Haven Rohner Machiavelli Paper To some, being a good leader comes in the form of having the love of the people, but to others, they might think a fitting leader needs to intimidate. In Niccolò Machiavelli's book, The Prince, it is stated that the ideal political leader has the qualities of being ruthless but flexible, as well as strategic. One of the most important qualities of an exquisite leader is having the ability to be ruthless, but also the ability to be merciful. Machiavelli states that, "Upon this, one has to remark that men ought either to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefore the injury that is to be done to a man ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge" (Machiavelli 7-8). What this quote means, is that a leader should only choose a path of destruction if he is certain that nothing bad will come from it. The "minor injuries" the leader may cause are …show more content…
Machiavelli claims that, "A Prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank" (Machiavelli 67). To Machiavelli, the sole purpose of a prince, is to deal in matters of war when needed, but also study it so that when it does happen, he is not ill prepared. "A wise prince ought to observe some such rules, and never in peaceful times stand idle, but increase his resources with industry in such a way that they may be available to him in adversity..." (Machiavelli 70). All other matters of a prince merely consist of keeping a stable society, so that the society is prepared for war in the