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Machiavelli's The Prince: Text and Commentary
Machiavelli's The Prince: Text and Commentary
Machiavelli and the prince - analysis
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In the story of "The Prince" written by Niccole Machiavelli takes place in the sixteenth century, around the time when Italy was not a unified country. Rather, it was more of a collection of city-states, each with its own court and ruler, all aiming to gain power over one another. On top of the commotion from the toggle war of power between the city states, Italy became a battleground for the French, the Spanish, the Germans, and as well as the Catholic Church under the Popes. At the time the Popes had so much power, that they were practically equal to a secular king during that time period. Prior of when Italy became a battle ground the major Italian city-state, the republic of Florence, had established ties as an alliance with the French.
President Obama echo a leadership of both Niccolo Machiavelli "The Qualities of the Prince" and Martin Luther King Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Machiavelli point of view to become a successful prince was that you must lead your people. He talks about how a prince should appear to his people for authority. There are different types of principles such as war and is it better to be loved or feared.
“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.
Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance writer and diplomat. He wrote “The Prince”, and he expresses several characteristics which he believes are important to be a successful leader. Such as, being feared rather than loved, not revealing the entire and/or real reason they’re doing something unless it’s somehow advantageous to them, being duplicitous, and being narcissistic. I disagree with these opinions. First of all, Machiavelli claims it is better to be feared rather than loved.
Niccolo Machiavelli was an in Italian Philosopher, historian, diplomat, and war strategist. He was born in Florence Italy in 1469. His mother’s name was Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli and his father’s name was Bernado di Niccolo. He was the youngest of three children. Machiavelli was born during very hectic era where countries such as Spain and the Holy Roman Empire were battling for regional control.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a prominent figure throughout Florence Italy and the rest of the world. May he rest in Peace. Dear Niccolo was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence Italy and very sadly passed onto the next life on June 21, 1527. In his home town Florence, Niccolo was very loved, but also despised but mainly loved and revered by those who truly knew him from his gentle and forgiving heart. Niccolo grew up with his loving and gentle two sisters, and his adventurous brother.
In Chapter 17 of The Prince, by Niccolo Machiavelli, his claim is that it is better to be feared than loved. I strongly agree with Machiavelli’s claim because people are generally bad and will have the sense to take over your thrown if they are not feared by you. Additionally, if people are feared by you than they will not have the courage to fight back. In Chapter 17 Machiavelli writes, “…This arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty, which, with his boundless valour, made him revered and terrible in the sight of his soldiers, but without that cruelty, his other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect.” This quote refers back to Machiavelli’s claim that in order to be successful you must endure cruelty in your city and
The Prince and the Discourses, by Machiavelli as a gift to the prince. Because it was the best thing that Niccolo Machiavelli could give to him. He was trying to teach the prince ways to stay in power. Machiavelli even stated it himself “I can consider of this subject, discussing what a principality is, the variety of such states, how they are won, how they are held, and how they are lost” (Machiavelli xxiv). The main focus of his work was with monarchies because he did not care for republics.
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.
Gandhi always made sure that they kept the movement nonviolent. They had meetings on how they were going to approach the movement, they were organized and had a plan. Gandhi got many of his ideas and principles through reading the bible, reading the Bhagavad Gita, and writers like Henry David Thoreau. Gandhi and the Indian people created some dilemmas to throw the British government off balance. Gandhi told the Indian people to boycott all British goods and only buy Indian goods.
What values of a person makes that person a real good leader? A person who can encourage and tries to stay in a good mood with everyone? Or a leader who pursuit only what is right? As Machiavelli writes “ A leader should be feared rather than loved "if you cannot be both" in order to avoid a revolt”, explaining the qualities of a successful leader; implies a real leader is not always admired to the citizens, which in this case is repatriating aliens. Opinions based on this argument is likely to be divided into two.
The specific reason that Michiavelli might have had to create "The Prince" are unknown. Some theorize that he wrote out of resentment after being banished from holding political office. Where he may have written for resentment he may also have written to impress his superiors in a desire to gain reinstatement. Uncertain of his intentions, the possibility that the book was written to retain face value and document what Michavelli believed to be the "wickedness" of man.
Being a prince is not as easy as it may seem. There are good and bad decisions a prince can make. Machiavelli has his own standards on how a prince should behave. According to Machiavelli, a prince could be considered a lion, a fox, or a wolf. The lion is fierce but doesn’t have the smarts, while a fox has the smarts but isn 't fierce.
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).
Probably one of the most infamous and controversial ideologies of the 16th century, the prince by Machiavelli has been a reference for many great leaders and academicians since it was published. The book provides historically tested and proven principles of leadership. The prince has been described as a manual for those who want to win and retain power. While some may argue that leadership is an inherent trait in human, leaders are made, not born. Making a great leader out of a person is not just a matter of identifying the leadership traits, skill and talents of the individual, but harnessing the traits, develop them and eventually mastering how to be leader.
