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The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe]; Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new princes.
The Prince was originally dedicated to Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici. The Medicis, however, did not accept Machiavelli into their favor until 1520. According to The Prince ' s translator, Robert M. Adams, "he was an instinctive dramatist, and one of the dramatic effects he most enjoyed producing was shock and outrage." [4]
The Machiavelli family is believed to be descended from the old marquesses of Tuscany and to have produced thirteen Florentine Gonfalonieres of Justice, [21] one of the offices of a group of nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two months and who formed the government, or Signoria; he was never, though, a full citizen of Florence ...
Machiavelli then goes into how a founder of a republic must "act alone" and gain absolute power to form a lasting regime. He cites Romulus's murder of his own brother Remus and co-ruler Titus Tatius in order to gain power. Machiavelli then excuses Romulus for his crimes, [5] saying he acted for the common good in bringing "civil life" in Rome's ...
Anti-Machiavel is an 18th-century essay by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia and patron of Voltaire, consisting of a chapter-by-chapter rebuttal of The Prince, the 16th-century book by Niccolò Machiavelli. It was first published in September 1740, a few months after Frederick became king. [1]
Machiavelli attributes two episodes to Cesare Borgia: the method by which the Romagna was pacified, which Machiavelli describes in chapter VII of The Prince, and the assassination of his captains on New Year's Eve of 1502 in Senigallia. [23] Machiavelli's use of Borgia is subject to controversy.
A comparison with The Prince is worth noting. Machiavelli stated that, to maintain control by political force, it is safer for a prince to be feared than loved. Erasmus preferred for the prince to be loved, and strongly suggested a well-rounded education in order to govern justly and benevolently and avoid becoming a source of oppression.
Machiavelli extended the study of classical virtue to include skill, valor, and leadership, and to encompass the individual prince or war-leader as well. [8] Virtù, for Machiavelli, was not equivalent to moral virtue, but was instead linked to the raison d'état. Indeed, what was good for the prince may be contradictory to that which is ...