Machiavelli
Essay by review • October 21, 2010 • Essay • 541 Words (3 Pages) • 1,292 Views
The Prince
Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from the
beginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappy
and will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century after
century, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone's
needs. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue that
will always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in which
people have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those of
Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a master
plan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takes
to be a prince of a state in his magnificent book, The Prince. In his book many
themes were expressed in order to fulfill the role of a prince. These themes
ranged from human nature to military force and most importantly virtue.
Machavelli believed that the state is the highest achievement of man and
one should love the state more than his own soul. Being the perfect prince is
clearly a difficult task, but if done correctly, it can be very rewarding. Machiavelli
also believed that human nature does not change. In general Machiavelli
thought people were ungrateful, selfish, and insincere people, who only care
about themselves. Therefore the government must take account for man's true
nature and use his qualities for its purposes. Machiavelli also explained that a
ruler who intends to be successful must be prepared to do bad things when
necessary. He must sometimes caress, sometimes hurt, sometimes forgive, and
sometimes punish. This requirement must override all moral judgments, and
when making the decision, the
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