The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, Chapter 18

The French term 'renaissance' translated into English literally means 'rebirth'. This is precisely what was happening in Europe by the end of the fourteenth century as the old, dark days of the Middle Ages gradually came to a close. There was a desire to be rid of the old superstitions and illiteracy and general primitiveness and backwardness of the Middle Ages, and a thirst for the way things used to be. A desire to return to the old classical culture of Ancient Greece and Rome. The Prince, published in 1513 at the decline of the Renaissance and written by Italian statesman and humanist thinker Niccolo Machiavelli, discusses how to successfully, some may say amorally, use power politics to rule successfully. In chapter eighteen of this piece of influential renaissance literature, Machiavelli gives practical and realistic advice on how to rule successfully and unify a group of people during a time when his city-state of Florence was crumbling to pieces. His advice is to use craftiness and cunning to achieve a good end rather than do things the morally correct way. His humanistic thinking is displayed further with his allusions to Greek mythology and classic works of literature.

During the Middle Ages in Europe things remained stagnant, and everyday life was centered around Christianity and God. Starting with the Renaissance period at the end of the fourteenth century, the focus shifted and was more secularized. The focus was more on the achievements of man and enjoying ones time on earth rather than concentrating solely on achieving salvation in the afterlife. This rebirth of antiquity and new focus on individual achievement and creativity became known as humanism, and resulted in many wonderful cultural advancements in art,...

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...to achieve the end goal you desire. The ends justifies the means. During medieval times, it was important for a good king to be honorable and actually possess all of the aforementioned qualities. During the Italian Renaissance, people were suddenly free to question how things had always been, including the running of government and politics and morality in general. Machiavelli, being the renaissance man that was, makes this very clear with the advice he puts forth. To conclude, the Italian Renaissance was a time of immense change. The focus was on improving ones self, and on becoming a well rounded, cultured person. Niccolo Machiavelli, in chapter eighteen of his book “The Prince”, displays his realist thinking through his references to ancient literature and Greek mythology and through his realist advice on how to be successful leader by using cunning and deceit.