Comparing Machiavelli's The Prince And Leviathan

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Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince and Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan reveals on how to have an absolute government. While Machiavelli focused more on the leader part, Hobbes wrote about the government itself. Although they fixated on different aspects, they shared the common goal of providing security in an insecure world. The Prince by Machiavelli provides an analysis on how to govern and maintain power in a principality.
There is three ways a monarch can acquire his domain. Either he can inherit it, or he can create a new one or annexed territories. Machiavelli states that hereditary principalities are less tricky than the mixed ones since newly captured dominion tend to be more rebellious.When one becomes the prince of the favor of the people he needs to keep good terms with them,which is easy. “He who becomes a Prince through the favor of the people should …show more content…

The bravery and strength of the lion will not be enough to empower the ruler to escape the snares set by his enemies for and the slyness of the fox is also needed. “The lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. One must therefore be a fox to recognize traps, and a lion to frighten wolves.” (The Prince) It is not possible for the citizens to love and fear a prince, but being feared is much safer than being loved.“Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is far safer to be feared than loved” (The Prince) Everything a prince says must be filled with these five qualities: being merciful,being trustworthy, religious,kind, honest. Machiavelli defines virtues as qualities that are praised by others, such as generosity, compassion, and piety. He argues that a prince should always try to appear virtuous, but it is more important for the prince to be practical than it is for him to be morally good. The government that is built of this foundation it

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