The Prince Midterm Flashcards

State=

estate, what you own, possession of prince (political unit)

Prince=

The first person, head of state, principal person of political unit

Fortune=

luck

Dedication

“Having thought out and examined these things with great diligence for a long time, and now reduced them to one small volume, I send it to your Magnificence.”

“For I wanted it either not to be honored for anything or to please solely for the variety of the matter and the gravity of the subject. Nor do I want it to be reputed presumption if a man from a low and mean state dares to discuss and give rules for the governments of princes”

• Offering a book about rule to a ruler

• Machi is being presumptious claiming that he does have knowledge

• Machi knows the nature about painters and princes (he knows the people and the prince)

Dedication

“Therefore, your Magnificence, take this small gift in the spirit5 with which I send it. If your Magnificence considers and reads it diligently, you will learn from it my extreme desire that you arrive at the greatness that fortune and your other qualities promise you. And if your Magnificence will at some time turn your eyes from the summit of your height to these low places, you will learn how undeservedly I endure a great and continuous malignity of fortune.”

• Lorenzo is a ruler by luck, machi says that if you rely on your luck your going to be in bad shape

• He poses the question does lorenzo have the virtue to succeed as prince

• The book is a challenge for lorenzo to see if he understands it.

• This book is written for anyone to who can understand it

Pg. 61

“But since my intent is to write something useful to whoever understands it, it has appeared to me more fitting to go directly to the effectual truth of the thing than to the imagination of it. And many have imagined republics and principalities that have never been seen or known to exist in truth; for it is so far from how one lives to how one should live that he who lets go of what is done for what should be done learns his ruin rather than his preservation. For a man who wants to make a profession of good in all regards must come to ruin among so many who are not good. Hence it is necessary to a prince, if he wants to maintain himself, to learn to be able not to be good, and to use this and not use it according to necessity.”

• this dedication is actually a challenge first to lorenzo but to see if he deserves to be a prince

• Declaration of Machi’s knowledge (presumptious)

• 1) written to anyone who understands it

• 2) departs and challenges politics

Chapter 1

“Dominions so acquired are either accustomed to living under a prince or used to being free; and they are acquired either with the arms of others or with one’s own, either by fortune or by virtue.6”

• Real action is virtue or fortune

• Aquiring and maintaining power

• by fortune or strength a prince can acquire a new principality with this own army or with arms of others

Chapter 2

“For the natural prince has less cause and less necessity to offend;5 hence it is fitting that he be more loved. And if extraordinary vices do not make him hated, it is reasonable that he will naturally have the good will of his own. In the antiquity and continuity of the dominion the memories and causes of innovations are eliminated; for one change always leaves a dentation6 for the building of another.”

• If you are a heredity prince, you got it easy

• natural prince=naturally has good will

• Does he naturally have the good will in him?

• Machi says its easier to rule heredity over a principality for 2 reason

• 1)those under the rule are familiar with the princes family so they are used to how the family rules

• 2) The people in a heredity state is to love the ruling family natually they are loved, unless the prince commits horrible acts against its people

Chapter 3

“But the difficulties reside in the new principality First, if it is not altogether new but like an added member (so that taken as a whole it can be called almost mixed), its instability arises in the first place from a natural difficulty that exists in all new principalities. This is1 that men willingly change their lords in the belief that they will fare better: this belief makes them take up arms against him, in which they are deceived because they see later by experience that they have done worse. That follows from another natural and ordinary necessity which requires that one must always offend those over whom he becomes a new prince,”

• Men will change their rulers as they think they’ll fare better

• need to act like a new prince, because everyone else is acting that way too

• The world of power in politics, is a world of change you need to anticipate or your in trouble

Chapter 3 pg 14-15

“And truly it is a very natural and ordinary thing to desire to acquire, and always, when men do it who can, they will be praised or not blamed; but when they cannot, and wish to do it anyway, here lie the error and the blame. Thus, if France could have attacked Naples with his own forces, he should have done so; if he could not, he should not have divided Naples. And if the division of Lombardy he made with the Venetians deserves excuse because with it France gained a foothold in Italy, this other one deserves blame because it was not excused by that necessity.”

• in Machi’s eyes its natural to have the desire to acquire

• those who acquire are to be praised, and those who fail to be blamed

Chapter 3 pg

“Thus, King Louis lost Lombardy for not having observed any of the conditions observed by others who have taken provinces and wished to hold them. Nor is this any miracle, but very ordinary and reasonable. And I spoke of this matter at Nantes with Rouen14 when Valentino (for so Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander, was called by the people) was occupying Romagna. For when the cardinal of Rouen said to me that the Italians do not understand war, I replied to him that the French do not understand the state, because if they understood they would not have let the Church come to such greatness.”

• Dedicated to french invasions, Machi analyzes why the French failed and how can they sucessfully unify Italy

• End of the book, Machi will call someone to follow his advice and conquer italy

• Church causes division in Italy, not strong enough to unite it but strong enough to divide

• Casare Borgia= son of pope Alexander (protangoist in chap 7)

Chapter 5 pg 20

“3 But, when cities or provinces are used to living under a prince, and his bloodline is eliminated—since on the one hand they are used to obeying, and on the other they do not have the old prince—they will not agree to make one from among themselves and they do not know how to live free. So they are slower to take up arms, and a prince can gain them with greater ease and can secure himself against them. But in republics there is greater life, greater hatred, more desire for revenge; the memory of their ancient liberty does not and cannot let them rest, so that the most secure path is to eliminate them or live in them.”

• Have to crush laws to conquer territory, crush the republic movement

• Machi tells lorenzo that he needs to crush it (rep) but also there a love of liberty and to overthrow the principality (rise up)

• 1) prude=get power and how to keep

• 2) build on people= do good to people so they follow you

Chapter 6 pg 22

“No one should marvel if, in speaking as I will do of principalities that are altogether new both in prince and in state, I bring up the greatest examples. For since men almost always walk on paths beaten by others and proceed in their actions by imitation, unable either to stay on the paths of others altogether or to attain the virtue of those whom you imitate, a prudent man should always enter upon the paths beaten by great men, and imitate those who have been most excellent, so that if his own virtue does not reach that far, it is at least in the odor of it”

“I say, then, that in altogether new principalities, where there is a new prince, one encounters more or less difficulty in maintaining them according to whether the one who acquires them is more or less virtuous. And because the result of becoming prince from private individual presupposes either virtue or fortune, it appears that one or the other of these two things relieves in part many difficulties; nonetheless, he who has relied less on fortune has maintained himself more. To have the prince compelled to come to live there in person, because he has no other states, makes it still easier. But, to come to those who have become princes by their own virtue and not by fortune,God. But let us consider Cyrus and the others who have acquired or founded kingdoms: you2 will find them all admirable; and if their particular actions and orders are considered, they will appear no different from those of Moses, who had so great a teacher. And as one examines their actions and lives, one does not see that they had anything else from fortune than the opportunity, which gave them the matter enabling them to introduce any form they pleased.”

• Title of chapter: “of new principalities that are acquired through one’s own arms & virtues” — Moses

• to Mach, it’s the NEW prince that is the model, not hereditary

• turns traditional ideas upside down (“on their head”)

chapter 6 pg 24c(moses and the other fools)

“It is however necessary, if one wants to discuss this aspect well, to examine whether these innovators stand by themselves or depend on others; that is, whether to carry out their deed they must beg3 or indeed can use force. In the first case they always come to ill and never accomplish anything; but when they depend on their own and are able to use force, then it is that they are rarely in peril. From this it arises that all the armed prophets conquered and the unarmed ones were ruined. For, besides the things that have been said, the nature of peoples is variable; and it is easy to persuade them of something, but difficult to keep them in that persuasion. And thus things must be ordered in such a mode that when they no longer believe, one can make them believe by force. Moses, Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus would not have been able to make their peoples observe their constitutions for long if they had been unarmed, as happened in our times to Brother Girolamo Savonarola. He was ruined in his new orders as soon as the multitude began not to believe in them, and he had no mode for holding firm those who had believed nor for making unbelievers believe.4”

• Moses has 5,000 isrealities slaughted (what we dont remember)

• Moses had to kill infinite people to maintain power, excellent to Machi

• Romulus is also a good model as its virtious to Machi that he was able to kill his brother so he could take over the power

• Cyrus got power by killing his uncle

• Thesieus kills militar, sails were black, father kills himself and Theseus becomes king

• Savonorala is a lesson you need to know about being armed

• All these examples are those who aquired power by crimes and killings, Machi calls these things virtues

• Jesus is on his mind, how can he sucessed if he was unarmed

Chapter 6

“ I say that the most excellent are Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, Theseus, and the like.”’

• Moses=Moses learned from god how to acquire power by killing 5,000 people to maintain people, example of armed prophet

• Savonorala= lesson that you need to be armed, failed because he was unarmed

• Romulus= killed his twin, can only found state alone (single unit)

• Cyrus= kills uncle

• Thesus= tricked father into killing himself, to end up with power

• All willing to kill for power

Chapter 7

“On the other hand Cesare Borgia, called Duke Valentino by the vulgar, acquired his state through the fortune of his father and lost it through the same, notwithstanding the fact that he made use of every deed and did all those things that should be done by a prudent and virtuous man to put his roots in the states that the arms and fortune of others had given him.”

• Cesare Borgia was the son of Pope Alexander and relied fully on his father’s fortunes

• Machiavelli uses him as an example to not fully rely other’s arms because he eventually fails

• Ambiguous, other’s arms AND other’s fortune

Chapter 7

“Thus, if one considers all the steps of the duke, one will see that he had laid for himself great foundations for future power, which I do not judge superfluous to discuss; for I do not know what better teaching I could give to a new prince than the example of his actions”

• Machiavelli uses Cesare Borgia in The Prince as an example of how a successful new prince should build and secure power independently.

• At first, Borgia relied on his father, Pope Alexander VI, mercenaries, and French military support, but Machiavelli believed relying on others was dangerous because mercenaries are disloyal and auxiliary troops serve their own interests.

• Borgia later worked to build his own military strength, remove unreliable allies, and make himself independent.

• Through this example, Machiavelli teaches that a ruler should rely on his own arms, strategy, and abilities rather than fortune or outside support.

Chapter 7

“Alexander VI had very many difficulties, both present and future, when he decided to make his son the duke great.”

Expanded version:

• Alexander VI faced many immediate and future difficulties when he decided to make his son, the duke, powerful because he lacked stable territory and had to depend on outside political and military support.

• He also faced opposition from rival Italian states and powerful nobles who feared Cesare Borgia’s growing influence, making it difficult to secure long-term control and independence for his son.

Chapter 7

“The duke did not fail to fulfill every kind of duty to secure Signor Paolo, giving him money, garments, and horses, so that their simplicity brought them into the duke’s hands at Sinigaglia.7 So, when these heads had been eliminated, and their partisans had been turned into his friends, the duke had laid very good foundations for his power, since he had all Romagna with the duchy of Urbino. He thought, especially, that he had acquired the friendship of Romagna, and that he had gained all those peoples to himself since they had begun to taste well-being.”

• In this passage from The Prince, Cesare Borgia tricks his enemies by giving them gifts and making them trust him before capturing and killing them at Sinigaglia.

• After removing his rivals, he gained more control over Romagna and Urbino and won support from the people by bringing order and stability.

• Machiavelli uses this example to show that a ruler may need to use deception and force to secure power.

Chapter 7

“And because this point is deserving of notice and of being imitated by others, I do not want to leave it out. Once the duke had taken over Romagna, he found it had been commanded by impotent lords who had been readier to despoil their subjects than to correct them, and had given their subjects matter for disunion, not for union. Since that province was quite full of robberies, quarrels, and every other kind of insolence, he judged it necessary to give it good government, if he wanted to reduce it to peace and obedience to a kingly arm. So he put there Messer Remirro de Orco, a cruel and ready man, to whom he gave the fullest power.8 In a short time Remirro reduced it to peace and unity, with the very greatest reputation for himself. Then the duke judged that such excessive authority was not necessary, because he feared that it might become hateful; and he set up a civil court in the middle of the province, with a most excellent president, where each city had its advocate. And because he knew that past rigors had generated some hatred for Remirro, to purge the spirits of that people and to gain them entirely to himself, he wished to show that if any cruelty had been committed, this had not come from him but from the harsh nature of his minister. And having seized this opportunity, he had him placed one morning in the piazza at Cesena in two pieces, with a piece of wood and a blo0dy kn1fe beside him. The ferocity of this spectacle left the people at once satisfied and stupefied.”

• In this passage from The Prince, Cesare Borgia takes control of Romagna, which was full of crime, violence, and weak leadership.

• To restore order, he put Remirro de Orco, a cruel but effective official, in charge with complete power. Remirro quickly brought peace and unity, but the people began to hate his harsh methods.

• To avoid being blamed for the cruelty, Borgia publicly executed Remirro and made it seem like the violence came from him alone. This shocked the people and helped Borgia gain their support while still keeping control and stability in the region.

• Machiavelli was a fan of this tactic

Chapter 7

“And that his foundations were good one may see: Romagna waited for him for more than a month; in Rome, though he was half-alive, he remained secure; and although the Baglioni, Vitelli, and Orsini came to Rome, none followed them against him; if he could not make pope whomever he wanted, at least it would not be someone he did not want. But if at the death of Alexander the duke had been healthy, everything would have been easy for him. And he told me, on the day that Julius II was created,14 that he had thought about what might happen when his father was dying, and had found a remedy for everything, except that he never thought that at his death he himself would also be on the point of dying.”

• Mersonary=paid arms

• Axillarys=borrowed

• They arent reliable and decided to rely on your own arms and own people

• Machi approves of the slaughterings as theses acts of aquiring power are approved by machi

• The people of Romania benefit from these things as these actions by a prince to main power benefit to the people who rule

Chapter 8

“Thus, whoever might consider the actions and virtue of this man will see nothing or little that can be attributed to fortune. For as was said above, not through anyone’s support but through the ranks of the military, which he had gained for himself with a thousand hardships and dangers, he came to the principate and afterwards he maintained it with many spirited and dangerous policies. 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. For, if one considers the virtue of Agathocles in entering into and escaping from dangers, and the greatness of his spirit in enduring and overcoming adversities, one does not see why he has to be judged inferior to any most excellent captain. 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 to virtue what he achieved without either. (IMPORTANT)”

• virtous

• Machi is shoving our face into a problem of virtue

• what you sucessed is virtue, but sometimes you have to do things like killing to be virtuess but don’t want to call actions virtuous

Chapter 8

“ Someone could question how it happened that Agathocles and anyone like him, after infinite betrayals and cruelties, could live for a long time secure in his fatherland, defend himself against external enemies, and never be conspired against by his citizens, inasmuch as many others have not been able to maintain their states through cruelty even in peaceful times, not to mention uncertain times of war. I believe that this comes from cruelties badly used or well used. Those can be called well used (if it is permissible to speak well of evil) that are done at a stroke, out of the necessity to secure oneself, and then are not persisted in but are turned to as much utility for the subjects as one can.”

• Machi is speaking well of evil

• vice when well used by a ruler or ruled, is not a vice but it has to be done well

• speaking well about what is typically called evil

• swiftly snd quickly, and benefits the people or at least your own benefit

Chapter 9

“And let no one resist my opinion on this with that trite proverb, that whoever founds on the people founds on mud. For that is true when a private citizen lays his foundation on them, and allows himself to think that the people will liberate him if he is oppressed by enemies or by the magistrates (in this case one can often be deceived, like the Gracchi in Rome3 and Messer Giorgio Scali in Florence).4 But when a prince who founds on the people knows how to command and is a man full of heart, does not get frightened in adversity, does not fail to make other preparations, and with his spirit and his orders keeps the generality of people5 inspired, he will never find himself deceived by them and he will see he has laid his foundations well.”

• All states are made up of two types

• the great and the people

• found on the people

• its not founding on the people alone, its founding on the people that are properly motivated/inspired

• its about motivating people is the key

• The great think too well of themselves to be inspired

Chapter 11

“This brought the temporal forces of the pope to be held in low esteem in Italy. Then Alexander VI arose;6 of all the pontiffs there have ever been he showed how far a pope could prevail with money and forces. With Duke Valentino as his instrument and with the invasion of the French as the opportunity, he did all the things I discussed above in the actions of the duke. And though his intent might not have been to make the Church great, but rather the duke, nonetheless what he did redounded to the greatness of the Church. After his death, the duke being eliminated, the Church fell heir to his labors. Then came Pope Julius, and he found the Church great, since she had all Romagna, had eliminated the barons in Rome, and had annihilated those factions through the blows struck by Alexander; Julius found the path still open to a mode of accumulating money, never used before Alexander.7 These things Julius not only continued but increased; and he thought about how to gain”

• Before Pope Alexander VI, the Church’s political power in Italy was weak and not respected.

• Pope Alexander VI used money, military force, and his son Cesare Borgia to increase the Church’s power.

• Alexander used the French invasion as an opportunity to expand influence and gain territory.

• Even though Alexander mainly wanted to make Cesare powerful, his actions also made the Church stronger.

• After Alexander died and Cesare lost power, the Church kept all the benefits and territories Cesare had gained.

• Pope Julius II inherited a much stronger Church with control over Romagna and fewer powerful rivals in Rome.

• Julius II continued and expanded Alexander’s policies by gaining more money, power, and political influence for the Church.