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Machiavelli's The Prince

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In this paragraph of the article, the writer delves into the true purpose behind Machiavelli's "The Prince". There are many different interpretations or theories about the work, one being that it is merely satirical, poking fun at the game of politics and all its corruption behind the scenes. Another theory is Machiavelli's intention for the work was to win back his position in political leadership, by persuading the politicians by things they wanted to hear but that he himself didn't necessarily believe. With Machiavelli, any of the possibilities could have been true, due to his sarcastic and cynical nature. This section deals with the theme of politics and leadership, which to me is a very global theme. With elections coming up in the next
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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.

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“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.

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So, in Machiavelli’s point of view, as a politician, the purpose and intentions of one’s generosity is solely to get to their desired position, in this case the prince. The politicians will say numerous things they will do when they become a prince; however, once they actually become one, they no longer feel obliged to keep their promises, and most of the promises they made were merely to get the votes. This results in only a small fraction of the promises being kept, and these kinds of politicians are not so hard to find even in today’s

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The Center of Medical Progress released a series of videos on YouTube that shows a meeting with top-level abortion doctor from Planned Parenthood Deborah Nucatola. Within the video, it shows Nucatola describing the illegal selling of body parts for nodes (a central connecting point). The video has caused many problems for Planned Parenthood, along with many of the other videos released by CMP. One major problem Planned Parenthood has faced is due to a debate where Carly Fiorina made a comment about the videos that was untrue.

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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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Finally, according to Machiavelli’s The Prince, a good prince should have specific qualities, such as being merciful. It is said in The Prince that a prince should be thought of as merciful and not cruel. With this said, a prince should not overuse the subject of mercy.

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How does one control a country successfully and fulfill its duties as a leader until "the ends justify the means? " A quote by Niccolò Machiavelli, the father of modern political theory and a Florentine nobleman, in his book, The Prince, caused many historians, critics, and leaders to view it as ironic or helpful to the ones wanting to hold power. During Machiavelli's life, he was removed from his position as the city's Chancellor by the new ruling family, the Medici, for his close ties with the leadership of the past ruling family of Florence. The Medici family imprisoned and tortured Machiavelli harshly multiple times because of their suspicion that Machiavelli was conspiring against them. During his exile, Machiavelli wrote The Prince, in

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Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer whose most writings were based on politics. The prince is one of the political books that he had presented as a gift to Lorenzo di Piero De’ Medici. In The Prince, Machiavelli explains qualities of an ideal political leader a prince must acquire by high war skills and great knowledge. One of the main qualities that a prince should have in order to obtain power is to know about the war-craft.

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The goal of politics for Machiavelli is to achieve and maintain power. The Prince is essentially a guide on how to become and preserve your position in politics that still applies to contemporary politics. A good number of American citizens would consider that some of our politicians are cunning manipulative liars who

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“The Prince” was written by Machiavelli with the intention of influencing or advising the minds of rulers. He starts off by stating that he, as an ordinary citizen, knows more about ruling than a ruler himself. He gives the analogy “a person standing on a mountain is best positioned to survey the landscape below, and a person standing below is best positioned to survey the mountain.”. Each chapter explains a different principle in more detail. He then proceeds by classifying the various kinds of states: republics, hereditary princedoms, brand-new princedoms, and mixed principalities.

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The practical advice given by Machiavelli in The Prince is that a prince should always give their best in everything they do, no matter what kind of assignment that is needed whether it be illegal or not. In one of his lines in this poem he says "it will be found that something which looks like virtue, if followed, would be his ruin; whilst something else, which looks like vice, yet followed brings him security and prosperity." which essentially means that men should follow vices more than virtues for real world duties. The idealistic slant for Princes is to have everything in control, complete ruling over the people. They believe they are able to get away with anything and everything that comes their way. For example of a prince did not like

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Hence, he uses personal pronouns like “you” and “I” as well as phrases like “My reply is.” This makes it seem like The Prince becoming famous was neither Machiavelli’s first priority nor real purpose; he simply wanted to express his knowledge on the western government and gives advice on how to be a strong leader. Also, some of his words sound like he was in grief. For instance, the sentence that says “But as soon as you need help, they turn against you.” It could be that he was disappointed or was betrayed that he decided to put together The Prince.

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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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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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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.

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