Nicol

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Nicolò Machiavelli(1469-1527)

• Political Humanism and the Rise of Young Power

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Machiavelli, Author of the PrinceWritten c.
1505, published 1515
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William Mortensens Machiavelli
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Questions 1

• Machiavelli and the Political Mobility of the
  Human
• 1.1 What are the key political points or messages
  of The Prince? Why was and still is this work so
  scandalous?
• 1.2 What are the similarities and differences
  between Pico and Machiavelli taken together as
  representatives of the Renaissance again, how
  exactly do Machiavelli's ideas on human
  embody the Renaissance Spirit? 
• 1.3 How does his view on human nature deepen,
  reflect and further complicate the psychological
  dynamics of the Renaissance man? 

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Questions 2

• Machiavelli and the Political Manipulation of
  Human Emotions
• "Cruley and Compassion and Whether it is Better
  to be Loved than Feared, or the Reverse (Chapter
  XVII, p.18)"
• 2.1 Why does Machiavelli raise such an issue? Why
  is this a political question?
• 2.2 What is Machiavelli's own answer to the
  question?
• 2.3 What is his notion of power? (Look for
  some conceptual clues in the chapter. All there.) 

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Questions 3

• Machiavelli and Anti-Platonic Realism (or
  Utilitarianism)
• "Many have dreamed up republics and
  principalities which never never in truth
  been known to exist the gulf between how one
  should live and how one does live is so wide that
  a man who neglects what is actually done for what
  should be done learns the way to self-destruction
  rather than self-preservation. ... Therefore if
  a prince wants to maintain his rule he must
  learn how not to be virtuous, and to make use of
  this ... (Chapter XV, p.16, emphases added).
• 3.1 Locate (pp. 16-9) phrases, sentences or
  passages that illustrate Machiavelli's political
  utilitarianism and see how different they are
  from Platonic thoughts or ideals why, for
  instance, is Machiavelli so interested in
  "appearance" or "reputation"? 
• 3.2 Are there political philosophical reasons for
  this thematic preoccupation?  
• 3.3 Machiavelli finds traditional Roman military
  literature more useful and interesting
  than Ancient Greek philosophy. Why? Locate
  some examples in the text. 

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Questions 4

• Machiavelli and the Medici Family of Florence
• 4.1 Fascinating to see further is some
  biographical or socio-political context in which
  the Prince was produced the rise of
  political clans and military-economic powers as
  illustrated by the Medici Family. Where does the
  Prince, this work itself, stand in this context? 
• 4.2 Further, how did the Medici contribute to
  the establishment and institutionalisation of the
  Renaissance as a period in the history of Western
  civilisation?  

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Key Quotes

• The gulf between how one should live and how one
  does live is so wide (p.16) human nature
  being what it is, princes cannot possess those
  qualities, or rather they cannot always exhibit
  them. So a prince should be so prudent that he
  knows how to escape the evil reputation attached
  to vices (p.17) Some of the things
  that appear to be wicked will bring him security
  and prosperity(p.17) A prince should want
  to have a reputation for compassion rather than
  for cruelty nonetheless, he should be careful
  that he does not make bad use of compassion
  (p.18)
• So as a prince cannot practice the virtue of
  generosity in such a way that he is noted for it,
  except to his cost (p.17) In the first case,
  your generosity will be to your cost (p.17)
  Any prince who has come to depend entirely on
  promises and has taken no other precautions
  ensures his own ruin friendship which is bought
  is paid for, but it does not last and it yields
  nothing (p.18).
• So, on this question of being loved or feared, I
  conclude that since some men love as they please
  but fear when the prince pleases, a wise prince
  should rely on what he _______, not on what he
  cannot ________. (p.19)