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. At the beginning of the chapter Machiavelli states that, “Nothing makes a prince so greatly esteemed as do great campaigns and giving rare examples of himself,” (108). The concept created by this statement …show more content…
His reasoning behind this is, “For if two powerful neighbors of yours come to blows either they are of a quality that if one of them wins you have to fear the victor or not,” (110). The concept behind this statement is that the prince should make a decision based on which of the two will more significantly improve his intended public image. The flaw in this is that he uses the impersonal tu, indicating that his target audience for this concept is not the prince but instead the common people. He wants the subjects to know of the false rhetoric that rulers use to deceive them. Machiavelli uses Antiochus as an example of this concept but instead he ends up being an antithesis to the concept because, “Antiochus sent orators to the Achaeans…to encourage them to remain neutral,” (110). The step that Machiavelli skips in this concept is that he assumes that the prince can tolerate being on the losing side. Just earlier in this chapter, Machiavelli spoke of how, “Nothing makes a prince so greatly esteemed as do great campaigns…” (108). There is no reason that a prince should have to risk his public image by making a hurried or rash decision. Taking the time to weigh which side has the advantages helps the prince in the long run because he will probably be on the winning side, thus giving him something else to add on his resume of conquests. The concept …show more content…
No matter which side the prince chooses he will have something to gain out of the partnership. The concept that the decision between two brings up is that princes make decisions based on how they will affect his public image. If the side the prince adheres with emerges victorious, “…He is obliged to you, and there is a contract of love,” (110). This means that in the future, the prince will have the advantage of having a country indebted to him, which only serves to create a gain for him. This partnership will help his image because it offers the prince another grand conquest that will improve his public image. On the other hand, he must give up some his authority in order to join ranks with the winning side, which will damage his public image because even though he joined a winning crusade, he was not the driving force behind it. On the other hand, if he joins with the losing side, “You become a partner in a fortune that can rise again,” (110). As opposed to the joining the winning side, the prince will have to give up some of his esteemed public image in order to join the losing side. His gain from this partnership may be even greater because by helping bringing a fallen state back to old heights, he shows his subjects that his presence is so dominating that he can help even the weakest causes. In
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.
Niccolò Machiavelli was a man who lived during the fourteen and fifteen hundreds in Florence, Italy, and spent part of his life imprisoned after the Medici princes returned to power. He believed that he should express his feelings on how a prince should be through writing and became the author of “The Qualities of a Prince.” In his essay, he discusses many points on how a prince should act based on military matters, reputation, giving back to the people, punishment, and keeping promises. When writing his essay, he follows his points with examples to back up his beliefs. In summary, Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of a Prince,” provides us with what actions and behaviors that a prince should have in order to maintain power and respect.
Another topic he covers is cruelty, if cruelty is used in the right way the prince will gain much respect and it will preserve a prince’s safety or will help secure the state; it is safer for a prince to be feared than it is for him to be loved because no one will listen or respect a leader who they take to be a joke. Men fear punishment, and this can be used to a prince’s advantage. Men will not disobey if there is a chance of them being killed or thrown in
Although Machiavelli gives numerous points on what it takes to excel as a prince, he also shows some raw examples of how he feels a prince should act in order to achieve maximum supremacy. First, when he says, "ought to hold of little account a reputation for being mean, for it is one of those vices which will enable him to govern" proves Machiavelli feels mighty adamant about his view that being mean will help a prince achieve success (332). It is absurd to imagine the meanest prince as the most successful. Also, when Machiavelli states, "our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men by craft" revealing his attitude to manipulate people into fearing and respecting the prince (335). Also, Machiavelli shows that for a prince to be successful, he must not think about good faith.
The most astounding aspect of The Prince is Machiavelli’s view that princes may indeed, be cruel and dishonest if their ultimate aim is for the good of the state. It is not only acceptable but necessary to lie, to use torture, and to walk over other states and cities. Machiavellianism is defined as “A political doctrine of Machiavelli, which denies the relevance of morality in political affairs and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaining political power (Def.)” This implies that in the conquest for power, the ends justify the means. This is the basis of Machiavellianism. The priority for the power holder is to keep the security of the state regardless of the morality of the means. He accepts that these things are in and of themselves morally wrong, but he points out that the consequences of failure, the ruin of states and the destruction of cities, can be far worse. Machiavelli strongly emphasizes that princes should not hesitate to use immoral methods to achieve power, if power is necessary for security and survival.
...ch route to take on his way to power, keeping his rule, and how to maintain his military. The ultimate goal for a Prince is to maintain his position and reign, and a Prince can cheat, steal, and lie in order to accomplish that goal. Machiavelli seems to favor a Principality over Republics in this case because a Prince will be safer in a hereditary Principality due to the subjects being more accustomed to the blood of the Prince. Machiavelli’s straightforward advice on the art of warfare is to use your own military and that a Prince should always study the art of war. The ideal situation between a Prince and his subjects is to be feared rather loved, so that there is order. There is a difference between being feared and hated, and as long as the Prince doesn’t take a subjects property, women, or execute a subject without a proper cause.
society and the goal of The Prince is to instruct a prince, or ruler, on how to maintain his state.
Additionally, The Prince states that secular forms of government are more realistic than pious ones because a pious government would be bound by morals. In the Prince, Machiavelli tries to convey that the end justifies the means, which means any thing goes. He claims that it would be ideal for a prince to possess all the qualities that are deemed good by other men, but states that no leader can accomplish that. He also states that the security of the state should be the prince’s first priority and it must be protected by any means necessary. Although, this can be true in certain cases, Machiavelli uses it as an excuse to use evil and cruel tactics.
benefit to them as individuals. Machiavelli further goes on to question the loyalty of the citizens and advises the Prince that men
Machiavelli illustrates several key points in what it takes to be a "successful" Prince. In chapters 5-10, Machiavelli is giving us a true image of the coldhearted reputation he has carried throughout the years. He explains his ideas on taking over a "free" state or republic and how to conquer and rule with the peoples loyalty and respect.
Niccoló Machiavelli claims in “The Qualities of the Prince” that a prince must have certain qualities that will allow him to seize and maintain his power as a ruler. Machiavelli asserts that these qualities will guarantee the ruler to be able to govern his subjects effectively. According to him, a prince must study the art of war, must understand generosity and to what extent he must be generous to be effective, must choose to either be loved or feared, and be able to keep his word to his citizens according to the situation. These qualities can still apply in today’s politics, and will be useful for a modern time politician as long as they are used carefully.
Being a successful leader also means being able to anticipate trouble even when everything seems fine, and this forethought is what so many fail to consider. Using Italian rulers as an example of why Italian princes have lost their estates, Machiavelli writes, “ Their own indolence was to blame because having never imagined when times were quiet they they could change (and this is a common failing of mankind, never to anticipate a storm when the sea is calm), when adversity came their first thoughts were of flight and not of resistance. (page 78). A successful prince needs to be skilled in the art of war, but Machiavelli would agree that this skill is very useful for affairs aside international ones, such as domestic affairs. At one point or another a leader is faced with an arduous decision that involves hurting a part of the population. Machiavelli realizes that there is no realistic way of governing a group of people and keeping them all content at the same time, therefore a prince must systematically make tough decisions, keeping the majority content as the minority can not overthrow once you've taken everything they have. It may seem immoral to hurt the minority simply because they can not rebel, however, it makes far much more sense than causing hurt upon the majority, as that would make a prince contemptible, therefore staggering his political
Enlightening persons from the average Joe to the high monarchs of countries, The Prince is one of the best, if not the best, books relating to politics of all time. Machiavelli explains how to gain power in a government and once you gain it, he explains how to keep it. The first few chapters of the book set the tone for the rest of the writing. Early in his work, he says that all high powers can be separated into two totally different groups: principalities and republics. The Prince is written with dictatorial type regimes, and not with republican regimes. Niccolò seems to ignore the republican regimes which must mean that, at the time, he did not think that this would get very far or would not help anybody. Machiavelli goes onto explain the various principalities and princes. He creates an outline for the rest of the book during this explanation. To become a prince, he says that there is no way any normal person can become one, as the way this is acquired is either by hereditary means or is appointed to by the stat...
The subject of human nature has great emphasis in “The Prince”. Human beings are viewed as rational decision makers who try to maximize their self-interest. They are inclined to help whoever will give them the most benefits and by definition, may easily betray someone to whom they were previously loyal seeing a better opportunity. A large part of being a prince or a politician is being able to lead people, and therefore it is of utter importance in how to deal with their behavior. “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will fin...
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....