Niccolò Machiavelli's 'The Prince'
1. Look up Machiavelli. What were the circumstances surrounding his writing of The Prince, i.e. why did he write it?
Niccolò Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy's Florentine Republic during the Medici family's exile. The young Niccolò Machiavelli became a diplomat after the temporary fall of Florence's ruling Medici family in 1494. During this time he earned a reputation for deviousness. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512, he was found to be involved in an unsuccessful attempt to organize a Florentine militia against the return of the Medici family to power.
Machiavelli was dismissed, tortured, jailed and banished from an active role in political life. It was during this time that he wrote The Prince. The Prince is a handbook for …show more content…
How should a prince prepare for war? Why in that manner?
A prince must spend all his time studying the art of war. He needs to study and prepare during times of no conflict and peace in order to be prepared during wartime. A prince needs to train constantly. Train mentally by studying past leaders and ruler’s strategies. He needs to understand history. He needs to train physically by training his body. Any who studies and masters the art of war can be a great ruler, not just those born to it. It is very important for a prince to remember that should he not study he greatly increases his odds to lose his state.
“A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline. This is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only supports those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank.”
“But to exercise his mind, the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of great men, to see how they have conducted themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeats, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former.”
(The Prince
Niccolò Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy's Florentine Republic during the Medici family's exile. The young Niccolò Machiavelli became a diplomat after the temporary fall of Florence's ruling Medici family in 1494. During this time he earned a reputation for deviousness. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512, he was found to be involved in an unsuccessful attempt to organize a Florentine militia against the return of the Medici family to power.
Machiavelli was dismissed, tortured, jailed and banished from an active role in political life. It was during this time that he wrote The Prince. The Prince is a handbook for …show more content…
How should a prince prepare for war? Why in that manner?
A prince must spend all his time studying the art of war. He needs to study and prepare during times of no conflict and peace in order to be prepared during wartime. A prince needs to train constantly. Train mentally by studying past leaders and ruler’s strategies. He needs to understand history. He needs to train physically by training his body. Any who studies and masters the art of war can be a great ruler, not just those born to it. It is very important for a prince to remember that should he not study he greatly increases his odds to lose his state.
“A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline. This is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only supports those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank.”
“But to exercise his mind, the prince should read histories, and study there the actions of great men, to see how they have conducted themselves in war, to examine the causes of their victories and defeats, so as to avoid the latter and imitate the former.”
(The Prince