Machiavelli The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

Machiavelli discusses assertive and bold ideas in “The Prince,” revealing his radical and courageous nature. His treatise is deceptively self-soliciting, because he disguises his extreme notions behind a veil of feigned expertise. His frank approach makes him appear confident and deserving of the utmost respect; however, he cautiously humbles himself by pouring immense flattery for the ruling prince into his work and, in doing so, assures protection for himself and his notorious ideas.

Machiavelli includes numerous references to ancient and modern examples of ruling peoples’ behaviors in his treatise. However, he does not simply state factual evidence to support his own claims; Machiavelli turns simplistic historical stories into examples of fine military tactic. Take, for instance, Chapter 8, in which Machiavelli gives his rendition of Agathocles’ coming to power. He states, “At every stage of his career, this man… behaved like a criminal; none the less he accompanied his crimes with so much audacity and physical courage that when he joined the militia he rose through the ranks to become praetor of Syracuse” (Ch. 8, p. 2). Notice, Machiavelli only included two real facts here: Agathocles joined the militia, and became praetor of Syracuse.

Everything else, including that Agathocles behaved “like a criminal,” was Machiavelli’s own interpretation of events and his opinions. Nonetheless, the entire passage about Agathocles appears as though it were written by an expert in the field of military strategy. In this way, Machiavelli makes himself seem well-read and brings validity to his arguments for the way a prince ought to rule.

Because Machiavelli suggests his own expertise so strongly, he allows himself to make many bold claims, each seemingly more explosive than the next. Even with his seeming aptitude and prowess, many of his tactical theories for the way a prince should rule proved shocking for his Renaissance era readers. However, three of these ideas made him especially notorious: the idea that it is better to be feared than loved; the idea that promises can and often should be broken; and the idea that a prince must only appear religious to the common people.

“…Whether it is better to be feared than loved… The answer is that one would like to be both one and the other; but… it is far better to be feared than loved” (Ch. 17, p. 3).

This first, radical sentiment of Machiavelli’s was a belief far from being widely (or openly) acknowledged at the time. If it were known that a ruling prince cared more about power over his subjects than striving for their acceptance, there would likely be backlash. By making this claim, Machiavelli truly isolates himself from all other people vying for recognition from the powerful families reading other works about the ways of a ruling prince, because he boldly challenges the elephant-in-the-room, of sorts, by asserting that a prince does not need to be popular.

“So it follows that a prudent ruler cannot, and must not, honour his word when it places him at a disadvantage and when the reasons for which he made his promise no longer exist”
(Ch. 18, p. 3).

This next claim pushes the boundaries of his previous one by saying that a prince may not only do unpopular things, but he may also lie about them in any instance in which it betters himself. Machiavelli is beginning to bring together the idea that the prince must look after himself first and foremost — and then his subjects. This radical conviction serves multiple purposes. For Machiavelli, it serves to determine whether or not his reader is with or against him; because it would prove quite difficult to partially agree or disagree with such a statement. Whereas the first piece of notorious advice given was phrased as an opinion, this latter one is a daring assertion. Thus, if the reader disagrees with Machiavelli, he might simply be ignored; however, if the reader agrees, Machiavelli would be viewed as unique and exceptional in his confident stance.

“To those seeing and hearing him, he should appear a man of compassion… and a kind and religious man. And there is nothing so important as to seem to have this last quality”
(Ch. 18, p. 6).

For the readers who agreed with Machiavelli, this final explosive claim would have tied everything together.

Machiavelli wants a prince to place himself above his subjects, act deceptively whenever necessary, but also maintain the front of a religious man. This appearance would allow the prince to manipulate the church in Florence if believed and done well, thereby granting the prince ultimate power. This idea, combined with the other two, make Machiavelli appear exceptionally audacious and distinctive. This courageous move allows Machiavelli the possibility of becoming famous, with little risk of repercussion — especially since he ensures to protect himself with cautious humility intertwined throughout his

ideas.

Machiavelli’s feigned expertise and extreme propositions could have come off as intimidating if he had not been sure to lavish praise on the implied prince that the reader could become. Machiavelli ensures that the prince possesses enough confidence to believe in his capabilities of wielding the power required for Machiavelli’s three main ideas by making suggesting his own belief in the prince’s inherent powers. For example, Machiavelli claims that the prince can simply live in a city and thereby keep peace with its people “because they have direct recourse to [him]; and so they have more reason to love him” (Ch. 3, p. 4). This suggestion that a prince will be loved for his presence alone is certainly an aggrandizing generalization, though one that would undoubtedly please any prince receiving the compliment. Because Machiavelli’s main ideas all required the prince to act as confidently as Machiavelli himself, this flattery is absolutely crucial to Machiavelli’s acceptance by the reader.

Even though Machiavelli presented extreme ideas to his readers, he was capable of supporting them with historically-based accounts of other rulers. In this way, Machiavelli portrayed himself as a one-of-a-kind expert, worthy of recognition. However, he was also careful to ensure that the prince of whom he was talking was also portrayed equally well so as to allow his ideas the potential for true acceptance in the minds of the readers.