The Prince Chapters 1-4 & letters

Machiavelli’s Letter to Vettori

• The description of his day emphasises his “courtly” clothes

• We get a glimpse into his knowledge

Dedicatory Letter

• Written for Magnificent Lorenzo de’ Medici Junior

• M says that all he has to give is his knowledge, and the knowledge that he possesses is the knowledge of others

Machiavelli’s Knowledge is both..

Theoretical & Practical at the same time

Goal in Modernity

Apply what has been learned in Practice

Machiavelli is the first of his kind to

Apply this method, which is why his works are key to understanding the idea of modernity.

The point of the piece

• Nobody really knows his true intentions for writing this piece

• sent it out to the world for readers to decide on its interpretation and what he was trying to say

Fortune & Virtue

Very important themes in Machiavelli’s works

Idea of fortune

Similar to chance in Machiavelli ‘s books

Virtue

• In his books, it’s basically a tool to not rely so much on chance (or in this case fortune)

Four virtues

Courage, Temperance, Prudence, Justice

Four Virtues from Machiavelli’s perspective

• Narrows down the meaning of virtue in a manner that no longer has space for moderation and justice

• In his world, there’s only courage and temperance

Hereditary Prince

Just be careful when it comes to introducing new changes

New Prince

Must rely on strength and charisma to proe themselves

Natural & Ordinary Occurrence

looking for things that we know and like (kind of avoiding change)