Telling the Story of Machiavelli's The Prince

The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli 

The Prince by Nicolo Machiavelli

https://www.biography.com/scholar/niccolo-machiavelli

    Nicolo Machiavelli had written the book "The Prince" right after he had to leave Florence because of political exile. From the beginning of the book, I had noticed that Machiavelli wrote about what would come in the rest of the book. Machiavelli set an outline in order to talk about major events and ideas such as power and politics. Machiavelli stated "And above all, a prince must live with his subjects in such a way that no accident should make him change it, for good or evil..." (Machiavelli 34). Later on in the book, I had found out that Machiavelli stresses many advantages and disadvantages when it comes to having power. Then following the advantages and disadvantages, Machiavelli talks about free will, ethics, and human nature. 

    Throughout the book, what I had enjoyed reading about was how Machiavelli emphasized two major ideas. A generous prince and a mean prince. Machiavelli had stated "...either by a prince and his servants, who, as ministers by his grace and permission, assist in governing the realm; or by a prince and by barons, who hold their positions not by favor of the ruler but by antiquity of blood" (Machiavelli 13). A generous prince is one who is who is loved by the people but could have an awful downfall due to the lack of solidarity amongst the people and the prince. So although a generous prince would be loved, it also creates lack of authority. But a mean prince would hold down the people through fear, but could also have a downfall from the people due to him being hated. I had agreed how a mean prince would be a better prince rather than a generous one.  

Machiavelli: Cruelty Well Used 

   At the end of "The Prince" I had noticed a reoccurring topic. Machiavelli from the start of the book had mentioned about fortune and then later on elaborates more and more about fortune. He had talked about fortune towards the beginning of the book but brings up the topic again later on. For instance, Machiavelli states "Nevertheless, that our freewill may be true that fortune is the ruler of half our actions, but that she allows the other half or a little less to be governed by us" (Machiavelli 93). Machiavelli states how fortune controls half of one's actions while free will controls the other half. He wants to be known how a Prince could be successful one day and could have a major downfall the next day. I had realized that this goes along with a generous and mean prince that was talked about throughout the book. But around chapter 25 is where fortune and good will is emphasized greatly. Action and fortune is how to determine a prince's success. Overall, I had come to a consensus of how with luck or favor, the prince could become powerful one way or another. 

 Works Cited 

Biography.com Editors. “Niccolò Machiavelli.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 16 June 2020, www.biography.com/scholar/niccolo-machiavelli.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “How to Protect Yourself and Others.” CDC.gov, 4 Feb. 2021, www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention-H.pdf. 

Eudaimonia, director. The Prince | Machiavelli (All Parts). Youtube, 16 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCL0bI0i-00.