It is best to be both feared and loved; however‚ if one cannot be both it is better to be feared than loved. Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was born during the renaissance era of Italy in Florence during the 15th century‚ on 3rd May 1469. Regardless of his cliché image of a cynic‚ or his name being directly synonymous to devil‚ Machiavelli did establish himself as an everlasting political figure. Often referred as the father of modern political theory‚ Niccolo lived years pulling of numerous
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Role of War in Society Stephanie Young Both The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli and Utopia by Thomas Moore examine the role and the importance of war to maintain a strong and successful society. More (via Hythloday) believes that war should be the last option and is not needed in a safe and happy government without the help of auxiliaries and mercenaries while on the other hand‚ Machiavelli believes that war plays a crucial war in a prosperous and thriving society using other troops
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Lacey Fierro Lee-5 AP Euro 12 October 2011 Analysis: The Prince The ideal prince‚ for most people‚ would be one of which who show trustworthiness‚ mercy‚ religiousness‚ etc.‚ all of which are good traits. On the contrary‚ according to Machiavelli‚ the ideal prince would at most show none of these traits and yet seem to possess them all at once. The ideal prince for Machiavelli would be one who is cruel and prudent and is more miserly than liberal. Machiavelli feels that an ideal prince
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Although Borgia gained his power through his father‚ Pope Alexander VI and lost it through the same‚ Machiavelli uses his actions as advice for new princes. He hopes that princes to come will strive to do as Cesare Borgia did. “I do not know what better teaching I could give to a new prince than the example of his actions...whoever judges it necessary in his new principality to secure himself against enemies... can find no fresher example than the actions of that man.” (Machiavelli‚ 27; 32) Borgia used
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Virtue 1: Machiavelli‚ in dedicating the work to Lorenzo de’ Medici‚ reminds the young prince that greatness awaits him because he is endowed with both fortune and admirable qualities. Machiavelli uses the term "virtue" to describe the positive qualities of a prince. In Daniel Donno’s notes‚ he writes that virtue is a word which "implies physical and mental capacity-intelligence‚ skill‚ courage‚ vigor-in short‚ all those personal qualities that are needed for attainment of one’s own ends." (p. 125)
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Machiavelli constantly uses the successful prince‚ Cesare Borgia in countless examples and even in the case of whether it is better to be loved or feared when you cannot be both. According to Borgia‚ it is better to be feared than loved for the reasoning being that fear was what kept order and control in the his hands. Borgia punished those that broke the law in a cruel manner that obviously made people hate Borgia; however‚ this hatred was not minded by Borgia because being hated with people following his
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Machiavelli: The Realist Political realism did not become a popular concept until it was discussed by Niccolò Machiavelli‚ making him one of the most influential philosophers. According to another philosopher‚ Francis Bacon‚ Machiavelli was “the founder of a new‚ objective science of politics‚ concerned not with what should be‚ but with what is‚ not with hopes and fears‚ but with practical realities” (Wootton XXXVII). Machiavelli’s handbook for princes‚ titled The Prince‚ takes the world as it
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Think of a relationship in life‚ one where there is a dominant person over a group of people. Is this dominant person more feared or more loved by the general population? Machiavelli states that it is better to be feared than it is to be loved when ruling over a group of people‚ because one of them is going to outweigh the other no matter what. This does show to be true‚ but not to the extreme Machiavelli describes. In modern day‚ for the United States‚ there is no ruler or president that has public
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Your friend insists that Machiavelli believed that gaining power was the ultimate goal‚ regardless of human morality. Analyze the following passage from The Prince and use this passage to help your friend understand Machiavelli in a different light: “ Yet it cannot be called prowess to kill fellow citizens‚ to betray friends‚ to be treacherous‚ pitiless‚ irreligious. These ways can win a prince power but not glory” (The Prince‚ 29). While you must base your rebuttal to your friend’s position
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The Prince was written in the 1500’s by Niccolo Machiavelli‚ whom name became a synonym for crafty plotting. As noted‚ it is a political and social document‚ as relevant today as when it first appeared. Machiavelli’s work became thought of as a blueprint for dictators instead of a guide for efficient democratic government. The Prince does not give us all of Machiavelli’s political thinking; however‚ he devised this reading for the man who seeks power. It treated the most severe problem of Italy
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