Machiavelli's Accomplishments Of Cesare

leader because of his own accomplishments. Cesare took the luck he was given at birth and used it to “lay strong foundations for future power” and “used every means and took all precautions that a wise and able [virtuoso] man should, to root himself in those states which had been grated him by the arms and fortune of others.” (19). Cesare did begin his career with a head start due to his father being the Pope, but it was his skill that enabled him to truly control the states that were given to him as well as to expand his territories. Machiavelli examined Cesare’s plan for the future as a strong way in which Cesare was making strides to become a prince that stood alone without needing the luck or arms of others. Cesare was always looking

Cesare had to always be worried about a new pope being chosen if his father died, a pope that could be less willing to help Cesare. Cesare hatched a four part plan in which to secure that no matter who the pope was, he would still be powerful. Cesare first planned to “wipe out all the families of those noblemen he had ruined, so the [new] pope would to be able to use them as pretexts to strike at him. (22). Next Cesare planned to “enlist all the gentry of Rome” as a way to “keep the pope in check” (22). Third, he planed to control the College of Cardinals and fourth, to get as much power of his own as possible before his father died. Cesare had successfully done three of these four things, he had killed off his enemies, had “all the Roman bravos”, and controlled a “good majority” of the College of Cardinals (22). Cesare was on his way to making himself powerful with his own new power he

Even though Cesare was unable to truly overcome how he acquired initial power in the world, Machiavelli still viewed him as an ideal prince, “Yet the duke was a man of such savagery and courage [virtu], and he understood so perfectly how to win men over or ruin them, and foundations were so strong that he had laid down in so short a period, that if he had not had those armies on his back, or had not been sick himself, he would have pulled through all his difficulties.” (23). Although Cesare died without ever truly forging his own source of power, independent from his father, he showed such virtu in all that he did that Machiavelli revered him as the main example of a prince. When discussing Cesare Borgia, Machiavelli had nothing but praise, “If, then, we consider all the duke’s proceedings, we shall see that he laid strong foundations for future power; and I do not consider it irrelevant to describe them, since I cannot imagine better advice to give a new prince than the example of his