Chapter Summary Of Machiavelli's The Prince
In chapter one this short chapter lays the foundation for Machiavelli's book. All kinds of authority, he says, can be divided into two large categories the republics and the principalities. Principalities can be either hereditary passed down from father to son or they can be new states acquired through military force or political fortune. Machiavelli continues by admitting that hereditary principalities are much easier to govern than those that are newly developed since the prince who rules by inheritance simply has to follow in the paths of his ancestors. The Duke of Ferrara is an example of such a prince. Though he was attacked by outside forces on two separate occasions, the fact that he was a hereditary prince placed him on good standing
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Machiavelli likens this strategy to the medicine that the prince must take to prevent the sickness of rebellion that will eventually infect his people if not cured early: "In the beginning of the malady it is easy to cure but difficult to detect, but in the course of time, not having been either detected or treated in the beginning, it becomes easy to detect but difficult to cure." Finally, Machiavelli turns his focus to France. He mentions both Louis XII and Charles VIII but asserts the Louis is the better example of an effective prince. When Louis began advancing into Italy, many groups reached out to him in order to gain his favor. His mistake, was coming to the aid of Alexander and thus surrendering too much of his power over to the Church. Another error was his decision to divide Naples with the King of Spain. Here, Machiavelli criticizes Louis for conquering lands that couldn't be kept. The teacher explains, "The wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always do so when they can, but when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so by any means, then there is folly and blame." Machiavelli goes on to discuss Louis' mistakes: "Louis made these five errors: he destroyed the minor powers, he increased the strength of one of the greater powers in Italy, he brought in a foreign power, and he did not settle in the
Machiavelli likens this strategy to the medicine that the prince must take to prevent the sickness of rebellion that will eventually infect his people if not cured early: "In the beginning of the malady it is easy to cure but difficult to detect, but in the course of time, not having been either detected or treated in the beginning, it becomes easy to detect but difficult to cure." Finally, Machiavelli turns his focus to France. He mentions both Louis XII and Charles VIII but asserts the Louis is the better example of an effective prince. When Louis began advancing into Italy, many groups reached out to him in order to gain his favor. His mistake, was coming to the aid of Alexander and thus surrendering too much of his power over to the Church. Another error was his decision to divide Naples with the King of Spain. Here, Machiavelli criticizes Louis for conquering lands that couldn't be kept. The teacher explains, "The wish to acquire is in truth very natural and common, and men always do so when they can, but when they cannot do so, yet wish to do so by any means, then there is folly and blame." Machiavelli goes on to discuss Louis' mistakes: "Louis made these five errors: he destroyed the minor powers, he increased the strength of one of the greater powers in Italy, he brought in a foreign power, and he did not settle in the