Preview

Machiavelli The Prince Chapter Summaries

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
663 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Machiavelli The Prince Chapter Summaries
The Prince was written by Niccolo Machiavelli for Lorenzo de Medici so that Machiavelli could get back in his good graces. After his many years in politics, he wrote this to explain what would make a prince virtuous and how to rule properly. The book shows the background of politics and to some people it can be seen as immoral. There are two types of principalities: a hereditary prince or a new prince. Machiavelli focuses more on the new princes and uses other princes as references to what should or should not be done by a prince.
Machiavelli believes that a prince should be seen as virtuous, but should not actually be virtuous. The reasoning behind this is because no person, even a prince, can control fortune, therefore a prince may need to act certain ways depending on the fortune. This is stated in chapter 18 when Machiavelli writes: …show more content…
And so he has to have a spirit disposed to change as the winds of fortune and variations of things command him, and as I said above, not depart from good, when possible, but know how to enter into evil, when forced by necessity. (Machiavelli 70)
This can also be interpreted as fortune taking the morality away from princes because sometimes a prince needs to do certain things to save the whole kingdom or to maintain the principality. When it comes to which prince is virtuous and how one gain’s virtu, it is all about appearance. If the prince is running his empire or kingdom successfully then he can be considered
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's "The Prince"
    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Machiavelli's "The Prince"

    Not a single line from this work of Machiavelli does it suggest that a successful prince must be nice or be loved by the people. People do not necessarily look for a moral role model as their leader, but rather one that can maintain order and protect them. He says that the only thing to abstain from is to be hated. As long as they are supplied with the basic necessities, people will be content, therefore it is not necessary to be liked…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's The Prince: Summary And Analysis
    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli's The Prince: Summary And Analysis

    A good leader is one who can stand up against the norm and take risks to uphold their state. According to Machiavelli, in his book The Prince, this includes taking actions that are not favored by the majority. Though Machiavelli was born on May 3rd, 1469 and only wrote his book in 1513, his ideas were so significant that they apply even to contemporary leaders. Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, is facing situations that can either prove her strength as a leader or set the European Union on a road to destruction. On top of dealing with the major Greek debt crisis, she has been faced with the task of deciding how to handle the Syrian refugees. Using the examples and analysis provided by Machiavelli, Merkel’s best plan would be to pressure…

    • 1193 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli The Prince Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli The Prince Rhetorical Analysis

    Machiavelli states that a prince would be praiseworthy by many if he could achieve the fifteen virtues and vices that Machiavelli lists off in chapter fifteen. After, however, he writes, "But because he cannot have them, nor wholly, observe them, since human, conditions do not permit it, it is necessary for him to be so prudent as to know how to avoid the infamy of those vices that would take his state from and to be on guard against those that do not, if that is possible; but if one cannot, one can let them go on with less hesitation."( pg. 62, lines 9-15) Machiavelli writes that it is important for a prince to recognize virtu and act virtuously but not…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's Influence On The Prince
    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Machiavelli's Influence On The Prince

    Machiavelli strategically writes The Prince as a satire in an attempt to accentuate the fact that princes are often cruel and unjust. In his book, Machiavelli…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Machiavelli's The Prince Analysis
    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Machiavelli's The Prince Analysis

    The prince may gain power, but not glory. He gains esteem and glory through his courage. He must have wisdom to choose the least risky venture and act on it courageously and wisdom in picking his advisors. It is extremely important to gain the support of the people because you will need it in times of trouble. It also takes that same courage and wisdom to keep up the morale of his people during those troubled times. That is why a prince needs to relate to his people. He does not have to be loved by the people, but he must not be hated and should always be respected. However, Machiavelli makes a powerful case that it is better for a leader to be feared than loved. He feels that men respond more strongly to fear than love. Fear is constant, but love of the people can easily change. The prince cannot make people love him, but he has control over his people’s fear of him. Therefore, the course of action that the prince can best control is what he should pursue. In answering the question of whether it is better to be loved than feared, Machiavelli writes, “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 find greater security in being feared than in being…

    • 1617 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli The Prince Research Paper
    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli The Prince Research Paper

    The all-encompassing term Machiavelli uses for the prince's various necessary traits is "virtu." A ruler in possession of "virtu," while not completely free from the possible negative effects of fortune, is in far better position to deal with whatever circumstances may…

    • 1111 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli The Prince Research Paper
    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli The Prince Research Paper

    During Niccolỏ Machiavelli’s lifetime, Italy’s city-states were in turmoil, and he was extremely interested in the politics behind the chaos.1 Machiavelli advised principalities on the proper way to conduct themselves by using his study of human nature. His understanding of human greed, disloyalty, and predictability created a vision of politics that utilizes power for a prince to maintain stability. Machiavelli created power-politics, his vision of how to stabilize a principality, in The Prince.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli: the Prince
    • 1566 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Machiavelli: the Prince

    Virtue 4: Machiavelli writes that for a private citizen to become a prince, he needs to have fortune or ability. Among those who became princes through ability, Machiavelli cites Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, and Theseus. Using them as examples, Machiavelli states that an important component of ability is recognizing an opportunity and acting on it. A new prince who comes to rule over a new…

    • 1566 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's Attitude Toward Mankind
    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Machiavelli's Attitude Toward Mankind

    In Machiavelli’s most famous book, he writes to prospective “new princes” on how to be as successful as possible, without taking into account the morality of any of the actions. For example, in chapter 15, he writes that “it is necessary for a prince, if he wishes to maintain himself, to learn to be able to not be good, and to use it and not use it according to necessity” (Machiavelli 93). In addition, he also believed that men were generally to receive misfortune as they “[were generally] ungrateful, fickle, hypocrites, and dissemblers, evaders of danger, lovers of gain” (Machiavelli 101). He believed that during good times, man would likely seek to be friends with fellow neighbors but that in times of adversity, they would only seek out their own well being and be selfless even if one had previously given them a favor. For this reason, he supports the fact that a prince is better off being feared than loved showing pessimism in the nature of humans. He writes, “Love endures by a bond which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present” (Machiavelli 106). Machiavelli supported keeping people in fear to better control them.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's View On Human Nature Analysis
    • 1869 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Machiavelli's View On Human Nature Analysis

    The Prince was written by Niccolò Machiavelli while he was in exile. In his efforts to return to politics, Machiavelli wrote the Prince in order to exert the true nature of a successful leader, and once again be in the good graces of the Medici’s who were rising to power in Italy. The Prince reveals what Machiavelli views to be a successful leader. The Prince also reveals how Machiavelli views the nature of humans and how that effects how a dictator/leader should rule. Machiavelli believes human beings are selfish, greedy, easily manipulated, and incapable of self-governing as it often ends in their own demise. “[F]or men change their rulers willingly, hoping to better themselves, and this hope induces them to take up arms against him who rules: wherein they are deceived, because they afterwards find by experience they have gone from bad to worse” (Machiavelli 201). Human selfishness inhibits the individual’s ability to make rational long-term decisions thus deeming them incapable of self-governing. If given the people the right to make their own decisions, their greed ill cloud their judgment and cause them to make decisions that may not be in their best interest. If the society is not capable of self-governing they will need a strong leader and Machiavelli has the recipe for the perfect…

    • 1869 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's The Prince
    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Machiavelli's The Prince

    Phil: “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing you did mattered? Ralph: “That about sums it up for me.” I believe “that about sums it up for everyone,” and if it doesn’t then he or she is just simply kidding themselves. As bleak and austere as that may sound, it is undoubtedly true. The situation of Phil Connors is not just an interpretation of a repetitive bland life. It is an illustration of a major philosophical idea, if not the biggest one at that. The idea that we weren’t put on earth for a concrete purpose, and there is no ultimate objective…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli: The Prince
    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Machiavelli: The Prince

    Throughout my reading of Machiavelli, a particular selection struck me as very interesting. This comes from Chapter 17 when Machiavelli states, “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 find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond, which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present (Machiavelli 54). I believe this is an interesting question that would be a good topic for debate. Regarding this question, I side with Machiavelli on his reasoning that it is more beneficial to be feared then loved with regards to obedience. Examples of this principle can be seen in our world today. Laws demonstrate this very well. Laws are present to keep society in order, and with disobedience comes penalties. These penalties are what make people obey the law. Without penalties, or using the term pain in an exaggerated sense, most people would continue to break the law being aware that there are no consequences. Fear is what fuels laws to be effective.…

    • 326 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is Hamlet A Good Leader
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Is Hamlet A Good Leader

    Machiavelli’s text, The Prince, includes a list of traits that he thought a Prince should possess. An…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Prince
    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Prince

    The advice Machiavelli gives in chapters fifteen through nineteen is for princes to be basically be bad rather than a good prince. Machiavelli’s advice went against all traditional advice books written for rulers that were all about princes being good, honest, and generous because he did not want to discuss imaginary things.…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lead with Example
    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Lead with Example

    Stability in a ruler’s morals and ethics are a vital asset to have when ruling a group of people. With similarities shared between the ruler and the common person the ruler will then be able to relate and be more respected amongst the population, as opposed to a ruler who rules with his own self interest at hand. In the piece, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli argues the many principles of how a prince should and should not rule. In order to rule successfully he states a prince must possess some of the following characteristics; morality, a strong army, strict rule, common ground with his people and also to be widely respected. Machiavelli laid the ground work for many rulers in the future with his modern view in a time where rulers were primitive and ruled through fear and terror. The Prince and its ideas can even be seen today in our modern day presidents and kings proving that Machiavelli had compelling ideas and arguments for how leaders can obtain and hold a position of power successfully.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More

Related Topics