Machiavelli

The Prince

Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from the

beginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappy

and will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century after

century, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone's

needs. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue that

will always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in which

people have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those of

Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a master

plan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takes

to be a prince of a state in his magnificent book, The Prince. In his book many

themes were expressed in order to fulfill the role of a prince. These themes

ranged from human nature to military force and most importantly virtue.

Machavelli believed that the state is the highest achievement of man and

one should love the state more than his own soul. Being the perfect prince is

clearly a difficult task, but if done correctly, it can be very rewarding. Machiavelli

also believed that human nature does not change. In general Machiavelli

thought people were ungrateful, selfish, and insincere people, who only care

about themselves. Therefore the government must take account for man's true

nature and use his qualities for its purposes. Machiavelli also explained that a

ruler who intends to be successful must be prepared to do bad things when

necessary. He must sometimes caress, sometimes hurt, sometimes forgive, and

sometimes punish. This requirement must override all moral judgments, and

when making the decision, the