Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli, "The Qualities of a Prince"

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence and studied Roman law. He was a public servant, diplomat, historian, writer, and one of the most important political scientists of all time. Besides his works on politics: The Discourses (1531), The Art of War (1519-1520), and The Prince (1532), Machiavelli also wrote comedies such as The Mandrake Root (1518) and histories such as his History of Florence (1595). Machiavelli's entire body of work was put on the Roman Catholic Church's Index of Prohibited Books in 1559. While today The Prince is sometimes called "a handbook for dictators," Machiavelli strongly believed in supremacy of a republican government. In this essay, Machiavelli describes the lengths he thinks a leader must be willing to go to in order to keep that type of government in control. "The Qualities of a Prince" is an excerpt from his masterpiece, The Prince.

CONTENT

1. What kind of spending harms a prince?
2. How would you characterize Cesare Borgia?
3. What two fears must a prince have?
4. According to the author, what is the relationship of cruelty to mercy?
5. Under which circumstances does the author say it's all right for a prince to lie?
6. According to Machiavelli, is it better for a leader to be loved or to be feared? Why is this the case?
7. Discuss the precautions a prince can take against conspiracies.

STRATEGY AND STYLE

1. This piece was written about 500 years ago. Review your reading to find some words, phrases, and references that gave you trouble due to this time difference. If you already haven't done so, look up the difficult ones. How might you bridge this gap in time and learning in the future?
2. This essay is divided into sections with titles. How can you categorize the sections? What's gained from this choice? How would the piece be different without them?
3. How would you describe this essay in terms of rhetorical mode? Does the author structure it by means of showing cause and effect, by providing examples, or by illustrating comparisons and contrasts? Support your answer with specifics from the essay.
4. Characterize the tone of the title of this essay. How does it prepare you for the tone of the piece itself? How is it different from titles such as Zora Neale Hurston's "How It Feels to Be Colored Me?" or Mike Rose's "I Just Wanna Be Average"?
5. What cues can you point to in the first paragraph about what Machiavelli thought his primary audience was? Do you think he might be surprised by the extent of his audience today?

1. What do you think about politics? Do you vote? Why or why not? How can you link these things with your reading?
2. Are you a leader, a follower, or somewhere in the middle of the pack? In all situations? Explain. How might your feelings about such things have influenced your experience with this essay?

SUGGESTIONS FOR SUSTAINED WRITING

1. Pick a U.S. President and write about how he stacks up compared to Machiavelli's hypothetical prince. Answer these questions: Did he seem more concerned with praise or with blame? Would you characterize him as generous or miserly on a national scale? Did he seem to want to be more loved or more feared? Did he keep his word?
2. Write an essay tracing Machiavelli's view of the relationship of leaders to love, hate, and fear.

FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Do some research on the Roman Catholic Church's Index of Prohibited Books in the 16^th century. What other books besides Machiavelli's are on the list? Why were Machiavelli's books banned? How did your research enhance your understanding of the historical context within which this essay was written?

WEB CONNECTION

To put Machiavelli's family into a historical context, it is a good idea to have some knowledge of the Medici family. This hyperlinked essay about them is a good place to visit in this regard. You'll also find portraits and a glossary there.

LINKS

Biographical

Would you like some background information about Machiavelli? Here's a hyperlinked biography from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

This biography from Lucidcafe.com has a portrait, a quote, and links to related resources.

For a different approach, take a look at this page. It contains a portrait, a biographical sketch, a timeline, a bibliography, and links.

Bibliographical

For further reading, here is work, The Prince, in etext from Columbia University's Institute for Learning Technologies. Do you like reading works in etext? What are some of the differences between that format and hard copy?

This page contains links to Machiavelli's The Art of War, in both html and text formats.

Pope Leo X had Machiavelli conduct a study about the troubles contemporary Florence was facing; and this discourse about reform was the author's conclusion.

Cultural

To put Machiavelli's work into a broader historical context, it is a good idea to know something about medieval Italy. This page from Georgetown University provides plenty of links on this subject.

Interested in political science? Want to learn more online? This is an excellent starting point from the University of Michigan.

Did you know that Machiavelli has a word named after him? There's also a "Top Ten" link on this page that's worth a visit.