Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince And The Discourses

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.

President Obama echo a leadership of both Niccolo Machiavelli "The Qualities of the Prince" and Martin Luther King Jr. "Letter from Birmingham Jail". Machiavelli point of view to become a successful prince was that you must lead your people. He talks about how a prince should appear to his people for authority. There are different types of principles such as war and is it better to be loved or feared.

In addition, Machiavelli didn 't take the traditional route for supporting his argument of advice. He didn 't bother using any ethical or philosophical principles as the base for his advice he was trying to give. Instead, he used his own political program on real-life examples as his foundation to his treatise. Which is probably one of the reasons why "The Prince" got so much negative criticism. Machiavelli is practically stepping out of line by explaining what a prince should or should not do in pursuit of his

Machiavelli Machiavelli was and continues to be one of the most influential figure in politics. His most famous and widely studied book was The Prince. The Prince depicted Machiavelli’s thoughts on how one obtains and sustains authority, as well as inspiring excellence in future leaders. The problem for some readers is that his methods are perceived to be unorthodox and evil; Machiavelli is a realist and sees the world not as it should be, but how it is. He also believes that the world doesn 't reward those who follow rules, and that political actions should not be limited by morality: basically, humans inherently value nationalism and security which rely on moral flexibility.

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.

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

Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513, a time when Italy as a whole had yet to be formed; the Italian subcontinent consisted only of loosely connected groups of independent city states with a constantly evolving political battleground. Thus Machiavelli wrote The Prince to convey his idea of a strong, active, and in his own eyes, perfect ruler to the current ruling family, the Medici, as he wished to impress them and become an eventual political attaché for the family. Machiavelli argues that when given a choice it is better to be feared than loved, and bases the majority of his rhetorical argument on logical cause and effect conclusions that are exemplified through his use of anecdotes, and analogy. The excerpt begins at chapter fifteen with Machiavelli stating that he writes the prince in order to “make something useful for whoever understands it” (Machiavelli ch.15), and he expounds upon this simple purpose by devising clear and logical solutions to many of the problems that a ruler may face.

At the same time, they truly reveal the point of view of the author that could be biased towards something. Some of my unanswered questions were: Was there a significant political situation that prompted Machiavelli to write The Prince? Why did Machiavelli write the book, whom did it concern? What made Erasmus so disgusted by war and violence? Sadly, the texts do not provide additional information on their backgrounds.

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.

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.

His mindset was simple. to manifest dismay and use the overwhelming power as a dictator. His intentions are clear, and his words are powerful. With a combination of rhetorical devices, a symphony of teachings are made and preached. Machiavelli is a strong advocate to use fear to herd together the common man, he begins his argument by asking a simple question, “ Here the question… safer than to be loved”.

Clinton’s Failure As “Prince” In Machiavelli 's " The Prince" numerous rules were presented as to what a ruler should do to succeed. From ruling with an iron fist to protecting their country 's citizens, a ruler has no choice but to be on his best mindset at all times. Machiavelli made it very clear that a fit ruler must have military experience, take religion seriously, and have the support of his own people. Usually, leaders follow these rules whole-heartedly to make sure they are represented positively and are taken seriously.

He cannot be too generous, because that increases people 's expectations of him and it is impossible to keep buying the people 's love as the price gets too high. Yet, the prince should not be hated due to his violent nature, because that rises up. The prince should act in ways that keep him in power and maintain his own power. He should be able to read the character and motives of others in order to use them for his own ends.

He must imbibe the attributes of half man and half beast. By using force, a prince acts like a beast. And he must be like two types of beasts - lions and foxes. A fox’s weakness are wolves. A prince must be like a fox, in the sense, he must learn to fight off wolves.

In his novel, the prince, nicolo machiavelli guides us to be a fruitful ruler. He clarifies the best routes for any ruler or sovereign to govern a region, bring prosper to the society, and keep up their position. This book can be read by anyone to get a few pointers on political issues. Most of the thoughts held by machivelli were linked to mercilessness and evil, hence they raised a considerable number of eyebrows. He maintains that the ruler 's primary goal should be conquering, staying in control of the general public and to always have the idea of war in mind.