Title page of a 1550 edition
| |
| Author | Niccolò Machiavelli |
|---|---|
| Original title | De Principatibus / Il Principe |
| Country | Italy |
| Language | Italian |
| Subject | Political science |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Antonio Blado d'Asola. |
Publication date
| 1532 |
| Followed by | Discourses on Livy |
The Prince (Italian: Il Principe [il ˈprintʃipe], Latin: De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. From his correspondence, a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (Of Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was carried out with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings".
Although The Prince was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice that had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.
The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the "effectual" truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It is also notable for being in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time, particularly those concerning politics and ethics.
Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli's works and the one most responsible for bringing the word Machiavellian into usage as a pejorative. It even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words politics and politician in Western countries. In subject matter it overlaps with the much longer Discourses on Livy, which was written a few years later. In its use of near-contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli which The Prince has been compared to is the Life of Castruccio Castracani.
The descriptions within The Prince have the general theme of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends:
He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.
Summary
Each part of The Prince
has been extensively commented on over centuries. The work has a
recognizable structure, for the most part indicated by the author
himself. It can be summarized as follows:
Letter to Magnificent Lorenzo de' Medici
Machiavelli prefaces his work with an introductory letter to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, the recipient of his work.
The subject matter: New Princedoms (Chapters 1 and 2)
The Prince starts by describing the subject matter it will handle. In the first sentence, Machiavelli uses the word "state" (Italian stato which could also mean "status")
in order to cover, in neutral terms, "all forms of organization of
supreme political power, whether republican or princely." The way in
which the word state came to acquire this modern type of meaning during the Renaissance
has been the subject of much academic debate, with this sentence and
similar ones in the works of Machiavelli being considered particularly
important.
Machiavelli says that The Prince would be about princedoms, mentioning that he has written about republics elsewhere (a reference to the Discourses on Livy), but in fact he mixes discussion of republics into this work in many places, effectively treating republics as a type of princedom
also, and one with many strengths. More importantly, and less
traditionally, he distinguishes new princedoms from hereditary
established princedoms.
He deals with hereditary princedoms quickly in Chapter 2, saying that
they are much easier to rule. For such a prince, "unless extraordinary
vices cause him to be hated, it is reasonable to expect that his
subjects will be naturally well disposed towards him". Gilbert (1938:19–23),
comparing this claim to traditional presentations of advice for
princes, wrote that the novelty in chapters 1 and 2 is the "deliberate
purpose of dealing with a new ruler who will need to establish himself
in defiance of custom". Normally, these types of works were addressed
only to hereditary princes. He thinks Machiavelli may have been
influenced by Tacitus as well as his own experience, but finds no clear predecessor to substantiate this claim.
This categorization of regime types is also "un-Aristotelian" and apparently simpler than the traditional one found for example in Aristotle's Politics, which divides regimes into those ruled by a single monarch, an oligarchy, or by the people, in a democracy.
Machiavelli also ignores the classical distinctions between the good
and corrupt forms, for example between monarchy and tyranny.
Xenophon, on the other hand, made exactly the same distinction between types of rulers in the beginning of his Education of Cyrus where he says that, concerning the knowledge of how to rule human beings, Cyrus the Great,
his exemplary prince, was very different "from all other kings, both
those who have inherited their thrones from their fathers and those who
have gained their crowns by their own efforts".
Machiavelli divides the subject of new states into two types, "mixed" cases and purely new states.
"Mixed" princedoms (Chapters 3–5)
New
princedoms are either totally new, or they are "mixed", meaning that
they are new parts of an older state, already belonging to that prince.
New conquests added to older states (Chapter 3)
Machiavelli
generalizes that there were several virtuous Roman ways to hold a newly
acquired province, using a republic as an example of how new princes
can act:
- to install one's princedom in the new acquisition, or to install colonies of one's people there, which is better.
- to indulge the lesser powers of the area without increasing their power.
- to put down the powerful people.
- not to allow a foreign power to gain reputation.
More generally, Machiavelli emphasizes that one should have regard
not only for present problems but also for the future ones. One should
not "enjoy the benefit of time" but rather the benefit of one's virtue
and prudence, because time can bring evil as well as good.
Machiavelli notes in this chapter on the "natural and ordinary
desire to acquire" and as such, those who act on this desire can be
"praised or blamed" depending on the success of their acquisitions. He
then goes into detail about how the King of France failed in his
conquest of Italy, even saying how he could have succeeded. Machiavelli
views injuring enemies an necessity, stating that "if an injury is to be
done to a man, it should be so severe that the prince is not in fear of
revenge".
Conquered kingdoms (Chapter 4)
A 16th-century Italian impression of the family of Darius III, emperor of Persia, before their conqueror, Alexander the Great. Machiavelli explained that in his time the Near East was again ruled by an empire, the Ottoman Empire, with similar characteristics to that of Darius – seen from the viewpoint of a potential conqueror.
In some cases the old king of the conquered kingdom depended on his
lords. 16th century France, or in other words France as it was at the
time of writing of The Prince, is given by Machiavelli as an example of such a kingdom. These are easy to enter but difficult to hold.
When the kingdom revolves around the king, with everyone else his
servant, then it is difficult to enter but easy to hold. The solution
is to eliminate the old bloodline of the prince. Machiavelli used the Persian empire of Darius III, conquered by Alexander the Great,
to illustrate this point and then noted that the Medici, if they think
about it, will find this historical example similar to the "kingdom of
the Turk" (Ottoman Empire) in their time – making this a potentially easier conquest to hold than France would be.
Conquered Free States, with their own laws and orders (Chapter 5)
Gilbert (1938:34)
notes that this chapter is quite atypical of any previous books for
princes. Gilbert supposed the need to discuss conquering free republics
is linked to Machiavelli's project to unite Italy, which contained some
free republics. As he also notes, the chapter in any case makes it clear
that holding such a state is highly difficult for a prince. Machiavelli
gives three options:
- Ruin them, as Rome destroyed Carthage, and also as Machiavelli says the Romans eventually had to do in Greece.
- Go to live there and rule it personally.
- Keep the state intact but install an oligarchy.
Machiavelli advises the ruler to go the first route, stating that if a
prince doesn't destroy a city, he can expect "to be destroyed by it".
Totally New States (Chapters 6–9)
Conquests by virtue (Chapter 6)
Machiavelli described Moses
as a conquering prince, who founded new modes and orders by force of
arms, which he used willingly to kill many of his own people. The Bible
describes the reasons behind his success differently.
Princes who rise to power through their own skill and resources
(their "virtue") rather than luck tend to have a hard time rising to the
top, but once they reach the top they are very secure in their
position. This is because they effectively crush their opponents and
earn great respect from everyone else. Because they are strong and more
self-sufficient, they have to make fewer compromises with their allies.
Machiavelli writes that reforming an existing order is one of the
most dangerous and difficult things a prince can do. Part of the reason
is that people are naturally resistant to change and reform. Those who
benefited from the old order will resist change very fiercely. By
contrast, those who can benefit from the new order will be less fierce
in their support, because the new order is unfamiliar and they are not
certain it will live up to its promises. Moreover, it is impossible for
the prince to satisfy everybody's expectations. Inevitably, he will
disappoint some of his followers. Therefore, a prince must have the
means to force his supporters to keep supporting him even when they
start having second thoughts, otherwise he will lose his power. Only
armed prophets, like Moses, succeed in bringing lasting change.
Machiavelli claims that Moses killed uncountable numbers of his own
people in order to enforce his will.
Machiavelli was not the first thinker to notice this pattern.
Allan Gilbert wrote: "In wishing new laws and yet seeing danger in them
Machiavelli was not himself an innovator," because this idea was traditional and could be found in Aristotle's
writings. But Machiavelli went much further than any other author in
his emphasis on this aim, and Gilbert associates Machiavelli's emphasis
upon such drastic aims with the level of corruption to be found in
Italy.
Conquest by fortune, meaning by someone else’s virtue (Chapter 7)
According
to Machiavelli, when a prince comes to power through luck or the
blessings of powerful figures within the regime, he typically has an
easy time gaining power but a hard time keeping it thereafter, because
his power is dependent on his benefactors' goodwill. He does not command
the loyalty of the armies and officials that maintain his authority,
and these can be withdrawn from him at a whim. Having risen the easy
way, it is not even certain such a prince has the skill and strength to
stand on his own feet.
This is not necessarily true in every case. Machiavelli cites Cesare Borgia
as an example of a lucky prince who escaped this pattern. Through
cunning political maneuvers, he managed to secure his power base.
Cesare was made commander of the papal armies by his father, Pope Alexander VI,
but was also heavily dependent on mercenary armies loyal to the Orsini
brothers and the support of the French king. Borgia won over the
allegiance of the Orsini brothers' followers with better pay and
prestigious government posts. To pacify the Romagna, he sent in his
henchman, Remirro de Orco, to commit acts of violence. When Remirro
started to become hated for his actions, Borgia responded by ordering
him to be "cut in two" to show the people that the cruelty was not from
him, although it was.
When some of his mercenary captains started to plot against him, he had
them captured and executed. When it looked as though the king of France
would abandon him, Borgia sought new alliances.
Finally, Machiavelli makes a point that bringing new benefits to a
conquered people will not be enough to cancel the memory of old
injuries, an idea Allan Gilbert said can be found in Tacitus and Seneca the Younger.
Of Those Who Have Obtained a Principality Through Crimes (Chapter 8)
Conquests
by "criminal virtue" are ones in which the new prince secures his power
through cruel, immoral deeds, such as the elimination of political
rivals.
Machiavelli's offers two rulers to imitate, Agathocles of Syracuse, and Oliverotto Euffreducci.
After Agathocles became Praetor of Syracuse, he called a meeting of
the city's elite. At his signal, his soldiers killed all the senators
and the wealthiest citizens, completely destroying the old oligarchy. He
declared himself ruler with no opposition. So secure was his power that
he could afford to absent himself to go off on military campaigns in
Africa.
Machiavelli then states that the behavior of Agathocles is not
simply virtue, as he says, "Yet one cannot call it virtue to kill one's
citizens, betray one's friends, to be without faith, without mercy,
without religion; these modes can enable one to acquire empire, but not
glory. [...] Nonetheless, his savage cruelty and inhumanity, together
with his infinite crimes, do not permit him to be celebrated among the
most excellent men. Thus, one cannot attribute to fortune or virtue
what he achieved without either."
Machiavelli then goes to his next example, Oliverotto de Fermo, an Italian condottiero
who recently came to power by killing all his enemies, including his
uncle Giovanni Fogliani, at a banquet. After he laid siege to the
governing council and terrified the citizenry, he had then set up a
government with himself as absolute ruler. However, in an ironic twist,
Oliverotto was killed the same way his opponents were, as Cesare Borgia
had him strangled after he invited Oliverotto and Vitellozzo Vitelli to a
friendly setting.
Machiavelli advises that a prince should carefully calculate all
the wicked deeds he needs to do to secure his power, and then execute
them all in one stroke. In this way, his subjects will slowly forget
his cruel deeds and the prince can better align himself with his
subjects. Princes who fail to do this, who hesitate in their
ruthlessness, will have to "keep a knife by his side" and protect
himself at all costs, as he can never trust himself amongst his
subjects.
Gilbert
remarks that this chapter is even less traditional than those it
follows, not only in its treatment of criminal behavior, but also in the
advice to take power from people at a stroke, noting that precisely the
opposite had been advised by Aristotle in his Politics
(5.11.1315a13). On the other hand, Gilbert shows that another piece of
advice in this chapter, to give benefits when it will not appear forced,
was traditional.
Becoming a prince by the selection of one's fellow citizens (Chapter 9)
A
"civil principality" is one in which a citizen comes to power "not
through crime or other intolerable violence", but by the support of his
fellow citizens. This, he says, does not require extreme virtue or
fortune, only "fortunate astuteness".
Machiavelli makes an important distinction between two groups
that are present in every city, and have very different appetites
driving them: the "great" and the "people". The "great" wish to oppress
and rule the "people", while the "people" wish not to be ruled or
oppressed. A principality is not the only outcome possible from these
appetites, because it can also lead to either "liberty" or "license".
A principality is put into place either by the "great" or the
"people" when they have the opportunity to take power, but find
resistance from the other side. They assign a leader who can be popular
to the people while the great benefit, or a strong authority defending
the people against the great.
Machiavelli goes on to say that a prince who obtains power through the
support of the nobles has a harder time staying in power than someone
who is chosen by the common people; since the former finds himself
surrounded by people who consider themselves his equals. He has to
resort to malevolent measures to satisfy the nobles.
One cannot by fair dealing, and without injury to others, satisfy the nobles, but you can satisfy the people, for their object is more righteous than that of the nobles, the latter wishing to oppress, while the former only desire not to be oppressed.
Also a prince cannot afford to keep the common people hostile as they are larger in number while the nobles smaller.
Therefore, the great should be made and unmade every day. There are two types of great people that might be encountered:
- Those who are bound to the prince. Concerning these it is important to distinguish between two types of obligated great people, those who are rapacious and those who are not. It is the latter who can and should be honoured.
- Those who are not bound to the new prince. Once again these need to be divided into two types: those with a weak spirit (a prince can make use of them if they are of good counsel) and those who shun being bound because of their own ambition (these should be watched and feared as enemies).
How to win over people depends on circumstances. Machiavelli advises:
- Do not get frightened in adversity.
- One should avoid ruling via magistrates, if one wishes to be able to "ascend" to absolute rule quickly and safely.
- One should make sure that the people need the prince, especially if a time of need should come.
How to judge the strength of principalities (Chapter 10)
The
way to judge the strength of a princedom is to see whether it can
defend itself, or whether it needs to depend on allies. This does not
just mean that the cities should be prepared and the people trained; a
prince who is hated is also exposed.
Ecclesiastical principates (Chapter 11)
Leo X: a pope, but also a member of the Medici family. Machiavelli suggested they should treat the church as a princedom, as the Borgia family had, in order to conquer Italy, and found new modes and orders.
This type of "princedom" refers for example explicitly to the
Catholic church, which is of course not traditionally thought of as a
princedom. According to Machiavelli, these are relatively easy to
maintain, once founded. They do not need to defend themselves
militarily, nor to govern their subjects.
Machiavelli discusses the recent history of the Church as if it
were a princedom that was in competition to conquer Italy against other
princes. He points to factionalism as a historical weak point in the
Church, and points to the recent example of the Borgia family as a better strategy which almost worked. He then explicitly proposes that the Medici are now in a position to try the same thing.
Defense and military (Chapter 12–14)
Having discussed the various types of principalities,
Machiavelli turns to the ways a state can attack other territories or
defend itself. The two most essential foundations for any state, whether
old or new, are sound laws and strong military forces.
A self-sufficient prince is one who can meet any enemy on the
battlefield. He should be "armed" with his own arms. However, a prince
that relies solely on fortifications or on the help of others and stands
on the defensive is not self-sufficient. If he cannot raise a
formidable army, but must rely on defense, he must fortify his city. A
well-fortified city is unlikely to be attacked, and if it is, most
armies cannot endure an extended siege. However, during a siege a
virtuous prince will keep the morale of his subjects high while removing
all dissenters. Thus, as long as the city is properly defended and has enough supplies, a wise prince can withstand any siege.
Machiavelli stands strongly against the use of mercenaries,
and in this he was innovative, and he also had personal experience in
Florence. He believes they are useless to a ruler because they are
undisciplined, cowardly, and without any loyalty, being motivated only
by money. Machiavelli attributes the Italian city states’ weakness to
their reliance on mercenary armies.
Machiavelli also warns against using auxiliary forces, troops
borrowed from an ally, because if they win, the employer is under their
favor and if they lose, he is ruined. Auxiliary forces are more
dangerous than mercenary forces because they are united and controlled
by capable leaders who may turn against the employer.
The main concern for a prince should be war, or the preparation
thereof, not books. Through war a hereditary prince maintains his power
or a private citizen rises to power. Machiavelli advises that a prince
must frequently hunt in order to keep his body fit and learn the
landscape surrounding his kingdom. Through this, he can best learn how
to protect his territory and advance upon others. For intellectual
strength, he is advised to study great military men so he may imitate
their successes and avoid their mistakes. A prince who is diligent in
times of peace will be ready in times of adversity. Machiavelli writes,
“thus, when fortune turns against him he will be prepared to resist it.”
The Qualities of a Prince (Chapters 14–19)
Each
of the following chapters presents a discussion about a particular
virtue or vice that a prince might have, and is therefore structured in a
way which appears like traditional advice for a prince. However, the
advice is far from traditional.
A Prince's Duty Concerning Military Matters (Chapter 14)
Machiavelli
believes that a prince's main focus should be on perfecting the art of
war. He believes that by taking this profession an aspiring prince will
be able to acquire a state, and will be able to maintain what he has
gained. He claims that "being disarmed makes you despised." He believes
that the only way to ensure loyalty from one's soldiers is to understand
military matters.
The two activities Machiavelli recommends practicing to prepare for war
are physical and mental. Physically, he believes rulers should learn the
landscape of their territories. Mentally, he encouraged the study of
past military events. He also warns against idleness.
Reputation of a prince (Chapter 15)
Because, says Machiavelli, he wants to write something useful to those
who understand, he thought it more fitting "to go directly to the
effectual truth ("verità effettuale") of the thing than to the
imagination of it". This section is one where Machiavelli's pragmatic
ideal can be seen most clearly. Machiavelli reasons that since princes
come across men who are evil, he should learn how to be equally evil
himself, and use this ability or not according to necessity. Concerning
the behavior of a prince toward his subjects, Machiavelli announces that
he will depart from what other writers say, and writes:
Men have imagined republics and principalities that never really existed at all. Yet the way men live is so far removed from the way they ought to live that anyone who abandons what is for what should be pursues his downfall rather than his preservation; for a man who strives after goodness in all his acts is sure to come to ruin, since there are so many men who are not good.
Since there are many possible qualities that a prince can be said to
possess, he must not be overly concerned about having all the good ones.
Also, a prince may be perceived to be merciful, faithful, humane,
frank, and religious, but most important is only to seem to have these qualities. A prince cannot truly have these qualities because at times it is necessary
to act against them. In fact, he must sometimes deliberately choose
evil. Although a bad reputation should be avoided, it is sometimes
necessary to have one.
Generosity vs. parsimony (Chapter 16)
If
a prince is overly generous to his subjects, Machiavelli asserts he
will not be appreciated, and will only cause greed for more.
Additionally, being overly generous is not economical, because
eventually all resources will be exhausted. This results in higher
taxes, and will bring grief upon the prince. Then, if he decides to
discontinue or limit his generosity, he will be labeled as a miser.
Thus, Machiavelli summarizes that guarding against the people's hatred
is more important than building up a reputation for generosity. A wise
prince should be willing to be more reputed a miser than be hated for
trying to be too generous.
On the other hand: "of what is not yours or your subjects' one can be a bigger giver, as were Cyrus, Caesar, and Alexander,
because spending what is someone else's does not take reputation from
you but adds it to you; only spending your own hurts you".
Cruelty vs. Mercy (Chapter 17)
Hannibal meeting Scipio Africanus. Machiavelli describes Hannibal as having the "virtue" of "inhuman cruelty". But he lost to someone, Scipio Africanus, who showed the weakness of "excessive mercy" and who could therefore only have held power in a republic.
Machiavelli begins this chapter by addressing how mercy can be
misused which will harm the prince and his dominion. He ends by stating
that a prince should not shrink from being cruel if it means that it
will keep his subjects in line. After all, it will help him maintain his
rule. He gives the example of Cesare Borgia, whose cruelty protected him from rebellions. He contrasts this example with the leaders of Florence, whom, through too much mercy, allowed disorders to plague their city.
In addressing the question of whether it is better to be loved or
feared, Machiavelli writes, "The answer is that one would like to be
both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them,
it is far safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both." As
Machiavelli asserts, commitments made in peace are not always kept in
adversity; however, commitments made in fear are kept out of fear. Yet, a
prince must ensure that he is not feared to the point of hatred, which
is very possible.
This chapter is possibly the most well-known of the work, and it
is important because of the reasoning behind Machiavelli's famous idea
that it is better to be feared than loved.
His justification is purely pragmatic; as he notes, "Men worry less
about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who
makes himself feared." Fear is used as a means to ensure obedience from
his subjects, and security for the prince. Above all, Machiavelli
argues, a prince should not interfere with the property of their
subjects or their women, and if they should try to kill someone, they
should do it with a convenient justification.
Regarding the troops of the prince, fear is absolutely necessary
to keep a large garrison united and a prince should not mind the thought
of cruelty in that regard. For a prince who leads his own army, it is
imperative for him to observe cruelty because that is the only way he
can command his soldiers' absolute respect. Machiavelli compares two
great military leaders: Hannibal and Scipio Africanus.
Although Hannibal's army consisted of men of various races, they were
never rebellious because they feared their leader. Machiavelli says this
required "inhuman cruelty" which he refers to as a virtue. Scipio's
men, on the other hand, were known for their mutiny and dissension, due
to Scipio's "excessive mercy" – which was, however, a source of glory
because he lived in a republic.
In what way princes should keep their word (Chapter 18)
Machiavelli
notes that a prince is praised for keeping his word. However, he also
notes that in reality, the most cunning princes succeed politically. A
prince, therefore, should only keep his word when it suits his purposes,
but do his utmost to maintain the illusion that he does keep his word
and that he is reliable in that regard. Machiavelli advises the ruler to
become a "great liar and deceiver", and that men are so easy to
deceive, that the ruler won't have an issue with lying to others. He
justifies this by saying that men are wicked, and never keep their
words, therefore the ruler doesn't have to keep his.
As Machiavelli notes, "He should appear to be compassionate,
faithful to his word, guileless, and devout. And indeed he should be so.
But his disposition should be such that, if he needs to be the
opposite, he knows how." As noted in chapter 15, the prince must appear
to be virtuous in order to hide his actions, and he should be able to be
otherwise when the time calls for it; that includes being able to lie,
though however much he lies he should always keep the appearance of
being truthful.
In this chapter, Machiavelli uses "beasts" as a metaphor for
unscrupulous behavior. He states that while lawful conduct is part of
the nature of men, a prince should learn how to use the nature of both
men and beasts wisely to ensure the stability of his regime. In this
chapter however, his focus is solely on the "beastly" natures.
In particular, he compares the use of force to the "lion", and the use
of deception to the "fox", and advises the prince to study them both. In
employing this metaphor, Machiavelli apparently references De Officiis by the Roman orator and statesman Cicero, and subverts its conclusion, arguing instead that dishonorable behavior is sometimes politically necessary.
Avoiding contempt and hatred (Chapter 19)
Machiavelli
divides the fears which monarchs should have into internal (domestic)
and external (foreign) fears. Internal fears exist inside his kingdom
and focus on his subjects, Machiavelli warns to be suspicious of
everyone when hostile attitudes emerge. Machiavelli observes that the
majority of men are content as long as they are not deprived of their
property and women, and only a minority of men are ambitious enough to
be a concern. A prince should command respect through his conduct,
because a prince who does not raise the contempt of the nobles and keeps
the people satisfied, Machiavelli assures, should have no fear of
conspirators working with external powers. Conspiracy is very difficult
and risky in such a situation.
Machiavelli apparently seems to go back on his rule that a prince
can evade hate, as he says that he will eventually be hated by someone,
so he should seek to avoid being hated by the commonfolk.
Roman emperors, on the other hand, had not only the majority and
ambitious minority, but also a cruel and greedy military, who created
extra problems because they demanded. While a prince should avoid being
hated, he will eventually be hated by someone, so he must at least avoid
the hatred of the most powerful, and for the Roman emperors this
included the military who demanded iniquity against the people out of
their own greed. He uses Septimius Severus
as a model for new rulers to emulate, as he "embodied both the fox and
the lion". Severus outwitted and killed his military rivals, and
although he oppressed the people, Machiavelli says that he kept the
common people "satisfied and stupified".
Machiavelli notes that in his time only the Turkish empire had
the problem of the Romans, because in other lands the people had become
more powerful than the military.
The Prudence of the Prince (Chapters 20–25)
Whether ruling conquests with fortresses works (Chapter 20)
Machiavelli
mentions that placing fortresses in conquered territories, although it
sometimes works, often fails. Using fortresses can be a good plan, but
Machiavelli says he shall "blame anyone who, trusting in fortresses,
thinks little of being hated by the people". He cited Caterina Sforza, who used a fortress to defend herself but was eventually betrayed by her people.
Gaining honours (Chapter 21)
A prince truly earns honour by completing great feats. King Ferdinand of Spain
is cited by Machiavelli as an example of a monarch who gained esteem by
showing his ability through great feats and who, in the name of
religion, conquered many territories and kept his subjects occupied so
that they had no chance to rebel.
Regarding two warring states, Machiavelli asserts it is always wiser to
choose a side, rather than to be neutral. Machiavelli then provides the
following reasons why:
- If your allies win, you benefit whether or not you have more power than they have.
- If you are more powerful, then your allies are under your command; if your allies are stronger, they will always feel a certain obligation to you for your help.
- If your side loses, you still have an ally in the loser.
Machiavelli also notes that it is wise for a prince not to ally with a
stronger force unless compelled to do so. In conclusion, the most
important virtue is having the wisdom to discern what ventures will come
with the most reward and then pursuing them courageously.
Nobles and staff (Chapter 22)
The
selection of good servants is reflected directly upon the prince's
intelligence, so if they are loyal, the prince is considered wise;
however, when they are otherwise, the prince is open to adverse
criticism. Machiavelli asserts that there are three types of
intelligence:
- The kind that understands things for itself – which is excellent to have.
- The kind that understands what others can understand – which is good to have.
- The kind that does not understand for itself, nor through others – which is useless to have.
If the prince does not have the first type of intelligence, he should
at the very least have the second type. For, as Machiavelli states, “A
prince needs to have the discernment to recognize the good or bad in
what another says or does even though he has no acumen himself".
Avoiding flatterers (Chapter 23)
This
chapter displays a low opinion of flatterers; Machiavelli notes that
"Men are so happily absorbed in their own affairs and indulge in such
self-deception that it is difficult for them not to fall victim to this
plague; and some efforts to protect oneself from flatterers involve the
risk of becoming despised." Flatterers were seen as a great danger to a
prince, because their flattery could cause him to avoid wise counsel in
favor of rash action, but avoiding all advice, flattery or otherwise,
was equally bad; a middle road had to be taken. A prudent prince should
have a select group of wise counselors to advise him truthfully on
matters all the time. All their opinions should be taken into account.
Ultimately, the decision should be made by the prince and carried out
absolutely. If a prince is given to changing his mind, his reputation
will suffer. A prince must have the wisdom to recognize good advice from
bad. Machiavelli gives a negative example in Emperor Maximilian I;
Maximilian, who was secretive, never consulted others, but once he
ordered his plans and met dissent, he immediately changed them.
Prudence and chance
Why the princes of Italy lost their states (Chapter 24)
After
first mentioning that a new prince can quickly become as respected as a
hereditary one, Machiavelli says princes in Italy who had longstanding
power and lost it cannot blame bad luck, but should blame their own
indolence. One "should never fall in the belief that you can find
someone to pick you up". They all showed a defect of arms (already
discussed) and either had a hostile populace or did not know to secure
themselves against the great.
How Much Fortune Can Do In Human Affairs, and in What Mode It May Be Opposed (Chapter 25)
As pointed out by Gilbert
it was traditional in the genre of Mirrors of Princes to mention
fortune, but "Fortune pervades The Prince as she does no other similar
work". Machiavelli argues that fortune is only the judge of half of our
actions and that we have control over the other half with "sweat",
prudence and virtue. Even more unusual, rather than simply suggesting
caution as a prudent way to try to avoid the worst of bad luck,
Machiavelli holds that the greatest princes in history tend to be ones
who take more risks, and rise to power through their own labour, virtue,
prudence, and particularly by their ability to adapt to changing
circumstances.
Machiavelli even encourages risk taking as a reaction to risk. In
a well-known metaphor, Machiavelli writes that "it is better to be
impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman; and it is
necessary, if one wants to hold her down, to beat her and strike her
down." Gilbert (p. 217) points out that Machiavelli's friend the historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini expressed similar ideas about fortune.
Machiavelli compares fortune to a torrential river that cannot be
easily controlled during flooding season. In periods of calm, however,
people can erect dams and levees in order to minimize its impact.
Fortune, Machiavelli argues, seems to strike at the places where no
resistance is offered, as had recently been the case in Italy. As de Alvarez (1999:125–30)
points out that what Machiavelli actually says is that Italians in his
time leave things not just to fortune, but to "fortune and God".
Machiavelli is indicating in this passage, as in some others in his
works, that Christianity itself was making Italians helpless and lazy
concerning their own politics, as if they would leave dangerous rivers
uncontrolled.
Exhortation to Seize Italy and to Free Her from the Barbarians (Chapter 26)
Pope Leo X
was pope at the time the book was written and a member of the de Medici
family. This chapter directly appeals to the Medici to use what has
been summarized in order to conquer Italy using Italian armies,
following the advice in the book. Gilbert (1938:222–30)
showed that including such exhortation was not unusual in the genre of
books full of advice for princes. But it is unusual that the Medici
family's position of Papal power is openly named as something that
should be used as a personal power base, as a tool of secular politics.
Indeed, one example is the Borgia family's "recent" and controversial
attempts to use church power in secular politics, often brutally
executed. This continues a controversial theme throughout the book.
Analysis
Cesare Borgia,
Duke of Valentinois. According to Machiavelli, a risk taker and example
of a prince who acquired by "fortune". Failed in the end because of one
mistake: he was naïve to trust a new Pope.
As shown by his letter of dedication, Machiavelli's work eventually came to be dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, grandson of "Lorenzo the Magnificent", and a member of the ruling Florentine Medici family, whose uncle Giovanni became Pope Leo X
in 1513. It is known from his personal correspondence that it was
written during 1513, the year after the Medici took control of Florence,
and a few months after Machiavelli's arrest, torture, and banishment by
the in-coming Medici regime. It was discussed for a long time with Francesco Vettori – a friend of Machiavelli – whom he wanted to pass it and commend it to the Medici. The book had originally been intended for Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, young Lorenzo's uncle, who however died in 1516. It is not certain that the work was ever read by any of the Medici before it was printed.
Machiavelli describes the contents as being an un-embellished summary
of his knowledge about the nature of princes and "the actions of great
men", based not only on reading but also, unusually, on real experience.
The types of political behavior which are discussed with apparent approval by Machiavelli in The Prince were regarded as shocking by contemporaries, and its immorality is still a subject of serious discussion.
Although the work advises princes how to tyrannize, Machiavelli is
generally thought to have preferred some form of republican government.
Some commentators justify his acceptance of immoral and criminal
actions by leaders by arguing that he lived during a time of continuous
political conflict and instability in Italy, and that his influence has
increased the "pleasures, equality and freedom" of many people,
loosening the grip of medieval Catholicism's "classical teleology",
which "disregarded not only the needs of individuals and the wants of
the common man, but stifled innovation, enterprise, and enquiry into
cause and effect relationships that now allow us to control nature".
On the other hand, Strauss (1958:11)
notes that "even if we were forced to grant that Machiavelli was
essentially a patriot or a scientist, we would not be forced to deny
that he was a teacher of evil".
Furthermore, Machiavelli "was too thoughtful not to know what he was
doing and too generous not to admit it to his reasonable friends".
Machiavelli emphasized the need for looking at the "effectual
truth" (verita effetuale), as opposed to relying on "imagined republics
and principalities". He states the difference between honorable behavior
and criminal behavior by using the metaphor of animals, saying that
"there are two ways of contending, one in accordance with the laws, the
other by force; the first of which is proper to men, the second to
beast". In The Prince
he does not explain what he thinks the best ethical or political goals
are, except the control of one's own fortune, as opposed to waiting to
see what chance brings. Machiavelli took it for granted that would-be
leaders naturally aim at glory or honour. He associated these goals with a need for "virtue" and "prudence"
in a leader, and saw such virtues as essential to good politics. That
great men should develop and use their virtue and prudence was a
traditional theme of advice to Christian princes. And that more virtue meant less reliance on chance was a classically influenced "humanist commonplace" in Machiavelli's time, as Fischer (2000:75)
says, even if it was somewhat controversial. However, Machiavelli went
far beyond other authors in his time, who in his opinion left things to
fortune, and therefore to bad rulers, because of their Christian
beliefs. He used the words "virtue" and "prudence" to refer to
glory-seeking and spirited excellence of character, in strong contrast
to the traditional Christian uses of those terms, but more keeping with
the original pre-Christian Greek and Roman concepts from which they
derived. He encouraged ambition and risk taking. So in another break with tradition, he treated not only stability, but also radical innovation,
as possible aims of a prince in a political community. Managing major
reforms can show off a Prince's virtue and give him glory. He clearly
felt Italy needed major reform in his time, and this opinion of his time
is widely shared.
Machiavelli's descriptions encourage leaders to attempt to
control their fortune gloriously, to the extreme extent that some
situations may call for a fresh "founding" (or re-founding) of the
"modes and orders" that define a community, despite the danger and
necessary evil and lawlessness of such a project. Founding a wholly new
state, or even a new religion, using injustice and immorality has even
been called the chief theme of The Prince.
Machiavelli justifies this position by explaining how if "a prince did
not win love he may escape hate" by personifying injustice and
immorality; therefore, he will never loosen his grip since "fear is held
by the apprehension of punishment" and never diminishes as time goes
by.
For a political theorist to do this in public was one of Machiavelli's
clearest breaks not just with medieval scholasticism, but with the
classical tradition of political philosophy, especially the favorite philosopher of Catholicism at the time, Aristotle. This is one of Machiavelli's most lasting influences upon modernity.
Nevertheless, Machiavelli was heavily influenced by classical pre-Christian political philosophy. According to Strauss (1958:291) Machiavelli refers to Xenophon more than Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero put together. Xenophon wrote one of the classic mirrors of princes, the Education of Cyrus. Gilbert (1938:236)
wrote: "The Cyrus of Xenophon was a hero to many a literary man of the
sixteenth century, but for Machiavelli he lived". Xenophon also, as
Strauss pointed out, wrote a dialogue, Hiero
which showed a wise man dealing sympathetically with a tyrant, coming
close to what Machiavelli would do in uprooting the ideal of "the
imagined prince". Xenophon however, like Plato and Aristotle, was a
follower of Socrates, and his works show approval of a "teleological argument", while Machiavelli rejected such arguments. On this matter, Strauss (1958:222–23) gives evidence that Machiavelli may have seen himself as having learned something from Democritus, Epicurus and classical materialism, which was however not associated with political realism, or even any interest in politics.
On the topic of rhetoric
Machiavelli, in his introduction, stated that "I have not embellished
or crammed this book with rounded periods or big, impressive words, or
with any blandishment or superfluous decoration of the kind which many
are in the habit of using to describe or adorn what they have produced".
This has been interpreted as showing a distancing from traditional
rhetoric styles, but there are echoes of classical rhetoric in several
areas. In Chapter 18, for example, he uses a metaphor of a lion and a
fox, examples of force and cunning; according to Zerba (2004:217), "the Roman author from whom Machiavelli in all likelihood drew the simile of the lion and the fox" was Cicero. The Rhetorica ad Herennium,
a work which was believed during Machiavelli's time to have been
written by Cicero, was used widely to teach rhetoric, and it is likely
that Machiavelli was familiar with it. Unlike Cicero's more widely
accepted works however, according to Cox (1997:1122),
"Ad Herennium ... offers a model of an ethical system that not only
condones the practice of force and deception but appears to regard them
as habitual and indeed germane to political activity". This makes it an
ideal text for Machiavelli to have used.
Influence
To quote Bireley (1990:14):
...there were in circulation approximately fifteen editions of the Prince and nineteen of the Discourses and French translations of each before they were placed on the Index of Paul IV in 1559, a measure which nearly stopped publication in Catholic areas except in France. Three principal writers took the field against Machiavelli between the publication of his works and their condemnation in 1559 and again by the Tridentine Index in 1564. These were the English cardinal Reginald Pole and the Portuguese bishop Jerónimo Osório, both of whom lived for many years in Italy, and the Italian humanist and later bishop, Ambrogio Caterino Politi.
Emperor Charles V, or Charles I of Spain. A Catholic king in the first generation to read The Prince.
Henry VIII of England. A king who eventually split with the Catholic church, and supported some protestant ideas in the first generation to read The Prince.
Machiavelli's ideas on how to accrue honour and power as a leader had
a profound impact on political leaders throughout the modern west,
helped by the new technology of the printing press. Pole reported that
it was spoken of highly by his enemy Thomas Cromwell in England, and had influenced Henry VIII in his turn towards Protestantism, and in his tactics, for example during the Pilgrimage of Grace. A copy was also possessed by the Catholic king and emperor Charles V. In France, after an initially mixed reaction, Machiavelli came to be associated with Catherine de Medici and the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre. As Bireley (1990:17)
reports, in the 16th century, Catholic writers "associated Machiavelli
with the Protestants, whereas Protestant authors saw him as Italian and
Catholic". In fact, he was apparently influencing both Catholic and
Protestant kings.
One of the most important early works dedicated to criticism of Machiavelli, especially The Prince, was that of the Huguenot, Innocent Gentillet, Discourse against Machiavelli, commonly also referred to as Anti Machiavel, published in Geneva in 1576. He accused Machiavelli of being an atheist and accused politicians of his time by saying that they treated his works as the "Koran of the courtiers".
Another theme of Gentillet was more in the spirit of Machiavelli
himself: he questioned the effectiveness of immoral strategies (just as
Machiavelli had himself done, despite also explaining how they could
sometimes work). This became the theme of much future political
discourse in Europe during the 17th century. This includes the Catholic Counter Reformation writers summarised by Bireley: Giovanni Botero, Justus Lipsius, Carlo Scribani, Adam Contzen, Pedro de Ribadeneira, and Diego Saavedra Fajardo.
These authors criticized Machiavelli, but also followed him in many
ways. They accepted the need for a prince to be concerned with
reputation, and even a need for cunning and deceit, but compared to
Machiavelli, and like later modernist writers, they emphasized economic progress much more than the riskier ventures of war. These authors tended to cite Tacitus as their source for realist political advice, rather than Machiavelli, and this pretense came to be known as "Tacitism".
Modern materialist
philosophy developed in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, starting in
the generations after Machiavelli. The importance of Machiavelli's
realism was noted by many important figures in this endeavor, for
example Jean Bodin, Francis Bacon, Harrington, John Milton, Spinoza, Rousseau, Hume, Edward Gibbon, and Adam Smith.
Although he was not always mentioned by name as an inspiration, due to
his controversy, he is also thought to have been an influence for other
major philosophers, such as Montaigne, Descartes, Hobbes, Locke and Montesquieu.
In literature:
- Machiavelli is featured as a character in the prologue of Christopher Marlowe's The Jew of Malta.
- In William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello, the antagonist Iago has been noted by some literary critics as being archetypal in adhering to Machiavelli's ideals by advancing himself through machination and duplicity with the consequence of causing the demise of both Othello and Desdemona.
Amongst later political leaders:
- The republicanism in seventeenth-century England which led to the English Civil War, the Glorious Revolution and subsequent development of the English Constitution was strongly influenced by Machiavelli's political thought.
- Most of the founding fathers of the American Revolution are known or often proposed to have been strongly influenced by Machiavelli's political works, including Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.
- Under the guidance of Voltaire, Frederick the Great of Prussia criticised Machiavelli's conclusions in his "Anti-Machiavel", published in 1740.
- At different stages in his life, Napoleon I of France wrote extensive comments to The Prince. After his defeat at Waterloo, these comments were found in the emperor's coach and taken by the Prussian military.
- Italian dictator Benito Mussolini wrote a discourse on The Prince.
- Soviet leader Joseph Stalin read The Prince and annotated his own copy.
20th-century Italian-American mobsters were influenced by The Prince. John Gotti and Roy DeMeo would regularly quote The Prince and consider it to be the
"Mafia Bible".
Interpretation of The Prince as political satire or as deceit
Satire
This
interpretation was famously put forth by scholar Garrett Mattingly
(1958), who stated that "In some ways, Machiavelli's little treatise was
just like all the other "Mirrors of Princes", in other ways it was a
diabolical burlesque of all of them, like a political Black Mass."
This position was taken up previously by some of the more prominent Enlightenment philosophes. Diderot speculated that it was a work designed not to mock, but to secretly expose corrupt princely rule. And in his The Social Contract, the French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said:
Machiavelli was a proper man and a good citizen; but, being attached to the court of the Medici, he could not help veiling his love of liberty in the midst of his country's oppression. The choice of his detestable hero, Cesare Borgia, clearly enough shows his hidden aim; and the contradiction between the teaching of the Prince and that of the Discourses on Livy and the History of Florence shows that this profound political thinker has so far been studied only by superficial or corrupt readers. The Court of Rome sternly prohibited his book. I can well believe it; for it is that Court it most clearly portrays.
Whether or not the word "satire" is the best choice, the
interpretation is very rare amoungst those who study Machiavelli's
works, for example Isaiah Berlin states that he can't find anything other than Machiavelli's work that "reads less" like a satirical piece.
Deceit
Mary Dietz, in her essay Trapping The Prince,
writes that Machiavelli's agenda was not to be satirical, as Rousseau
had argued, but instead was "offering carefully crafted advice (such as
arming the people) designed to undo the ruler if taken seriously and
followed."
By this account, the aim was to reestablish the republic in Florence.
She focuses on three categories in which Machiavelli gives paradoxical
advice:
- He discourages liberality and favors deceit to guarantee support from the people. Yet Machiavelli is keenly aware of the fact that an earlier pro-republican coup had been thwarted by the people's inaction that itself stemmed from the prince's liberality.
- He supports arming the people despite the fact that he knows the Florentines are decidedly pro-democratic and would oppose the prince.
- He encourages the prince to live in the city he conquers. This opposes the Medici's habitual policy of living outside the city. It also makes it easier for rebels or a civilian militia to attack and overthrow the prince.
According to Dietz the trap never succeeded because Lorenzo – "a
suspicious prince" – apparently never read the work of the "former
republican."
Other interpretations
The Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci
argued that Machiavelli's audience for this work was not the classes
who already rule (or have "hegemony") over the common people, but the
common people themselves, trying to establish a new hegemony, and making
Machiavelli the first "Italian Jacobin".
Hans Baron is one of the few major commentators who argues that
Machiavelli must have changed his mind dramatically in favour of free
republics, after having written The Prince.
