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Niccolo Machiavelli Against The Prince

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In the Italian countryside in 1512, an Italian diplomat in exile would pen a work revolving around the phrase "the end justifies the means," and it would forever change the views within the political world. That Italian diplomat was Niccolò Machiavelli, ousted from office by the ruling Medici family who had returned a few years earlier to power. The work was Il Principe, or in English The Prince, essentially a handbook for rulers and their domains, how to bide themselves, and how to hold onto power and territory. Throughout the centuries, Machiavelli 's treatise has gained its author both fame and infamy, and has ushered in numerous debates about its content and his philosophy. These debates have oftentimes not cleared up questions, but have, even until after Niccolò 's time, culminated in the …show more content…

Machiavelli was not looking for princes to become cruel, militant tyrants, but rather wanted effectiveness to unite a kingdom and to unite the people. Through Francesco Sforza, Cesare Borgia, and even Pope Julius II, the author is stating the unspoken truth, supporting it with the figures he derived inspiration, those who used underhanded methods when needed to hold reigns on their power, that "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. Hence it is necessary that a prince who is interested in his survival learn to be other than good, making use of his capacity or refraining from it according to need" (Machiavelli

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