The Prince
Realism
The Prince's contribution to the history of European political thought was in beginning a new political Realism after a long period of political Idealism in the Middle Ages. And this turn to realism was part of the bigger turn to realism in science and politics which defines the beginning of modernity and the end of the Middle Ages. Niccolò Machiavelli’s best-known book describes the arts with which a ruling prince can maintain control of his realm. It concentrates on the possibility of a "new prince", under the presumption that a hereditary prince has an easier task in ruling, since the people are accustomed to him. To retain power, the hereditary prince must carefully maintain the socio-political institutions to which the people are accustomed; whereas a new prince has the more difficult task in ruling, since he must first stabilize his new-found power in order to build an enduring political structure. That requires the prince being a
public figure above reproach, whilst privately acting amorally to achieve State goals. The examples are those princes who most successfully obtain and maintain power, drawn from his observations as a Florentine diplomat, and his ancient history readings; thus, the Latin phrases and Classic examples.
The Prince does not dismiss morality, instead, it politically
defines “Morality”...as in the criteria for
acceptable cruel action...it must be
decisive: swift, effective, and short-lived. Machiavelli is aware of the irony of good results coming from evil actions; notwithstanding some mitigating themes, the Catholic Church proscribed
The Prince, registering it to the Index Librorum Prohibitorum, moreover, the Humanists also viewed the book negatively, among them, Erasmus of Rotterdam. As a treatise, its primary intellectual contribution to the history of political thought is the
fundamental break between political Realism and political Idealism...thus,
The Prince is a manual to acquiring and keeping political power. In contrast with Plato and Aristotle, a Classical ideal society is not the aim of the prince’s will to power. As a political scientist, Machiavelli emphasises
necessary, methodical exercise of brute force punishment-and-reward (patronage, clientelism, et cetera) to preserve the status quo.
Satire?
As there seems to be a very large difference between Machiavelli's advice to ruthless and tyrannical princes in
The Prince and his more republican exhortations in
Discorsi, many have concluded that
The Prince is actually only a satire. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, for instance, admired Machiavelli the republican and consequently argued that
The Prince is a book for the republicans as it exposes the methods used by princes. If the book were only intended as a manual for tyrannical rulers, it contains a paradox: it would apparently be more effective if the secrets it contains would not be made publicly available. Likewise, Antonio Gramsci argued that Machiavelli's audience for this work is the common people because the rulers already knew these methods through their education. This interpretation is supported by the fact that Machiavelli wrote in Italian, not in Latin (which would have been the language of the ruling elite). Although Machiavelli is supposed to be a realist, many of his heroes in
The Prince are in fact mythical or semi-mythical, and his goal (i.e. the unification of Italy) was essentially utopian at the time of writing.
"Machiavellian"
Sixteenth-century contemporaries adopted and used the adjective
Machiavellian (in the sense of devious cunning), often in the introductions of political tracts offering more than government by “Reasons of State”, most notably those of Jean Bodin and Giovanni Botero. Contemporary, pejorative usage of
Machiavellian (or
anti-Machiavellism in the 16th C.) is a misnomer describing
someone who deceives and manipulates others for gain; (personal or not, the gain is immaterial, only action matters, insofar as it affects results).
The Prince does not have the moderating themes of his other works; politically, “Machiavelli” denotes someone of politically extreme perspective; however Machiavellianism remains a popular speech and journalism usage; while in psychology, it denotes a personality type.
Discorsi
The
Discourse on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy comprises the early history of Rome. It is a series of lessons on how a republic
should be started and structured, including the concept of checks and balances, the strength of a tri-partite political structure, and the superiority of a republic over a principality.
From
The Discourses:
- “In fact, when there is combined under the same constitution a prince, a nobility, and the power of the people, then these three powers will watch and keep each other reciprocally in check”. Book I, Chapter II
- “Doubtless these means [of attaining power] are cruel and destructive of all civilized life, and neither Christian, nor even human, and should be avoided by every one. In fact, the life of a private citizen would be preferable to that of a king at the expense of the ruin of so many human beings”. Book I, Chapter XXVI
- “Now, in a well-ordered republic, it should never be necessary to resort to extra-constitutional measures. . . . ” Book I, Chapter XXXIV
- “. . . the governments of the people are better than those of princes”. Book I, Chapter LVIII
- “. . . if we compare the faults of a people with those of princes, as well as their respective good qualities, we shall find the people vastly superior in all that is good and glorious”. Book I, Chapter LVIII
- “For government consists mainly in so keeping your subjects that they shall be neither able, nor disposed to injure you. . . . ” Book II, Chapter XXIII
- “. . . no prince is ever benefited by making himself hated”. Book III, Chapter XIX
- “Let not princes complain of the faults committed by the people subjected to their authority, for they result entirely from their own negligence or bad example”. Book III, Chapter XXIX
Other works
Besides being a statesman and political scientist, Machiavelli also translated classical works, and was a dramaturge (
Clizia,
Mandragola), a poet (
Sonetti,
Canzoni,
Ottave,
Canti carnascialeschi), and a novelist (
Belfagor arcidiavolo).
Some of his other work:
- Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa (1499)
- Del modo di trattare i popoli della Valdichiana ribellati (1502)
- Del modo tenuto dal duca Valentino nell’ ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, etc. (1502) ... A Description of the Methods Adopted by the Duke Valentino when Murdering Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Pagolo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini
- Discorso sopra la provisione del danaro (1502) ... A discourse about the provision of money.
- Decennale primo (1506), a poem in terza rima.
- Ritratti delle cose dell’ Alemagna (1508—1512) - Portrait of the affairs of Germany.
- Decennale secondo (1509), a poem.
- Ritratti delle cose di Francia (1510) ... Portrait of the affairs of France.
- Andria (1517), a Classical comedy, translated from Terence.
- Mandragola (1518) ... The Mandrake, a five-act prose comedy, with a verse prologue.
- Della lingua (1514), a dialogue about the language.
- Clizia (1525), a prose comedy.
- Belfagor arcidiavolo (1515), a novel.
- Asino d’oro (1517) ... The Golden Ass is a terza rima poem, a new version of the Classic work by Apuleius.
- Dell’arte della guerra (1519—1520) ... The Art of War, high military science.
- Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Firenze (1520) ... A discourse about the reforming of Florence.
- Sommario delle cose della citta di Lucca (1520) ... A summary of the affairs of the city of Lucca.
- Vita di Castruccio Castracani da Lucca (1520) ... The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca, a biography.
- Istorie fiorentine (1520—1525) ... Florentine Histories, an eight-volume history book of the city-state, Florence, commissioned by Giulio di Giuliano de’ Medici, later Pope Clement VII.
- Frammenti storici (1525) ... Fragments of stories.