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The Best Paper Evvver
Joanna Wilbur
2010-2011
Global: Summer Reading Notes

The Prince
By Niccolo Machiavelli

1) Why did Machiavelli write The Prince? Machiavelli wrote The Prince because he wanted to impress Lorenzo de Medici, who was the current ruler, and prove that he was knowledgeable and a useful advisor to him. He also wrote it as a mirror for Princes to read and understand how to be effective in power.

2) Name three recurring themes in The Prince? 1) One recurring theme in The Prince was that successful war is the foundation upon which all states are built. 2) Another is that it is better for a prince to be feared then hated or loved. 3) The last is free will and the cause of a prince’s success or failure is caused by his own free will.

3) Describe the Role of armies according to Machiavelli. According to Machiavelli the role of armies id to defend the kingdom and to expand into new territories but he warns that it is not good enough to just have a strong army, strong protection and an ability to maintain morale among the troops and citizens is important.

4) Why does Machiavelli say that it is better for a prince “to be both loved and feared”? Is it possible for a prince to be both? Explain. Machiavelli says this because when a Prince is feared people will respect him and do what he says and they will love him and praise him. It is also possible to be both feared and loved but it is very difficult and only great rulers are able to create the balance.

5) In Chapter 20, what three bits of advice does Machiavelli give the prince? In Chapter 20, Machiavelli says to the prince that when trying to create peace and trust in a kingdom, not during wartime, you should never disarm the citizens unless the prince annex’s a state and then to disarm the subjects until there is peace there is the best choice. Also a prince can build a fortress to curb rebellion or destroy them to maintain control in newly acquired states. Both of
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