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Machiavelli's The Prince

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What is Machiavelli's overview of human nature in general and why is it so? Machiavelli has a very dark view of human nature and the reason being is because he lost his public service position when the Medicis came back to power and never regained said position. Why did Machiavelli write The Prince? Machiavelli dedicated The Prince to the Medici's [Lorenzo de' Medici to be exact] to obtain the good graces of the Medici's Why does Machiavelli believe that having ministers is better than having nobles/barons? Machiavelli believes that it is better to have ministers than nobles because any and all ministers powers belong to the prince but when it comes to nobles/barons they acan be easily swayed and would make victory for the enemies easy by opening …show more content…

Can a prince who ascends to the throne stay in power of he came to power through nefarious activities? Machiavelli writes that it would not be possible for someone who ascended to the throne through nefarious activities as it would cause his people to distrust him. A prince is respected when he is either a ___________ ____________ or ____________ _____________ and why? True Friend or Downright Enemy. The reason being because an ally/conquerer would not like to have doubtful allies Even though the cities of Germany are free and only obey the emperor when it fits their needs no one thinks of attacking them because: The Germans are fortified so that assault would be too tedius and difficult as well as sufficent artilery and food. Why are principalities liable to danger when they pass from civil to absolute government(s)? Because the princes of the aforementioned government(s) rule personally or through magistrates Why is not in a princes best interst to disarm subjects? If a prince arms his subjects their arms, in a way, become his. Disarming his subjects will also cause the subjects to hate the prince as it shows that the prince does not trust his

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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

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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.

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“A leader is a dealer in hope.” Even Napoleon referred that leaders are meant to be reassuring. Are all benevolent leaders successful? Niccolo Machiavelli, an economist in the Renaissance, will absolutely say no.

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When Machiavelli wrote the letter to Francesco Vettori, he discusses his vast knowledge and experience on political affairs and stated the relevancy amongst each issue. It all interrelates by displaying the distinct political ideologies and contrasting the positive and negative traits that a ruler should obtain. The idea that it shows to readers is that power can be given to any leader but obtaining glory gives that leader immortality and lives on in generations, which is the greatest success a ruler can achieve. Therefore Machiavelli mentions an analogy on fortune being a woman it can be fragile, attractive, and easy to seduce; but to be mastered completely a ruler must apply force and violence portray himself as ruthless to surrender. No matter the vast knowledge or skills of a ruler if acted upon impulsive decisions will be his downfall, for example Julius by doing so actions he achieved nothing if it weren’t for Julius arranging alliances.

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His book, The Prince uses Renaissance values and applies them to politics, intriguing most everyone. His book targets powerful men, teaching them how to gain and maintain power. “It is not al all necessary for a prince to have all the good qualities which I have named, but it is necessary to seem to have them” (Machiavelli). Although Machiavelli gained his power, not every man can, so Machiavelli is saying that in order to become an idol, you just have to project the idea of power. People with power are admired, so Machiavelli wrote a book teaching how to gain power, and become and idol themselves.

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Machiavelli viewed the nobility also as a crucial piece of maintaining political power and creating stability. Machiavelli believed the nobility was more rational and stable, with a sense of responsibility to their states. He also acknowledged that the noble class was more likely to act THE PRINCE 3 out of tradition for the state's interest rather than their own needs, thus more suitable for leadership roles. Still, the nobles remained extremely dangerous if their interests did not align with their rulers. Because of this, Machiavelli thought it essential to have the backing of the nobility but warned that they should be carefully managed and not given too much power so

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Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy, on May 3 1469. In order to fully understand Machiavelli, one needs to understand he was born during a time of upheaval and social unrest. His father was a lawyer, and he received extensive education as a child. During this time, the Medici family, who ruled Florence at that time and many more centuries to come, temporary fell and lost political power. Machiavelli became a diplomat for the Republic of Florence while the Medici family was exiled.

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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.

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Machiavelli’s ides were not wicked, malicious or evil; his ideas are based on facts on how to accomplish goals of maintaining order and doing what needs to be done. Machiavelli’s asks the question “How best can a ruler maintain control of his state?” His ideas were not based on emotion or empathy. Instead theory for government

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The Fox and Lion; Speculations about Machiavelli’s View on Jack and Ralph from William Golding’s Lord of the Flies Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance writer and philosopher who lived from 1469-1527. As an official, Machiavelli had many opportunities to witness the inner workings of the unique political minds in the Republic of Florence (modern day Tuscany). His most famous works are Discourses on Livy and The Prince .Machiavelli believed a ruler should not be virtuous, but should value his reputation and appear virtuous. Machiavelli’s ideal prince would blatantly disregard morals and ethics, instead choosing to be clever and calculating. Machiavelli argued men will abandon a ruler if it proves advantageous for them to do so, but

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What does it mean to be a Prince? According to Niccolo Machiavelli there is various qualities that are needed to be a Prince. In the chapter, “The Qualities of the Prince,” Machiavelli list qualities a Prince must uphold to be considered a good Prince. In order to be a Prince one must know how to protect his state and people. Some qualities that he mentions are: being feared rather than being loved, being hated, being cruel, being generous, and being deceitful.

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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).

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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.

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197 Words | 1 Pages

In, The Prince, Machiavelli informs the reader on how a prince should act and how to be a leader of his country. Machiavelli first says that a prince should not rely on fortune to get themselves into a powerful position because, the troops, commanders, and other ranking officials are not loyal to you. Instead a prince should win over their followers with their own prowess so he can gain the respect and loyalty of his followers. Another feature a prince should have is to be ungenerous. If a prince is generous than he will eventually deplete his resources and will have to tax his citizens.

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930 Words | 4 Pages

He cannot be too generous, because that increases people 's expectations of him and it is impossible to keep buying the people 's love as the price gets too high. Yet, the prince should not be hated due to his violent nature, because that rises up. The prince should act in ways that keep him in power and maintain his own power. He should be able to read the character and motives of others in order to use them for his own ends.

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