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Examples of ambition in julius caesar
Examples of power in julius caesar
Julius Caesar
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There are a few different methods that can be used by a ruler to control his people, fear and love being the primary means of maintaining power as defined by Machiavelli. While both fear and love have their strengths and weaknesses, there is one of the two that is more effective: fear. Of course, there are examples of both in history and literature alike, such as Julius Caesar, whose people adored him for his brave acts in war, though betrayed by his fellow politicians and beloved friend for fear of his growing power.
This compare and contrast essay will focus on the views of leadership between Mirandolla and Machiavelli. Mirandolla believes that leadership should not be false and that it should follow the rule of reason. He believes that leaders should strive for the heavens and beyond. On the other hand, Machiavelli believed that leadership comes to those who are crafty and forceful. He believed that leaders do not need to be merciful, humane, faithful or religious; they only need to pretend to have all these qualities. Despite both of them being philosophers, they have drastically different views on leadership, partially because of their views on religion are different. Mirandolla was very religious, and Machiavelli was a pragmatist, which means that he was not interested in religion.
Machiavelli’s advice to a prince who wanted to hold power is that they have to instill fear into the people. He believes fear is important because it restrains men, as they fear being punished. Love will never help you hold power because it attaches people to promises. Machiavelli believes that since humans are wicked, they will break these promises whenever their interests is at stake. Men will devote everything to you if you serve their interests, but as soon as you need help, they turn on you. Therefore, creating fear in them is the perfect strategy. I feel like Machiavelli is being sarcastic and did this to get attention. He knew his way of thinking was different and would get the attention of the people.
The desire for power is prevalent in our day to day life from wanting control over little insignificant aspects to control over others. The Crucible by Arthur Miller is
for a ruler to be feared than loved, if he is to fail in one of the
Throughout history rulers have used force in the pursuit of the acquiring more power and wealth, regardless of the consequences. The use of force may lead to the fulfillment of ones current interests or goals, but continued abuse of this power in pursuit of ones own interests has historically lead to the downfall of those in power. In the text The Prince Machiavelli says, “It is much safer to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both”. This quote suggests that when given the choice it is better for a ruler to use his power, through force if necessary, and be feared than to do what is right for the people and lose everything. In Sophocles’ Antigone, Thucydides History of the Peloponnesian War, and Sophocles’ Republic the analogy of the double-edged
... Some writers, however, see human nature as something that can be manipulated. Machiavelli stated that human nature must be wielded to fortune in order to be successful and that followers must be taught to fear their ruler in order to be judged good citizens. Even Aeschylus wrote that humans must fear a higher power and order for them to act righteously.
Fear impacts a person's mental state negatively but how does fear impact our dreams? This novel The Alchemist is written by an influential author named Paulo Coelho. The story revolves around a shepherd boy named Santiago who likes to travel. Santiago gave up being a shepherd in order to travel all the way to the pyramids in Egypt to find his treasure. During his journey, he met a lot of people and overcome several obstacles. Throughout the novel, Coelho uses symbolism to teach the reader many lessons about dreams. The most powerful lesson that was taught was that fear must be overcome in order to achieve a dream. Some symbolic characters he has used are the crystal merchant, the Englishman, and the alchemist.
Fear is a powerful tool. Throughout history, tyrants have used fear to pursue their ruthless ambitions as men fear death most of all. They threaten subjects with imprisonment, torture or being put to death. In order to eradicate any means of secondary thought, challenging their oppressive regimes violence is a tool and dictators are well equipped and not afraid to use it. History has shown this repeatedly. From Benito Mussolini to Adolf Hitler who killed and tortured countless thousands in World War 2, individuals were imprisoned without charge beaten at will cruelty became these dictators ruthless commodity.
In Machiavelli’s “Prince” he discussed the use of fear as a political tool to maintain the state. He argued that fear when properly directed could generate loyalty and bolster the support of the government. He went on to write that fear was only powerful when wielded with care and when abused could quickly become counterproductive and result in being hated by the people. Fear was potent because it was the prince’s creation. Unlike love that is given to the prince and can easily be taken away, fear is the prince’s tool and his alone. “…men love at their own free will but fear at the will of the prince…” Politicians throughout history have used fear tactics with varying degrees of success. For the purpose of my argument I will compare Machiavellian concepts on the use of fear with contemporary examples to prove its benefits particularly in the consolidation of power and promotion of obedience.
Niccolo Machiavelli stressed that “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…for love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails.” He felt that a true leader must be cunning and deceptive, winning the hearts of his people through power and influence. If he could not be liked, he could at least get by knowing he has intimidated these below him into submission. However rash or cruel this may seem, Machiavelli’s argument is not one to be countered easily.
Machiavelli in his famous book “The Prince” describes the necessary characteristics for a strong and successful leader. He believes that one of the most important characteristics is to rule in favor of his government and to hold power in his hands. Power is an essential aspect of Machiavelli’s theory, and a leader should do whatever it takes to keep it for the safety of his country because “the ends justifies the means.” To attain and preserve the power, a leader should rather be feared than loved by his people, but it is vital not to be hated. As he states, “anyone compelled to choose will find far greater security in being feared than in being loved.” If a leader is feared, the people are less likely to revolt, and in the end, only a threat of punishment can guarantee obedienc...
Although the stories are based on tyrants and their ability to gain power and pride through the scarification of others, I believe that the authors also attempted to describe the tyrants need to feel praised and express passion and anger. Their determination of reaching what is most important to them, is the reason the two tyrants were able to reach absolute power, at different points in their command.
On page 78, Machiavelli asserts the belief that cruelty was necessary in Cesare Borgia’s reconciliation of Romagna and that it made Borgia a commendable leader, especially in comparison to the leaders of the Florentine people, who, electing not to employ cruelty in their reign, allowed for an entire city to be destroyed. Machiavelli’s argument for a preference of fear over love is found on page 79. In questioning whether it is better to be feared or loved by one’s subjects, Machiavelli resolves that it is in fact safer to be feared because people will remain loyal out of fear of punishment. Odysseus combines these two principles in his rule of Ithaca as evidenced by his execution of the women servants who slept with the suitors. This act of cruelty was necessary in securing Odysseus’ power in his household in that it made an example of those who proved disloyal to him while he was away. Executing the women servants instilled some measure of fear in those servants who were left, ensuring their unwavering loyalty in the future as they are now afraid to meet the same fate as the executed
According to Niccolo Machiavelli “if you have to make a choice, to be feared is much safer than to be loved” (225). Machiavelli was the first philosopher of the Renaissance, and wrote The Prince which argued that leaders must do anything necessary to hold on to power. The main reason it is better to be feared is because men are evil, rotten and will only do things that benefit themselves. Men only think of themselves and it is for this reason fear can control them and keep them loyal to a leader. Since loyalty through love can be easily broken because it involves no punishment, loyalty through fear is the better choice because it involves the “dread of punishment, from which [the subjects] can never escape” (Machiavelli 226). Machiavelli goes on to say that the great leader Hannibal took control of his immense army, because the soldiers saw Hannibal as a fearsome and cruel person, thus, making them loyal to him. Machiavelli in addition gives an example of a leader who chose not to be feared and cruel: “Scipio, an outstanding man not only among those of his own time, but in all recorded history; yet his armies revolted in Spain, for no other reason than his excessive leniency in allowing his soldiers more freedom than military discipline permits”(226). Failure to be cruel and fearsome will cause a leader to lose control of his soldiers, and it will cause the leader’s soldiers to revolt. Hannibal was the better leader; even though he was cruel, he was more merciful in reality than Scipio because he did not allow any disorders to happen.
While “every sensible prince wishes to be considered, merciful and not cruel”(pg. 35), one should learn to be merciful in moderation. Not doing so can lead to unintended effects where if you are too “good” it can lead to being taken advantage of, or to “uprisings and civil war” because then you will be looked at as a pushover by your citizens and other neighboring countries. Therefore if you were to be cruel, people will fear you enough to, in theory, not go against you and stay united. But I think this concept seems more like a dictatorship, which thrives on citizens fear, and I don’t think it should be instilled in our government considering that most dictatorships end poorly and lead to more uprisings and civil war than with a merciful leader. And this is why the question in this section on whether it is better to be feared or loved also comes up. Machiavelli believes that a prince should find a balance of being both feared and loved and in general just try to escape hatred. If you are loved by your people, rarely will they betray you, but it is also good to be feared by other nations so that you are not looked upon as a target. So in this section of the prince I think the concept of ruling only on fear should not be used, however I do think that a leader should try balance being loved and