Machivelli's Ideal Prince
"Machiavelli, The Prince, Part of The Prince, Essay, Ideal, Machiavelli Morals, Themes, Ideal from Machiavelli's The Prince
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Because Machiavelli had such strong convictions regarding the attributes of an ideal prince, he wrote a book! The Prince, by Machiavelli, touches on all the important character traits of such a ruler. He includes a prince's attributes, his focus, his strategies and his behavior.
We start first on what Machiavelli's idea of a prince's attributes should be. There are four main attributes that a prince should possess: intelligence, strength, determination, and tenaciousness. A prince must have the smarts to determine right from wrong. In times of trouble, he must know which path to take next.Strength ; a prince must be physically, and emotionally strong to face whatever comes at him. A prince's determination is very crucial in times of hardship. A prince must be willing to push on through the most difficult of times. He also must encourage his people and believe for himself that the struggle will soon be over.
Machiavelli clsarly states that, "a Prince's profession should be that of war". He also says that, "a Prince must devote his time to military exercises." A Prince can attain this in two ways, through action and through study.Machiavelli says that one can study by keeping his troops well disciplined and fit. He can act by learning the topography of the land. It is also important to carry on continual deliberation. When a price studies, he can learn from history and he can examine the causes of victories and defeats of other princes.
While Machiavelli says that a Prince's focus should be mostly of war, he also focuses on his relationship with the people and the nobles. A Prince must keep his people content with the way in which he rules. If he does not do this, the people of the state may try to overthrowthe prince. Machiavelli states, "I will conclude by saying that the good will of the people is vital to a prince; otherwise he will be helpless in times of adversity".
Machiavelli soon thereafter begins to elaborate on how his model princes should go about his strategies. War and armies, which is a common topic throughoutMachiavelli's book, addresses strategies for a prince to take concerning his soldiers. Niccolo Machiavelli warns that a prince should avoid two certain types of soldiers when it comes to war.
First, Machiavelli advises about mercenary soldiers. Mercenary soldiers are paid to fight battles for whomever they are employed. Machiavelli calls them, "lazy and unreliable". He says this because they are paid, and therefore they would not have any loyalty to a certain state. They are considered "unreliable" because mercenaries could just as easily be paid by a different country or state to betray you and thus destroy your princedom.
The second type of soldier Machiavelli warns his readers about is an Auxiliary soldier. Auxiliary soldiers are "borrowed" from another country to fight for or with you. Machiavelli says that auxiliary soldiers are even more dangerous than mercenary soldiers because since their loyalty is to another country, they in turn, could defeat your princedom. You would then be under their control, and you would lose your throne.
Machiavelli wraps up this discussion by saying that it is better to lose a battle with your own army, than to win with auxiliary or mercenary armies. Quickly gaining respect is another strategy for a prince, which Machiavelli highlights. A prince can accomplish this by inflicting injuries upon himself. Machiavelli says that he must do all of these things (the injuries) at once and to do them early in his career. He is also convinced that another way to gain respect is through keeping his word. If a Prince is loyal to his word, the people will esteem him. They will not try to contradict what he has to say.
Mercy and cruelty pair up as behavior traits for a prince while ruling from his throne. Machiavelli states that a prince is to be wisely merciful. He says that if a prince is too merciful there will be a huge outbreak of chaos within the state. However, a prince should also be wisely cruel. Once again, if a prince is too cruel, there will be violence and lawlessness in the state. "A prince, therefore, must be indifferent to the charge of cruelty if he is to keep his subjects loyal and united. Having set an example once or twice, he may thereafter act far more mercifully than the princes who, through excessive kindness, allow disorders to arise from which murder and rapine ensue" .Machiavelli's point is that a prince should be wise about how much cruelty and mercy he shows toward his people.
Finally, a prince must be wise at all times! A prince must be sly like a fox and bold like a lion. "Since a prince, then, is required to know how to assume a beastlike nature, he must adopt that of the fox and that of the lion; for a lion is defenseless against snares, and a fox is defenseless against wolves. Hence a prince ought to be a fox in recognizing snares and a lion in driving off wolves".
Passionate about his certainty of the qualities of an ideal ruler, The Prince was written to Lorenzo De' Medici by Niccol Machiavelli in the hope of winning a spot with the Medici family upon their return to power in Italy. Machiavelli goes to great lengths to paint a portrait of his ideal ruler. The question must arise whether or not this is attainable by one person? Perhaps this is a role suited for a beast. Only the fox and the lion know for sure.
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