The Influences of Machiavelli
Machiavelli's The Prince was a practical effort based on his worldly experience and observation of human nature. It was a work so simple in its idea that it was profoundly effective and has become a "cornerstone of modern political philosophy."(Chew 1)In order to understand how truly qualified Machiavelli was in advising a new prince, one must understand his background. Niccolo Machiavelli, known to many as the father of modern political theory, was born on May 3, 1469 in Florence, Italy. He was educated in the typical renaissance style of the "humane disciplines", encompassing Latin, history, moral philosophy and politics. Through these studies and his readings of such great writers as Aristotle, Herodotus, and Virgil, Machiavelli gained much of his historical perspective. When he was a young man, he was appointed head of the Second Chancery. The chanceries handled correspondence dealing with domestic, foreign and military affairs of Florence. He was soon after promoted to secretary of The Ten of War (the diplomatic relations committee of Florence). This position afforded him the opportunity to travel abroad to act as a diplomatic attache, sending home to Florence reports and observations of foreign nations and their rulers.
They even began to remove some basic rights and privileges. During the eighteenth century, a slight change occurred in the attitude towards Machiavelli. The examples he uses are based entirely on his education, personal experience and observation of human nature in his previous "diplomatic" employment in the Chancery. It is during this time that the meaning of "Machiavellian" and "Machiavellist" became varied and even contradictory. Hence it follows that he is more readily loved. Today, they are considered unconscionable and unscrupulous. He then offers a statement of what he believes to be fact, followed by examples to back up this fact. His work continued to be read by scholars but during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the Church shunned the ideas of Machiavelli. In chapter two, "Hereditary Principalities", Machiavelli states that principalities with an already established family of rulers are more easily maintained than a principality with new or foreign rulers. This is how uniquely qualified Machiavelli was and why The Prince has become, to some, a "political bible". As his work circulated, many monarchs and rulers began to consider his theories. As one reads through The Prince it becomes evident that there is a logic to his style of writing. 124) In the 1960's, Machivellist ideas were considered so clever as to be deceptive, and indeed, unethical. He uses specific instances of rulers who were either successful and effective or unsuccessful and ineffective to bolster his theory.
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