Frq Machiavelli Fox and Lion

During the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, France, Spain and England were countries lead by rulers. These rulers were kings, princes and in some cases Queens. These leaders took advantage of their power simply because they had the right too, but nevertheless were sometimes just and fair leaders. According to The Prince written and published in the sixteenth century by Machiavelli, princes needed to be both foxes and lions, both clever and fierce. Although these many and different leaders all had ego’s and thought that they were in fact both foxes and lions, most of the time they truly were not.

Kings in France, Spain and England can be put in the same category. The period of time each ruler had to lead his or her county usually being around ten to thirty years, all of these countries saw many rulers come and go. Of course at times, some countries had better and more power rulers then other countries, but all of these countries being approximately close geographically their rulers and their methods were similar. In the end it all comes down to the fact that France, Spain and England were ruled by mostly kings. However we mustn’t forget the most memorable leaders these countries saw during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Such as Charles VIII, king of France, or Henry VIII, king of England and Ferdinand II, king of Spain.

Being a fox or a lion are two extremely different attributes. Being a fox is more than simply being smart, it requires being clever and witty. This attribute is one less common among kings. Some of them were indeed clever but sometimes only clever in war strategy or in planning how to gain additional land. Being clever in that way does fit the criteria’s in The Prince, but do not fully qualify as being clever in the general sense. Some leaders were extremely talented in wars, especially religious wars that were ongoing in those centuries.

Being a lion is being fierce, aggressive and strong. Most of the kings being power