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Machiavelli The Prince

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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. The Medici family came back to power in 1512 and tortured, jailed, and banished from politics, as Machiavelli was involved in attempting to organize a military against the return of the Medici family. The Republic of Florence subsequently ended.

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Therefore, he wrote II Principle, also known as The Prince, in 1513. It wasn’t widely known at that time, but it has been more recognized later in the century. The Prince was controversial, due to its views of religion, morality, and ethics, and the Catholic Church banned the book. The Prince is one of Machiavelli’s greatest works, and is also considered to be one of the most politically important handbooks for being a ruthless and efficient leader at the same time. Some of his other famous works include Discorsi Sopra La Prima Deca Di Tito Livio (1531, Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius) The Mandrake(1528) a satirical play and Il Principe (1532, The Prince).

Machiavelli’s main political theory talks about that it is mainly the skill and power of the individual leader that determines the success of the state. Nice politicians do not mean that there will be a successful state. It is almost impossible to be a good person (in the traditional Christian sense) and a good politician at the same time. While it is best to be both feared and loved, a prince should always create a sense of terror as that is what keeps society organized. The ruler needs to have the ferocity of a lion to frighten

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