Preview

Machiavelli's On Avoiding Being Despisd

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
558 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Machiavelli's On Avoiding Being Despisd
Summary and Paraphrase “On Avoiding Being Despised and Hated”

In Machiavelli book The Qualities of the Prince, section “On Avoiding Being Despised and Hated” talks about how a prince can avoid being despised and hated from his people. In this section, Machiavelli have briefly talked about the general manner of how a prince should react toward when his [prince] subject look upon him as a despised and hated person. What makes the prince hated is if he’s being greedy and a usurper of the property and the women of his subjects. And the only way a prince can persist is not to deprive them [his subject] of either their property or their honor. A prince will be despised if he has a reputation of being considered changeable, frivolous, effeminate cowardly and irresolute. In order to save his reputation, the prince must guard himself and strive to make everyone recognize his actions of greatness, spirit, dignity and strength.
…show more content…
However, a prince should worry about two threats: internal sedition from his subject and external threats from foreign powers. A prince can always defend himself against foreign enemies with a strong troops and good allies. Even Machiavelli mentioned “he [prince] will always have good friends if he has good troops; and internal affairs will always be stable when external affairs are stable… if external conditions change, he is properly organized and does not lose control of himself, he will always be able to withstand every attack” (48). A strong troop will always leads to good

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli believes that a government should be very structured, controlled, and powerful. He makes it known that the only priorities of a prince are war, the institutions, and discipline. His writings describes how it is more important for a prince to be practical than moral. This is shown where he writes, "in order to maintain the state he is often obliged to act against his promise, against charity, against humanity, and against religion" (47). In addition, Machiavelli argues that a prince may have to be cunning and deceitful in order to maintain political power. He takes the stance that it is better for the prince to be feared than loved. His view of how a government should run and his unethical conduct are both early signs of dictatorship.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the fourth paragraph, under the subtitle The Prince, Vincent Barnett states that Machiavelli refers to all men as “ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers.” He also states that men were not loyal, but greedy and self absorbed. Machiavelli also wanted the “prince” to make himself feared, but not hated.…

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    If a Prince rules liberally, he will be given a good reputation, but it can hurt you in the long run. Just having a good reputation won’t help out the people. It’s better to have a bad reputation and govern the right way, than to have a good reputation and destroy your land. A government should also be ran on the greediness of money and supplies. A ruler must always be rapacious with money. If he needs to spend a lot of money for something, he won’t have to tax the people even more than they already are. “…had not moderated his expenses, he would have destroyed his government.” “Nothing wastes so rapidly as liberality.” (Machiavelli 187) Machiavelli also wrote that to be a great leader, one must know how to be cruel to his subjects. If the Prince’s people feared him, then they would obey him rather than if they didn’t. If they didn’t fear him they may think that they can overpower him and rebel. “…it is much safer to be feared than loved” (Machiavelli…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lao-Tzu Vs Machiavelli

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.” (207) Machiavelli insists that though to be both loved and feared would be best, being the two at once is impossible, thus “it is much safer to be feared than to be loved when one of the two must be lacking.” (227) On the subject of being despised, Machiavelli fest strongly that a Prince should avoid being considered that at all costs. “A prince must guard himself against being despised and hated[...]”…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In The Prince, Machiavelli states that it is better to be hated then loved as a leader. I disagree with him, and say that it is much better to be loved then hated. There are certain people, like Alexander the Great and Caesar who were loved when they ruled, there is human nature that affects the way people respond to things, and how a prince treats his people.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli asserts, “... of men generally; they are ungrateful, fickle, feigners and dissemblers, avoiders of danger, eager for gain” and that men are “treacherous and would not keep their promises to you.” Do you agree with his assessment of people? Explain.…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Insurrection is hard to take root in a principality if the people like their prince.22 To avoid revolts, princes have attempted the following: dividing the town, disarming the citizens, attempting to please the disgruntled citizens, and building a fortress.23 When dividing a town, the lower class of people will side with the enemy and seek revenge against the upper class.24 Disarming the people would offend them, but if a prince allows them to keep their arms, the people will be more loyal to his cause.25 Disgruntled citizens can be won over for the prince’s cause, sometimes through manipulation, but when adversity hits, they may abandon him. Loyalty at the start of a prince’s rule is stronger than loyalty gained during his rule.26 If a prince is hated by his people, he must build a fortress around his principality for protection because the people will not raise support against foreign attackers. No fortress can protect a prince from his disgruntled citizens, but it can keep his citizens from gaining outside…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    (Strength of argument): For Machiavelli, he believes that a prince should be feared than loved by the people and he specifies, “..a wise prince should build his foundation upon that which belongs to him, not upon that which belongs to others; he must strive only to avoid hatred, as has been said” (Jacobus 47). However, in this case, his argument can be flawed and turned against him. (Tempering the Position): Although Machiavelli does a really great significant job of using logic, reason, and history to convince his readers the proper way a prince should rule; however, he didn’t imply support to show how a prince to avoid being hated by his people because, he too knows, that there will be some people who will learn to hate one from their actions they perform. (Conversation): As a matter of fact, I have experienced a situation similar to what Machiavelli doesn’t want to happen. I am not at all a prince, but I have had people hate me for my beliefs, my attitude, or my actions. There was this one time where this girl began to grow this hatred towards me just because I kicked a pit-bull so he wouldn’t bite this little 6-year old I baby sat. My intention wasn’t to harm the dog, but it was the only way to buy me some time to be able carry the boy back inside my house safely. Even though this act I committed was considered animal cruelty, I had to do it to save the child. However, the girl still went against me on this action, so there goes to show that people can hate someone else because of how they see and…

    • 2621 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli's Cruelty

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages

    According to Hobbes, causing harm without a cause creates an environment where a certain type of war thrives: cruelty (Hobbes 1996, 101)…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

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

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    absolutism and democracy

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Machiavelli once wrote about how to be a successful prince. Machiavelli explained that you have to be in good graces with your people in order to be a successful prince. Fear is a good thing, but love is also a good thing. Your people must be able to count on you, but they must also not want to revolt against you, which is why an absolute monarchy is the best thing according to them, at the time.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays