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... It was not finished until 1521, mainly because he interrupted his work on Discourses to write The Prince. ... One of his goals in writing The Prince was to win the favor of Lorenzo de Medici, then the governor of Florence and the person to whom the book is dedicated; Machiavelli hoped to land an advisory position within the Florentine government. ... The publics reaction to The Prince was also indifferent at first. ... Philosophical Context The most revolutionary aspect of The Prince is its separation of politics and ethics. ... Another striking feature of The Prince is that it is far less theoretical than the literature on political theory that was written before it. Many earlier thinkers had constructed hypothetical notions of ideal or natural states, but Machiavelli treated historical evidence pragmatically to ground The Prince in real situations. ... In The Prince, Machiavelli argues that people have the ability to shield themselves against misfortune, expressing an extraordinary confidence in the power of human self-determination and affirming his belief in free will as opposed to divine destiny. ... His political thought is usually—and unfairly—defined solely in terms of The Prince. ... " But Machiavellis Discourses, a work considerably longer and more developed than The Prince, expounds strong republican themes of patriotism, civic virtue, and open political participation. Plot Overview Machiavelli composed The Prince as a practical guide for ruling. ... The Prince is not particularly theoretical or abstract; its prose is simple and its logic straightforward. ... The Prince is concerned with autocratic regimes, not with republican regimes. ... Chapter III comprehensively describes how to maintain composite principalities—that is, principalities that are newly created or annexed from another power, so that the prince is not familiar to the people he rules. ... Chapters XV to XXIII focus on the qualities of the prince himself. ... Certain virtues may be admired for their own sake, but for a prince to act in accordance with virtue is often detrimental to the state. ... The final sections of The Prince link the book to a specific historical context: Italys disunity. ... Auxiliary troops Troops borrowed from other nations to fight for a prince. ... Cesare Borgia is Machiavellis primary example of a prince who has great prowess, as displayed by his efforts to secure his state quickly after he was put in power. ... These principalities can differ in their culture, language, and attitudes in relation to the prince, since he is an unfamiliar ruler. ... Ecclesiastical principalities A principality technically under the rulership of a prince, but nonetheless strongly dominated by the Church. Hereditary principality A principality ruled by a prince whose family has controlled the principality for several generations. ... Mercenary troops Troops that are paid to perform a service for the prince. Because they have no loyalty to the prince and money is their only inducement to fight, they are unreliable as a means of defense. ... Native troops Broad term to describe the native army of a principality, consisting of countrymen and commanded either by a prince himself or a confidant. Principality A localized territory or region ruled by a prince (or princess), from which the term is derived. A prince may rule more than one principality. ... For the most part, the advice found in The Prince is geared toward principalities, although the book does reference republics in some cases. ... " Republic A state not ruled by a monarch or prince but headed by elected officials accountable to a larger citizenry. Machiavelli distinguishes a republic from a principality, which the bulk of The Prince takes as its subject. ... 1 Summary Machiavellis dedication of The Prince—with the heading "Niccolò Machiavelli to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici"—is a letter to Lorenzo de Medici, the nephew of Giovanni de Medici (Leo X), who made Machiavelli duke of Urbino in 1516. ... Machiavelli describes his book as a summary of his "understanding of the deeds of great men," intended to help Lorenzo de Medici achieve eminence as a prince. ... Similarly, writes Machiavelli, "to comprehend fully the nature of people, one must be a prince, and to comprehend fully the nature of princes one must be an ordinary citizen. ... The Prince is meant to advise, instruct, and influence the minds of rulers. ... Only later did The Prince become regarded as an important treatise on political philosophy. ... By fortune or strength, a prince can acquire a new principality with his own army or with the arms of others. ... The natural prince only has to keep past institutions intact, while adapting these institutions to current events. Second, the natural disposition of subjects in a hereditary state is to love the ruling family, unless the prince commits some horrible act against his people. Even if a strong outsider succeeds in conquering a princes hereditary state, any setback the outsider encounters will allow the prince to reconquer the state. ... This expectation of improvement will induce people to take up arms against any relatively unestablished prince. ... Furthermore, when a prince takes over another princes power, he finds himself in a tricky situation with regard to the people who put him in power. ... Immediately after taking power, the prince is in danger of losing his newly gained principality. When a prince successfully suppresses a revolt, however, the ruler can easily prevent further revolt by harshly punishing the rebels and decimating his opposition. ... If this is the case, the prince has to do only two things. First, he must destroy the family of the former prince. ... New states that have different languages and customs from those of the prince are more difficult to maintain. ... By living there, the prince can address problems quickly and efficiently. ... The subjects will be in close contact with the prince. Therefore, those who are inclined to be good will have more reason to show their allegiance to the prince and those who are inclined to be bad will have more reason to fear him. ... It is less expensive to establish colonies than to maintain military occupation, and colonialism only harms inhabitants who pose no threat to the prince because they are scattered and poor. ... A prince should injure people only if he knows there is no threat of revenge. ... A prince who has occupied a state in a foreign country should dominate the neighboring states. ... The prince must remain master of the whole country to keep control of the state he has conquered. ... Political disorders are easy to solve if the prince identifies them and acts early. ... In order to hold a state, a prince must understand statecraft and warcraft. ... The first involves a prince and appointed ministers. While the ministers help govern, everyone remains subservient to the prince. The second way involves a prince and nobles. Nobles are not appointed by the prince, but they benefit from their ancient lineage and have subjects of their own. Of both these scenarios, the prince is regarded as being much stronger if he uses ministers, since he is the only ruler in the country. It is much harder to take over a country if a prince uses ministers, because ministers have little incentive to be corrupted by foreign powers or to turn on their prince. Furthermore, even if they were to turn against the prince, they would not be able to muster support from any subjects because they hold no personal loyalties. ... Holding onto a state with ministers is much easier, because it merely requires killing off the one prince and his family. ... Such people will either love or hate their ruler, depending on whether they are harmed or injured, but as long as the prince can maintain control, he need have little concern for their welfare. ... A successful prince must always be aware of foreign powers and the threat of invasion. ... Finally, the guidelines set forth in The Prince have often been characterized as "amoral," because some of Machiavellis advice—killing off the family of the former ruler, the violent suppression of revolts and insurrections—seems cruel, brutal, and perhaps downright evil. ... Moreover, although Machiavelli does not use the words "ethical" or "moral" as such, later chapters of The Prince suggest that rulers have duties or obligations that could be considered ethical or moral. ... The third option is advantageous because the newly imposed oligarchy will work hard to secure the authority of the conquering prince within the conquered state because it owes its existence to the prince and cannot survive without his support. ... A prince who does not take this route places himself in a position to be destroyed himself. ... This sense of tradition will unify the people against the prince. On the other hand, cities or provinces that are accustomed to being ruled by a prince are easy to take over once the ruling family has been destroyed. ... Therefore, the new prince can win the province and hold onto it more easily. In republics (or former republics), sentiments of hatred and revenge against the conquering prince will run strong. There, the memories of ancient liberty never die, and so a prince will be better off destroying the republic or personally occupying the conquered state. ... This way, if a prince fails to meet those lofty goals, his actions will nevertheless enhance his reputation as a great or powerful ruler. ... This is because those who benefited from the old order will fiercely oppose the prince who tries to introduce a new order, whereas those who stand to benefit from the imposition of a new order will offer only lukewarm support. A prince who relies on his ability to persuade others to support him will be unable to succeed against such opposition. However, a prince who relies on his own prowess and can "force the issue" will usually succeed. ... A prince must eliminate rival leaders and win the favor of their followers. ... The Prince devotes little space to the concerns of subjects, and Machiavellis picture of the common people, though detailed, is not complex. Louis XIVs famous statement, "LEtat, cest moi" ("The state is me"), accords with the philosophy espoused in The Prince: The ruler is the state, and the state is ruler. ... The primary virtue of Machiavellis prince is self-reliance. A prince who manages to gain power by relying on his own prowess will succeed at maintaining power because his prowess will have built him a firm foundation for ruling. ... Thus, the more self-reliant the prince, the more capable he will prove of success. ... 1 Chapter VIII: Concerning Those Who Become Princes by Evil Means Machiavelli continues to describe the ways that a man can become a prince. ... If a prince comes to power by crime and wishes to be successful, he, like Agathocles, must only use cruelty in the first sense. Therefore, when a prince decides to seize a state, he must determine how much injury to inflict. ... Most important, a prince should be consistent in the way he treats his subjects. ... 2 Chapter IX: Concerning the Civil Principality The other way a prince can come to power is through the favor of his fellow citizens. ... If the nobles realize they cannot dominate the people, they will try to strengthen their position by making one of the nobles a prince. ... The people will follow the same course of action; if they realize they cannot withstand the nobles, they will make one of the people a prince and hope to be protected by the princes authority. A prince placed in power by nobles will find it more difficult to maintain his position because those who surround him will consider themselves his equals and his selection as prince arbitrary. However, a prince created by the people stands alone at the top. ... If the people are hostile to the prince, the worst that can happen is desertion. However, if the nobles are hostile, the prince can expect both desertion and active opposition. ... Nobles will either become dependent on the prince or remain independent of his control. A prince should honor and love those nobles who have become dependent on him. ... Timid nobles are benign, but a prince should be wary of ambitious nobles, since they will become enemies in times of adversity. A prince created by the people must retain the peoples friendship, a fairly easy task. A prince created by the nobles must still try to win over the peoples affection, because they can serve as protection from hostile nobles. ... If people expect hostility from a prince but instead receive kindness and favors, they feel a great obligation to their prince. ... To make this transition, a prince can either rule directly or through magistrates. The prince is more vulnerable in the latter case because he is dependent on the will of his magistrates. ... Moreover, if the magistrates do revolt, the prince will be unable to assume absolute power, because the people are accustomed to obeying the magistrates rather than the prince. In prosperous times, it is fashionable to declare allegiance to a prince. ... A wise prince must find a way to ensure that his citizens are always dependent on his authority. ... Whether a prince uses cruelty or benevolence to obtain that support is secondary to the necessity of gaining the support itself. ... While any prince can achieve and maintain power, glory remains a more elusive goal. ... Machiavellis view is that the prince who rises and survives by means of treachery and the prince who succeeds by his innate prowess are both technically princes. ... Yet Machiavellis very recognition of the intrinsic immorality of cruel behavior contradicts the depiction of The Prince as a completely amoral book. ... Rather, it is simply one of a number of challenges that a prince must learn to negotiate if he is to be successful. ... This device can be described schematically as "A prince must accomplish X. ... Y is preferable to Z, so a prince should choose method Y. ... If Y and Z arent the only way to accomplish X, then the course of action that Machiavelli proposes for a prince is not necessarily the best possible option. One might ask, for example, whether there are other ways of becoming a prince besides prowess, fortune, crime, and favor. ... 1 Chapter X: How the Strength of All Principalities Should Be Measured Although a prince should always aim to keep an army of equal size and strength as that of any aggressor, it is just as important to maintain defenses and fortifications. ... Some might argue that if an enemy lays siege to a fortified city, the people inside, upon witnessing their countryside pillaged and possessions destroyed, will turn against their prince. But a prince who has made adequate defensive preparations can actually inspire his subjects during such times. ... This way, when the siege is over, the grateful and obliged people will love the prince all the more. ... Machiavelli sarcastically remarks that principles of religion, rather than governments, rule ecclesiastical principalities, so the prince does not even need to govern. ... One surprising characteristic of The Prince is how completely it defines the city as an entity that exists to serve its ruler rather than its populace. ... Although the fortification of cities has a military value, Machiavelli focuses on fortification as a tool by which a prince can solidify popular support in times of war or siege. ... It is far more preferable for a prince to command his own army. ... Although they often fight well, a prince who calls on auxiliaries places himself in a no-win situation. ... Thus, they pose an even more dangerous threat to the prince than mercenaries. If a prince does not command his own native troops, the principality can never be secure. ... 3 Chapter XIV: A Princes Concern in Military Matters A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war. The only thing a prince needs to study is the art of war. ... A prince who does not understand warfare attempting to lead an army is like the unarmed man trying to lead the armed. The prince must spend all of his time studying the art of war. ... The prince must train his body to hardships and learn to hunt wildlife. ... A prince must prepare rigorously during peacetime in order to be well prepared for wartime. ... 2 Analysis Machiavellis famous statement that "the presence of sound military forces indicates the presence of sound laws" is a succinct description of the relationship between war and the formation of states in The Prince. ... His reference to Italy in the context of mercenaries is significant, since Machiavelli wrote The Prince partly to help Italy become more stable and powerful in the face of its aggressive neighbors. ... In Chapter XIV, Machiavelli shifts his focus from the role of the prince to the personality of the prince. |
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