country.
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
“An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind” -Mahatma Gandhi. Machiavelli’s Prince shows that a leader should be aggressive and feared, but Mahatma Gandhi believed it was better to be peaceful and loved. Non-religious, unforgiving and impassive are just a few words that describe the Prince. He also sees no reason to keep his word and values image over substance. Even though Gandhi and Machiavelli’s Prince are both wise leaders, they are extremely different because of their religious beliefs, violent/non-violent tendencies, and value of the truth.
The Prince, written by Machiavelli, is a candid outline of how he believes leaders gain and keep power. Machiavelli uses examples of past leaders to determine traits that are necessary to rule successfully. Leaders such as the King of Naples and the Duke of Milan lacked military power, made their subjects hate them, or did not know how to protect themselves from the elite, causing them to lose power. He says that these rulers should blame laziness, not luck, for their failures. By looking at these historical successes and failures, Machiavelli is able to develop his own thoughts on how politics and leaders should be in the future.
The only way that a hereditary prince would be hated is if he is not a good prince or does not rule in favor of the people. Chapter three is about mixed principalities. New territories face difficulties because they are expected to be better than
Machiavelli's The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince is a classic. Talking about the ideal ruler, this book is considered by many as a must read for politicians everywhere. In The Prince, Machiavelli describes the ideal prince as one who; is of the correct heritage, should allow states under them to reside under their own laws, and should, though both be good qualities, be feared rather than loved. Although these are far from all of his points, these are three of much importance. Machiavelli begins by speaking of heritage of the ideal prince.
Everyone knows Machiavelli, or at least everyone is familiar with his ideas, even if they have not read his work. This is because the ideas of Machiavelli are pervasive and entrenched in our society, one only needs to look at the way our government works to see this. In The Prince Machiavelli presents his readers a cynical view of the true nature of man, recognizing that humans are not ruled by selflessness – which philosophers such as Aristotle hoped for -- but rather by the immoral nature of self-interest. The Prince is basically a guide on how to achieve stability and run a principality.
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.
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.
Applying Confucian principles to the Machiavelli’s prince is rather a challenging task. Based on the week’s reading assignment, the one real similarity that I saw was that both men were trying have an effective state. Confucius is definitely an optimist and trying to see the good in people and thinks that thought positive reinforcement a leader can set the right example and inspire people to follow him. Machiavelli on the other hand seems to be more of a realist (or pessimist, depending on perspective) and feels that people can be ruled with a healthy balance of fear and respect.
In his novel, the prince, nicolo machiavelli guides us to be a fruitful ruler. He clarifies the best routes for any ruler or sovereign to govern a region, bring prosper to the society, and keep up their position. This book can be read by anyone to get a few pointers on political issues. Most of the thoughts held by machivelli were linked to mercilessness and evil, hence they raised a considerable number of eyebrows. He maintains that the ruler 's primary goal should be conquering, staying in control of the general public and to always have the idea of war in mind.
