Lecture 7: Machiavelli and the Prince

Renaissance

• “Revive the rational, this-wordly, secular, scientific spirit that had lain dormant through many centuries of medieval encasement

• “the effect of man’s growing restlessness as well as of changing social and technological conditions.”

• Printing as an important activity

  • It destroyed the monopoly of knowledge that clergy enjoyed

  • Johannes Guttenberg

  • Martin Luther and Protestantism — 95 thesis at the castle of Wittenberg

• Renaissance as the “discovery of man”

• Man as the center of the universe

Italy as the center of renaissance

• Italy as the center of renaissance

  • Cities full of relics and monuments of past glories

  • Presence of language (Latin) into Italian — minor changes

  • German empire destroyed by papacy; French monarchy under the papacy

• Italian city-states were able to grow

  • International trade, business and finance

  • Made cities wealthy and prosperous

  • Wealth led to the demand for literacy, artistic, and scholarly activities of elites

• Florence as an important center for the renaissance

Important Figures of the Renaissance

• Leonardo da Vinci

  • Ideal universal man

  • Painting and the arts

  • Science and engineering

  • Philosophy and letters

• Niccolo Machiavelli

  • Entered public service at 29 and stayed for 14 years

  • Diplomat for an independent Florentian republic

  • Lost his job in 1512

  • Banished to his farm near Florence after de Medici restoration

Machiavelli and the Prince

• Dedicated to Lorenzo de Medici

• Asked to serve the new regime

• Bitterly attacked

• Opened up a new route in explaining politics

  • Eliminated theological and moral argument

  • Taking the secular state for granted

  • Political inquiry based on behavior

Art of Politics

• A leader must be able to implement new rules and regulations for consolidation purposes

• He has to have his own abilities to overcome challenges as reformers have enemies from old elites; and there will be lukewarm defense from elites benefiting to the new system

• “they remain powerful and secure, honoured, and happy”

• Cesare Borgia as model of emulation

  • Great courage and ambition

  • Model of leadership per Machiavelli

Advice to leaders

• Commit all cruelties at once and should not be recurring

• Benefits should be granted little by little to be better enjoyed

• Live with subjects so that he would not be able to lose power

• It is easier to be elected by people than to be selected by nobility as the nobility is difficult to be satisfied

• “Necessary for a prince to learn how not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case”

• Prince must be prudent to avoid scandals which can make him lose the state

• Prince must avoid being hated and liberality will lead to that condition. “it is therefore wiser to have the name of a miser, which produces disgrace without hatred, than to incur of necessity the name of being rapacious, which procures both disgrace and hated.”

• Ideally, one should be both feared and loved. If not possible, it is better to be feared than love, if one of the two must be wanting

  • “love is held by a chain of obligation which, men being selfish, is broken whenever it serves their purpose; but fear is maintained by a dread of punishment which never fails”

  • Prince should not be hated. Can be done by not interfering with private property nor women

  • And if he has to take a life, it has to be properly justified. It is easier for men to forget this than to mess with one’s property

• A leader should be able to rule with astuteness than good faith. Although it is laudable if leaders act on good faith.

• Methods of fighting

  • Law - mean

  • Force - beasts

  • Necessary to have both

  • A prince must “never to let his thoughts stray from the exercise of war; and in peace he ought to practice it more than in war”

  • This can be done through

    • Action — disciplined men, exercising, hunting, therefore accustomed to hardships

    • Study — nature of land, valleys, plains (geography)

  • When to act as

    • Fox — recognize traps

    • Lion — frighten wolves

    • Necessary for a leader to be able to disguise his traits well

  • Not necessary for a prince to be merciful, faithful, sincere, humane, and religious but it is necessary to seem to have them (looks)

  • A prince must have a good mind to adapt itself to changing conditions

  • A prince must be careful with his words. His words have to appear merciful, faithful, sincere, human, and religious

  • He has to appear religious as this visible to man

  • Prince should aim at conquering and maintaining the state, and the means will always be judged honourable and praised by every one, for the vulgar is always taken by appearances…(the end justifies the means)

The Liberation of Italy

• Machiavelli calls for Lorenzo de Medici to unite Italy as it has the power and wealth, as well as fortunes to undertake this task

• De Medici also needs his own soldiers as he cannot have it other way; moreover, soldiers will be unified under his rule

• Soldiers are needed to protect Italy from its enemies

• This moment, according to Machiavelli, should not be allowed to pass, and should liberate Italy.

Summary of the Reading

1. Historical Context: The World Machiavelli Lived In

Machiavelli lived during the Italian Renaissance (late 1400s–early 1500s).

Italy at that time was not a unified country. Instead, it was divided into many small city-states such as:

• Florence

• Venice

• Milan

• Naples

• the Papal States

These states constantly fought each other.

At the same time, powerful foreign countries such as:

• France

• Spain

• the Holy Roman Empire

kept invading Italy.

So the political situation was:

• unstable

• violent

• full of conspiracies

• constantly changing rulers

Machiavelli personally experienced this instability because he worked as a diplomat and government official in Florence.

When the ruling family (the Medici) returned to power, Machiavelli lost his position and was even imprisoned. During this time he wrote his famous political work:

• The Prince

2. Machiavelli Breaks from Medieval Political Thought

Before Machiavelli, political philosophy in Europe was heavily influenced by Christian morality and thinkers like Thomas Aquinas.

Medieval thinkers believed:

• politics should follow Christian ethics

• rulers should act morally and virtuously

• the purpose of government was to help people achieve moral and spiritual good

Machiavelli rejected this approach.

He argued that political thinkers should study how politics actually works, not how it should work according to morality.

This is why Machiavelli is often called the founder of modern political science.

His method was:

3. Politics as an Independent Field

One of Machiavelli’s most radical ideas was that politics should be separated from religion and morality.

In medieval thought:

• politics was subordinate to religion

Machiavelli argued:

• politics has its own rules

• rulers must follow political necessity, not moral ideals.

For him, the most important goal of politics was:

maintaining the stability and power of the state.

If moral rules interfered with this goal, the ruler might need to ignore those moral rules.

This was a shocking idea at the time.

4. The Central Problem: How a Ruler Keeps Power

Machiavelli’s main question was:

Instead of discussing ideal governments, he focused on practical advice for rulers.

His analysis came from studying historical figures such as:

• Roman leaders

• Renaissance princes

• military commanders

He tried to identify patterns of successful rule.

5. Human Nature According to Machiavelli

Machiavelli had a very pessimistic view of human nature.

He believed most people are:

• selfish

• ungrateful

• dishonest

• motivated by fear and self-interest

People will support a ruler only when it benefits them.

Because of this, rulers cannot rely on:

• loyalty

• morality

• promises

Instead, rulers must rely on power and control.

6. Virtù and Fortuna

Two key concepts in Machiavelli’s philosophy are:

Virtù

This does not mean moral virtue.

Instead it means:

• strength

• skill

• courage

• intelligence

• political ability

Virtù is the ability of a ruler to control events and shape history.

A successful ruler must be:

• decisive

• strategic

• ruthless when necessary

Fortuna

Fortuna means luck or fortune.

Machiavelli believed that events are partly controlled by chance.

But a strong ruler with virtù can overcome fortune and shape destiny.

He famously compared fortune to a flood:

When floods come, they destroy everything unless people build dikes and barriers beforehand.

Similarly, rulers must prepare for unpredictable events.

7. Fear vs Love

One of Machiavelli’s most famous arguments appears in The Prince.

He asks:

His answer:

Ideally both.
But if a ruler must choose, it is safer to be feared than loved.

Why?

Because:

• love depends on people's loyalty, which can change

• fear depends on punishment, which rulers control

However, Machiavelli also warns that rulers must avoid being hated.

Fear without hatred keeps power stable.

8. Use of Cruelty and Deception

Another controversial idea is Machiavelli’s argument about cruelty.

He claims that cruelty can sometimes be necessary for political stability.

For example:

• harsh actions early in a ruler’s reign can prevent chaos later.

He also says rulers must sometimes act like:

• a lion (strong against enemies)

• a fox (clever against deception)

This means rulers must sometimes use:

• deception

• manipulation

• strategic dishonesty

This idea led to the phrase “the end justifies the means”, although Machiavelli never wrote that exact sentence.

9. Importance of Strong Leadership

Machiavelli believed weak rulers lead to political chaos.

He admired leaders who:

• acted decisively

• unified states

• maintained order

He believed Italy needed a strong ruler who could:

• expel foreign invaders

• unify the Italian states

• restore stability

So The Prince was partly a call for the political unification of Italy.

10. Machiavelli and Republicanism

Although Machiavelli is famous for The Prince, he also supported republican government in another work:

• Discourses on Livy

In that book he argues that republics can be stronger than monarchies because:

• citizens participate in politics

• political institutions balance power

• public virtue develops

So Machiavelli was not simply an advocate of dictatorship.

He believed different political systems worked under different conditions.

11. Why Machiavelli Was So Controversial

Machiavelli shocked many people because he:

• separated politics from morality

• justified deception and cruelty in government

• described rulers realistically rather than morally

For centuries, his name became associated with cynical political manipulation.

The term “Machiavellian” came to mean:

• manipulative

• power-seeking

• politically ruthless

12. Why Machiavelli Is Important

Despite the controversy, Machiavelli is extremely important in the history of political thought.

He introduced several new ideas:

1. Realistic political analysis

Politics should be studied empirically, not morally.

2. Separation of politics and religion

Political power operates according to its own logic.

3. Focus on the state

The survival of the state is the highest political goal.

4. Modern political science

He treated politics as something that could be systematically studied.

Because of this, Machiavelli is often considered:

13. The Big Contrast With Medieval Thinkers

The reading likely emphasizes the contrast between:

Medieval thinkers (like Aquinas)

Politics should follow:

• morality

• Christian ethics

• natural law

Machiavelli

Politics follows:

• power

• necessity

• practical reality

This shift marks the transition from medieval to modern political thought.

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