Test 2a: Machiavelli’s The Prince
Dedicatory Letter Overview
Addressed to Lorenzo de Medici (powerful Renaissance political leader, late 1400s).
Title “Prince” = any political ruler, not just royal family.
Custom of Seeking Favor
If you want something from a powerful benefactor:
Offer something pleasing to them (e.g., horses, jewels, luxury gifts).
Or offer what you value most, showing seriousness.
Machiavelli chooses the second:
Offers what he values most = knowledge.
What Kind of Knowledge?
Not math/science/theology, but political knowledge.
Specifically: knowledge of the actions of great men → i.e., political excellence, “statesmanship.”
Goal: provide Lorenzo with useful political guidance.
Sources of Machiavelli’s Knowledge
Experience with modern affairs
Worked in diplomatic service, met political leaders at home and abroad.
Gained practical lessons from observing rulers in action.
Continuous reading of the ancients
Studied classical and biblical texts describing great leaders.
Example: Exodus (Moses as the greatest political ruler, discussed later in Chapter 6).
Reads the Bible as a political text, not a religious one.
Machiavelli’s The Prince (Chs. 1–2)
Review of Dedicatory Letter
Machiavelli offers Lorenzo de Medici what he values most: knowledge of political life.
Knowledge comes from:
His own political experience (as a diplomat).
Reading of the ancients (including the Bible, e.g., Moses in Exodus).
Uses landscape sketch artist analogy:
Rulers (princes) and ruled (the people) each have partial perspectives.
True political knowledge requires seeing both perspectives → knowledge of the whole.
Machiavelli claims this is his unique contribution.
Chapter 1 – Types of Political Societies
Two kinds of states:
Republics → people rule themselves (political liberty).
Principalities → ruled by a single prince (submission to another’s laws).
Principalities:
Hereditary (old, ancestral, long-standing).
New, which divides into:
Mixed: formed through conquest (acquired, not “natural”).
Altogether new: founded by a founder (requires political creation, not nature).
Key contrasts:
Republic = liberty.
Principality = submission.
Conquest = acquisition (fortune or help from others).
Founding = innovation (requires founders, e.g., Moses).
Important point:
Political societies are not natural (like biology or chemistry).
They must be founded → always at some point they are “altogether new.”
Founders are crucial in creating enduring political orders.
Chapter 2 – Hereditary Principalities
Defined as ancestral/old political orders.
Stable because people are used to them (continuity, “same old, same old”).
Depend on tradition and historical memory rather than innovation.
Key Terms & Themes
Hereditary = ancient, ancestral, old.
New = mixed (conquest) or altogether new (founding).
Tradition vs. Innovation → continuity vs. creation of new orders.
Fortune vs. Virtue:
Conquest through fortune = reliance on others.
Conquest through virtue = independent, strong leadership.
Founders: Moses (model of greatest founder).
Submission vs. Liberty: principality vs. republic.
Machiavelli: The Prince (Ch. 2–3)
Language and Style
Machiavelli uses ordinary, familiar language (not technical or elitist).
Example: mostly common words, unlike advanced physics/chemistry terms.
Rare exception: “temporize.”
Intent of the book (Ch. 15, p. 61):
“Since my intent is to write something useful to whoever understands it…”
Goal: to be useful for all readers, not just elite princes.
Language reflects inclusivity: he writes to “whoever” can understand.
Importance of language: it shows how people think and reveals their values.
Key Vocabulary
Temporize = to delay, procrastinate, “kick the can down the road.”
Rare word choice in Machiavelli (Ch. 2, p. 6).
Offend (Machiavelli’s use) = to harm, not just to insult.
Custom / Accustomed = habit, routine, tradition.
Extraordinary = outside the ordinary (too talented, ambitious, wicked, or stupid — all undesirable for hereditary princes).
Chapter 2 – Hereditary Principalities
Characteristics:
Stability from tradition and continuity.
“Order of the ancestors” = people honor and affirm tradition.
People are not alienated from the past; they embrace it.
Prince’s qualities:
Should be ordinary, not extraordinary.
Avoid extremes: neither lazy nor overly ambitious, neither wicked nor brilliant.
Goal: cause no offense (harm).
Political dynamic:
People love their prince if he maintains tradition and avoids offense.
Hereditary rule is stable — no reason for rebellion.
Accidents/exceptions:
Natural disasters, plagues, invasions, etc. disrupt order.
Response: princes temporize (delay, wait for order to reassert itself).
Suppression of memory:
Hereditary states eliminate memory of their founding (radical change).
Reason: remembering origins = remembering innovation, which undermines tradition.
Chapter 3 – Mixed Principalities (Conquest)
Theme (Ch. 3–5): conquest and instability.
Unlike hereditary states (stable), mixed principalities are unstable.
Machiavelli’s surprising analysis:
Begins not with conquerors but with the conquered people.
People willingly change rulers if they believe it will improve their lives.
Motivation = prudential (self-interest), but not always prudent (wise).
Key idea: Conquest requires internal dissatisfaction.
If people are content and love their prince, conquest fails.
If alienated/malcontent, they will support invaders.
Example analogy (explaining conquest to a child):
Johnny is playing with toys → another kid takes them = conquest.
Focus is on the one who wants change (conquered people), not just the invader.
Grass is greener effect:
People believe new rulers will be better, but reality often disappoints.
Machiavelli Lecture: Medical Analogy & Political Wisdom
Doctor’s Knowledge as a Model
A doctor’s knowledge is specific:
Must know how to treat a patient.
Requires taking a medical history (patient background).
Must recognize symptoms (signs pointing to something else).
Must identify causes (underlying disease).
True medical knowledge = diagnostic + therapeutic:
Diagnose → identify the disease through causal reasoning.
Treat → prescribe effective remedies/therapies.
Patients expect two things from a doctor:
A clear diagnosis (what’s wrong).
A treatment (what to do about it).
Key Concepts in the Medical Model
Symptom = a sign pointing to something deeper.
Causation = symptoms are effects of underlying causes.
Diagnostic knowledge = knowing which cause produces which symptom.
Therapeutic knowledge = knowing how to cure/treat the cause.
A wise doctor diagnoses early (before symptoms are obvious).
Early detection is hard but crucial.
Once disease is advanced, even mediocre doctors can see it, but it’s too late to cure.
Political Analogy
Machiavelli uses medicine as an analogy for political prudence:
A wise prince = like a wise physician.
Must diagnose political problems early (recognize small “symptoms”).
Must identify underlying political causes of unrest.
Must apply a remedy (policy, action, or preemptive measure).
Political prudence = diagnostic + therapeutic political knowledge.
Diagnose political troubles.
Prescribe remedies to prevent/cure crises.
Historical Examples
Romans = model of wise princes.
Anticipated problems early (saw “symptoms” from afar).
Acted decisively before problems grew incurable.
Louis of France = counterexample.
Failed to recognize early warning signs.
Made mistakes by waiting too long → crises became unavoidable.
Medical Language in Politics
Machiavelli deliberately uses medical terms:
Remedy, medicine, disease, cure.
Political wisdom:
Recognize “disease” in the state early.
Apply “medicine” (policy/remedy) before it becomes incurable.
Machiavelli: Ch. 7–9, 15–18
Cesare Borgia (Chapter 7)
Background: Son of Pope Alexander VI; used as a political instrument.
Contrast with typical “child rebellion”: Unlike children who resist being used by parents, Borgia embraced power and excelled at ruling.
Machiavelli’s praise:
Says Borgia should be a role model for princes who gain power through fortune and others’ arms.
He understood the logic of power: don’t rely on foreign powers, eliminate corrupt elites, build own military, use force when needed.
The Criticism:
After Alexander VI’s death, Borgia failed to prevent Julius II (his enemy) from becoming Pope.
This was a “bad choice” → a failure to act politically instead of morally.
Mistake = confusing moral virtue (trusting in forgiveness) with political virtue (anticipating revenge and acting accordingly).
2. Agathocles (Chapter 8)
Background: Born in poverty, rose through military ranks by boldness, intelligence, and ambition.
Action: Conspired against and massacred the senators and elites of Syracuse, seizing power.
Comparison to Borgia:
Borgia = power through fortune and family connections.
Agathocles = power through his own skill and ruthless action.
Illustrates Machiavelli’s division between:
Political virtue (effectiveness, power, success).
Moral virtue (justice, forgiveness, morality).
Lesson: Political life cannot be judged by moral standards.
3. Civil Principality (Chapter 9)
Definition: A prince who becomes ruler by election of the people.
Key Factors:
Attitudes toward ruling:
People: Don’t want to be ruled → want to live private lives.
Elites: Want to rule → form the ruling class (financial, military, religious, intellectual, etc.).
This difference produces class conflict (ruler vs. ruled).
Populism:
People elect a ruler to protect them from elites.
Natural outgrowth of human political life.
Italian term: grandi = the elite.
4. Chapters 15–18: Ideal vs. Real Politics
Traditional political philosophy = idealistic (utopian visions).
Machiavelli = realistic (study of actual power and human behavior).
Virtue & Vice: A successful prince must learn “how not to be good” when necessary.
Contrast between utopia (ideal society) and reality (politics driven by power, necessity, and conflict).
2. Contrast Between Moral and Political Virtue
Moral Virtue: Forgiveness, honesty, fairness (private life standards).
Political Virtue: Effectiveness, strength, use of deception or cruelty when necessary.
Machiavelli insists: Do not confuse morality with politics.
4. Populism and Civil Principality (Ch. 9)
Civil Principality = ruler elected by the people (not born into power, not conquering).
Class Conflict (Machiavelli’s version, not Marx’s):
People: Want not to be ruled; prefer private life (family, work, trade, culture).
Elites: Want to rule; claim they know best; seek control.
Populist Prince:
Protects the people from elites.
Divides or weakens elites to minimize their dominance.
Expands the sphere of private life as much as politically possible.
Comparison to Marx:
Marx = all history is class struggle, ending in communism.
Machiavelli = class conflict is permanent; communism is a dream.
6. Chapter 15: The Prince’s Core Lesson
Traditional philosophy = idealism (imagining perfect societies).
Machiavelli’s innovation = realism (“effectual truth” of politics).
Central claim:
“It is necessary for a prince to learn how not to be good, and to use or not use it according to necessity.”
Why?
If a ruler insists on being moral, he will be ruined by immoral rivals.
Key Distinction:
Private life → morality is possible and desirable.
Political life → rulers must sometimes lie, deceive, or use cruelty.
7. Chapter 16: Specific Virtues and Vices
Machiavelli examines common moral qualities (liberality, honesty, cruelty, etc.).
Main goal of a prince: Avoid two dangers
Being hated by the people → risk of conspiracy.
Being seen as contemptible by other rulers → risk of conquest.
Philanthropy/liberality:
Private virtue = generosity is praised.
Political danger = too much liberality exhausts resources, leads to taxation, and breeds hatred.
Conclusion: A prince should appear generous, but be careful in practice.
1. Hatred vs. Contempt (Ch. 16–19)
Two things a prince must avoid above all:
Hatred (people want to overthrow you).
Contempt (seen as weak, insignificant, easily dominated).
Contempt arises when:
A prince appears dependent on others.
A prince runs out of resources, borrows, or taxes too heavily.
Liberality (generosity):
Morally praiseworthy (philanthropy is good in private life).
Politically dangerous → leads to taxation, dependence, hatred, and contempt.
Key Point: A prince should spend wisely, tax minimally, and use money for purposes people respect (like defense).
2. Hatred vs. Fear (Ch. 17)
Hatred ≠ Fear: They are not the same.
People can fear a prince without hating him.
If forced to choose:
Better to be feared than loved.
Love makes a prince dependent on the people’s affection (which can be withdrawn).
Fear is under the prince’s control (as long as he avoids hatred).
Domestically: Fear deters crime.
Internationally: Fear deters foreign conquest.
3. The Wisdom of Chiron (Ch. 18)
Mythical centaur (half man, half beast) → symbol of political wisdom.
Teaching: “Be human when you can, be beastly when you must.”
To be beastly = two models:
Lion → military strength, power, deterrence.
Fox → cunning, deception, intelligence (spies, trickery).
A prince must combine force and cunning.
4. Examples of Fox-like Princes
Alexander VI (the Pope): Master of deceit, promises he never kept, ruled successfully through cunning.
Severus (Roman Emperor): Combined lion and fox qualities; a “new prince” who used both strength and deceit effectively.
5. Morality vs. Politics
Machiavelli stresses: Always being morally good in politics is impossible.
Why? Because others will exploit your goodness.
A prudent prince must:
Be moral when possible.
Be ready not to be good when necessity demands.
Political prudence = ability to switch between morality and cunning/force.
6. Prudence Defined (Ch. 21)
No action in politics is purely safe.
Every choice has upsides and downsides (“no free lunch”).
Prudence = recognizing the lesser evil and choosing it as the political “good.”
Political wisdom = knowing all options are flawed, and picking the least damaging.
7. The Rule That Never Fails (Ch. 22)
Three kinds of people:
Those who learn on their own (rare).
Those who can learn if taught (common).
Those who cannot learn even with teaching (unteachable).
Rule:
A prince who is not naturally wise (type 1) must rely on teachers/advisors (if type 2).
But this requires fortune (luck) → having access to a wise counselor.
Type 3 rulers (unteachable, arrogant) are doomed.
Never-failing rule: If a prince cannot learn and has no teacher, he cannot govern well.