“For the great majority of mankind are satisfied with appearance, as though they were realities, and are often more influenced by things that seem than by those that are.” –from The Prince

The Prince

Use of practical experience; use of observation of human events and political behavior; realistic assessment of political behavior; knowledge acquired from the humanistic study of ancient history; the book is not a treatise on political theory, but an impassioned answer to a particular historical situation written at a time of grave national and personal crisis; it offers a temporary solution to a particular historical situation; morality excluded (see chapter VIII); morality is an ideal, a desideratum; concerned with survival in a political jungle where morality does not apply; christian precepts are not ignored; they are judged inadequate as a guide to human conduct (see the section on acquiring glory); craft and cruelty stain a prince’s noblest attribute which is his glory, or ghiribizzo: a product of his fancy; literary quality of the work

The Prince consists of 26 chapters of various lengths; the first 11 chapters: different types of states and dominions and the ways in which they are acquired and preserved; chapters 12-14 focus on problems of military power; chapters 15-25 address personal attributes and virtues of the prince; and chapter 26 is an exhortation to action.

Paradoxical quality about the book: coldly realistic while at the same time presenting a hypothetical type, a portrait of an ideal man; an exaggeration; a parody that suggests what needs to be avoided by a potentially successful prince; pedagogical literature: overt purpose is to codify a certain set of manners and rules of conduct; author presents himself as especially wise, an expert; dramatic and oratorical way in which he confronts his listener; wealth and promptness of his pertinent illustrations; he uses personal as well as historical examples; consider the literary and rhetorical dimensions of the work; the work may be viewed as a piece of literature, rather than a political treatise.

Discourses

A more mature statement of Machiavelli’s political philosophy offers long-term political solution not found in The Prince; modern politics and warfare have ignored ancient practice; past models of political and military behavior; one cannot isolate The Prince from the rest of Machiavelli’s writing; presents republican theory of government; the same solution cannot be applied to all conditions; the need for flexibility; time of national emergency requires an individual, while maintenance of a republic requires good laws.

More to come . . .