Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Prince
Machiavellis The Prince
Historical Overview
Human Nature and Power
Forms of Government
I. Historical Overview
Niccol Machiavelli
(1469 1527)
European
Renaissance
Declining power of
Church
Advancing in Science,
Arts, Literature
The Prince written in
1513 during period of
political exile
Copernican Universe
I. Historical Overview
Machiavelli & Florence
Medici family rules
city
French forces invade,
set up republican
government
Machiavelli gets role
in government, ends
up as high civil
servant, some
diplomatic missions
and military
operations
I. Historical Overview
Chapter XXV
I judge it to be true that fortune is the
arbiter of one half of our actions, but
that she still leaves the control of the
other half, or almost that, to us.
Flooding river analogy
III. Fortune and Virtue
What to do?
1. Follow Machiavellis prescriptions.
That is, learn the virtues of ruling
2. I also believe that the man who
adapts his course of action to the
nature of the times will succeed and,
likewise, that the man who sets his
course of action out of tune with the
times will come to grief (XVIII).
III. Fortune and Virtue
Republics:
Founded by a strong, inspirational
leader rallying the citizenry
Based on law
Governed in the interest of the
majority, not of a special elite
Mixed class members of all classes
have opportunity to participate
IV. Forms of Government
Tyrannies
Masses are subjects, not active
participants in political life
Ruling classes enjoy more liberty, and
when interests of rulers conflict with
liberty of the masses, the rulers
prevail
IV. Forms of Government