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The Prince Machiavellian Essay

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To determine whether Machiavelli was Machiavellian, the term must be first defined. “Machiavellian”, today, is synonymous with the words immoral, cutthroat, manipulating, and cunning. Somebody who acts Machiavellian, acts in an immoral fashion for personal gain. Using today’s common definition for the term, it can be concluded that Machiavelli was not “Machiavellian,” for he does not act in behalf of his personal gain, nor was he immoral or cutthroat. On a superficial level, The Prince is a manual for tyrants; on a deeper level its Machiavelli's call to the leaders of Italy to bring order and unification. And even more so, its a warning to the people of Italy about the power of governments. If read straightforward The Prince is manual for ambitious men on how to become a tyrant, however, if one takes the context in which it was written, The Prince reads very different. Machiavelli was a long time diplomat, having spent time in various courts, and thus had much experience and understanding of politics. He writes, “I depart from the orders of others … it has appeared to me more convenient to go after the effective truth of the thing rather then …show more content…

The famous quote, “it is much more secure to be feared than to be loved”(ch.XVII) has been to used to demonstrate ruthlessness of Machiavelli, but he goes on to say that the prince “escape hatred” by “[keeping] himself from his citizens' and his subjects possessions, and from their women.”(ch.XVII) Machiavelli reasoning for it being bettered to be feared is men are “ungrateful” and “fickle” and will leave when the prince is in need. He gives the example of Scipio. The reason Scipio's armies rebelled against him, Machiavelli notes, “sprang from nothing other than his excessive mercy”(ch.XVII). Being loved will result in disorder, and tear apart the state as the prince loses

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The Prince: A Decidedly unMedieval Piece of Work The Prince, written by Niccolo Machiavelli, was a secular handbook that dealt with modern statecraft and leadership. In fact, this was the first modern book that discussed political science. This book has influenced many well-known leaders, such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. This essay will discuss the past behaviours of Machiavelli to prove that this book, The Prince, is a decidedly unMedieval piece of work which does not follow the idea of living life so that it is worthy of respect and honour, as stated in the Medieval Code of Chivalry.

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In Niccolo Machiavelli's book, The Prince (1513), he evaluates on how a prince can be a successful leader. Machiavelli’s purpose of this guidebook was to construct his argument to the rising ruler Giuliano de Medici for when he comes to power in Florence. He adopts a casual but authoritative tone in order to convince the prince that Machiavelli’s evaluation on how to be the best prince, is the right thing for the prince to do without coming off as he knows more than the prince or is trying to intimidate him.. Machiavelli’s reference to previous rulers and whether their tactics failed or succeeded helps to benefit his credibility along with his allusion to historic text. He appeals to our logic by simply stating a prince can only do what is within his power to control, and his use of an analogy furthers his argument.

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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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Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance writer and diplomat. He wrote “The Prince”, and he expresses several characteristics which he believes are important to be a successful leader. Such as, being feared rather than loved, not revealing the entire and/or real reason they’re doing something unless it’s somehow advantageous to them, being duplicitous, and being narcissistic. I disagree with these opinions. First of all, Machiavelli claims it is better to be feared rather than loved.

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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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The Prince in the year of 1513. This was a prime example of power and fear since it was created as a guide for rulers of the Italian city states. Within his Machiavelli’s text, he states that it is better to be feared rather than being loved. He believed that people would betray those that were loved, but would not dare to betray a feared ruler. Machiavelli viewed humans as greedy and selfish.

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The best place to begin for this where he answered the question which is better to be loved or feared Love or Fear Which is to be better loved or feared? This question is an important one and Machiavelli answer for it is great. “One ought to be both feared and loved, but as it is difficult for the two to go together, it is much safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli 61). This leads to one of his core beliefs which is that, he believes humans are awful creatures and will seek out

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The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli in the 18th century. The book describes the perfect ruler. This piece was written in honor of Lorenzo De Medici, to gain the Medici family’s favor. Even though at the end of the book Machiavelli is basically graveling and praising Medici, the reader can sense Machiavelli’s mockery of patriarch and nobility. It is a very reasonable conclusion that Machiavelli does not like the monarchy, however he wishes to return to the city and work so he can provide for his family.

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One aspect of Machiavelli’s theory which significantly contributes to his reputation as the “philosopher of evil,” is his advice to the prince on keeping their word to the public. In chapter eighteen, Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply” (pg. 37). To simplify, Machiavelli says princes are obligated to lie in certain circumstances. He also states that while it is unnecessary for the prince to have positive qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, sympathy, compassion, or be religious, it is essential for the prince to be viewed so by the public (pg. 37). While many people argue that Machiavelli’s legitimization of lying and deception in politics is immoral, I argue the opposite.

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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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In Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, he maintains a harsh perspective on reality. His advice on how to maintain power leaves no room for compassion or generousity. While some may believe that these are qualities of a good person, Machiavelli believes these qualities lead to the downfall of rulers. He acknowledges that, in reality, it is impossible for someone to have qualities of a good person and simultaneously a good ruler. Machiavelli’s realistic outlook causes him to emphasize that it is better to maintain power through fear, rather than compassion.

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