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Niccolo Machiavelli Against The Prince

669 Words3 Pages

In the Italian countryside in 1512, an Italian diplomat in exile would pen a work revolving around the phrase "the end justifies the means," and it would forever change the views within the political world. That Italian diplomat was Niccolò Machiavelli, ousted from office by the ruling Medici family who had returned a few years earlier to power. The work was Il Principe, or in English The Prince, essentially a handbook for rulers and their domains, how to bide themselves, and how to hold onto power and territory. Throughout the centuries, Machiavelli 's treatise has gained its author both fame and infamy, and has ushered in numerous debates about its content and his philosophy. These debates have oftentimes not cleared up questions, but have, even until after Niccolò 's time, culminated in the …show more content…

Machiavelli was not looking for princes to become cruel, militant tyrants, but rather wanted effectiveness to unite a kingdom and to unite the people. Through Francesco Sforza, Cesare Borgia, and even Pope Julius II, the author is stating the unspoken truth, supporting it with the figures he derived inspiration, those who used underhanded methods when needed to hold reigns on their power, that "for a man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good. Hence it is necessary that a prince who is interested in his survival learn to be other than good, making use of his capacity or refraining from it according to need" (Machiavelli

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The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

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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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Concerning The Prince: Love and Fear In The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli, he discusses and describes several pieces of advice on how to be a successful prince. While there is plenty of advice to look at in The Prince, this paper will just focus on Machiavelli’s advice and thoughts on being a prince in chapter 17. In chapter 17 he discusses the question of which is better for a prince; to be loved or to be feared. Machiavelli believes both should be the answer, but since it is difficult for one person to achieve both, it is a better choice to be a feared prince because of the connections one would have with his people and less chance of betrayal, but being feared should not be misused as cruelty and hate should be avoided.

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