Niccolò Machiavelli, was very well known in the Medici government. Yet, we still now hardly anything about him in history. Between the years 1469 to 1498 much of his life must have been kept a secret or something because that time frame in history for him is pretty bare. All they know is that his father happened to be a poor lawyer and wanted his son to have a good education.
“Those who become rulers through strength of purpose [vie virtuose], as they did, acquire their kingdoms with difficulty, but they hold on to them with ease. And much of the difficulty they have in getting to power derives from the new institutions and customs they are obliged to establish in order to found their governments and make them secure” (p.19).
“Now you only
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find yourself in this situation, a private individual only becomes a ruler, if you are either lucky or skillful [virtù]. Both luck and skill enable you to overcome difficulties. Nevertheless, he who relies least on luck has the best prospect of success”(p.60). It’s said to be told that Niccolò Machiavelli happened to be writing for Giuliano de’ Medici, who he had believed was positively inclined in relation to him, and Guiliano understood pretty well that he was presumed of being an opponent of the Medici government in Florence, was abused, and not that long ago had been released from prison.
Within a civil principality, there would be a prince that require to be quick-witted and lucky to gain control. Disagreeing regards between the nobility and the lower class deliver to appoint a prince mandatory for both parties. Even though, a prince will find it effortless to hold control if he is constructed by the plebeians.
The prince’s demand to behave towards nobles negatively gave approval to how they are biased against him. He needs to learn to be able to tie their fortunes to his own. Nonetheless, the particular independents may be of two kinds. Their freedom comes from an absence of bravery to join themselves together to the prince’s purpose, in which they may be passed down and recognized for their helping hand; or they are free because they have their own deadlines and strong desires for success in mind. In this particular case, the prince must be careful of them as possible
contenders. The prince acquires the favor of the folks, despite how he earned skill, he will need to rely on them in certain points of the rival. A prince, though not a regular person, can cutoff the approval of the citizens if he has proved believing characteristics of guidance and braveness with them. The most extreme insecurity lies during the prince’s standards with complete dominance. Meanwhile, his influence transferred over civil officers, they may ignore him or deny to haul his groupings out. It may be challenging to take order of the citizens. Thus, the prince must learn to make an effort in order to clarify that the citizens will continually need him. In conclusion, Niccolò Machiavelli had a deep understanding and knowledge for providing practical, easily understandable advice. Someone that we will never about his life. Along with ever knowing if he actually was guilty or not.
Machiavelli enumerated in his work, different types of princedoms and whether they are bound to fail from the start, simply based on their type and the way they are attained. Those princedoms are either Hereditary, Mixed, or completely New. Hereditary princedoms would of course be those in which power is passed down within a family. Mixed princedoms would be princedoms that are reinvented through
Machiavelli’s, “The Prince” is the ideal book for individuals intending to both govern and maintain a strong nation. Filled with practical advice, he includes numerous religious references to support his claims. He devotes a chapter within the book to speak about the ancient founders of states. In the chapter called, “On new principalities that are acquired by one’s own arms and by virtue”, Machiavelli discussed the importance of a prince to have their own talent in governing a nation, rather than having relied on fortune to rule. The latter is a risk no leader should take and he cited past leaders as a guide for both the current and future princes.
In Political Testament, Cardinal Richelieu explains that the nobility is something to be used as a tool, a perpetual game of appeasement and request of services. He understood that the nobility could be a nuisance and a body of dissent against the King, but that they were necessary to the crown to provide military aid and money. Richelieu explains that one must know how to manage and manipulate them: “To take away the lives of these persons, who expose their lives every day for a pure fancy of honor, is much less than taking away their honor and leaving them a life which would be a perpetual anguish for them. All means must be used to maintain the nobility in the true virtue of their fathers, and one must also omit nothing to preserve the advantages they inherited.” ...
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
It has been shown again and again throughout history and literature that if there is a perfect human he is not also the perfect ruler. Those traits which we hold as good, such as the following of some sort of moral code, interfere with the necessity of detachment in a ruler. In both Henry IV and Richard II, Shakespeare explores what properties must be present in a good ruler. Those who are imperfect morally, who take into account only self-interest and not honor or what is appropriate, rise to rule, and stay in power.
After five hundred years, Niccolo Machiavelli the man has ceased to exist. In his place is merely an entity, one that is human, but also something that is far above one. The debate over his political ideologies and theories has elevated him to a mythical status summed up in one word: Machiavelli. His family name has evolved into an adjective in the English language in its various forms. Writers and pundit’s bandy about this new adjective in such ways as, “He is a Machiavelli,” “They are Machiavelli’s,” “This is suitable for a Machiavelli.” These phrases are almost always the words of a person that understands more about Niccolo’s reputation than the man himself. Forgotten is that Machiavelli is not an adequate example of the ruler he is credited with describing; a more accurate statement would be to call someone a “Borgia” or a “Valentino.” Most of the time they are grossly mistaken in their references. All these words accomplish is to add to the legend, and the misinterpretation, of the true nature of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Throughout the years many rulers and princes have strived to be the best. The book some believe set the standards for a prince is Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Morals of a Prince." Machiavelli states "Hence it is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity" proving that he believes it vital for a prince to know wrong in order to thrive and flourish (Machiavelli 331). Machiavelli undoubtedly has key points that reveal his feelings about being a successful, wrong prince. However, at times his ideology can be rather harsh.
When a private individual becomes a ruler, he will need both his inner skills and a good chance to show them. The relationship of fortune and the virtù will bring him the success. Without a chance, the skills will not find a way to show them while gaining the power, and without the skills, given chance can not be used effectively for a long time.
In a work written by Machiavelli called The Prince, there are many ideas he believes should be part of a government. The United States today is a Federal Republic. This means that it is a “federation of states that have a republican form of government”. Being a republican government means that the power of the country lies with the people and their elected representatives. This essay will be tackling the topic of whether or not the ideas that Machiavelli stated should or should not be implemented into our own system of government today.
In Machiavelli’s The Prince, he gives advice to princes who are to be the future leaders and how to be successful. He does not tell them exactly how to lead but more of how to keep the people from going against you and how to keep their loyalty. He also states how in politics, a Prince can do what needs to be done to get the results in which he desires.
The reading from “the prince” made one understand the many instances that most Princes do acquire principalities either through virtue or an attribution to fortune or by wickedness. Hence, Machiavelli made us understand that there were many instances that these princes with their own virtue had to go through trials and struggles to rise from a private station to attain their principality. Many excellent examples Machiavelli made mentioned were Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, and such like “ by their own ability and not through fortune, have risen to be princes.” (chap. VI)
He who becomes ruler with the aid of the great maintains himself with more difficulty than he who becomes ruler with the aid of the people, because the first is in the position of a prince with a good
... that must be wise in general. An avoidant of hatred or despise prince cannot be lead a nation that hates him. Keep faith at a minimum trust is good and well but can be broken over the smallest of greed. Bravery and strength is necessary for any great man. All of these characteristics will build a strong and amazing prince in the eyes of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Chapter nineteen of The Prince deals with the idea that princes should complete actions that would make his subjects believe that he is outstanding. The concept behind this idea is the striking intended image that they want their subjects to see and make their decisions based on that intended image in order to keep power. As stated in chapter eighteen, “Everyone sees what you appear to be, few really know who you are…” (95). As long as the prince is able to make his subjects believe that he is outstanding then he will be able to keep his power.
The book The Prince was a book of advice to politicians regarding how gain power and keep that power. The title The Prince is not about someone who has inherited land and a decedent to a king. In Machiavelli’s perspective a prince was a man of the citizens....