Machiavelli
Machiavelli goes against the traditional mindset that a prince derived his power from God. Machiavelli believed that the rulers were given no divine right. He said that a ruler achieved his power through his own efforts and skills. The traditional thinkers believed that the ruler had to abide by Christian morals like the virtues. On the other hand, Machiavelli said that they did not have to abide by these Christian standards. Machiavelli was in contradiction with many other beliefs of medieval philosophers and politicians. Traditional medieval thinkers believed that the Christian standards of morality were the guidance’s to political life. Traditional medieval thinkers believed that God chose the ruler and he had divinity because of that. They believed that an important standard of Christianity was to be merciful. They believed that the ruler was to be merciful because God wanted it that way. God doesn’t want the ruler to be cruel. They believed that in general, religion was to be the ruler’s method of control. . . .
Machiavelli uses this as an example because he thinks that Hannibal could never had controlled an army of that size without being extremely cruel and being feared. This is because “ 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. Therefore, he suggested that it be better to be feared. Everything had to do with religion when there were decisions to be made. Machiavelli believed that the good ruler ignored questions of good and evil because those questions distracted the ruler from dealing with the necessities like state problems concerning the welfare of the people. It is not that Machiavelli does not believe in being merciful, it is just that he believes there are special occasions or situations where it should be used. This idea of a ruler being cruel, not following Christian standards and virtues was contrary to the conception of a successful ruler by the traditional medieval thinkers. According to Machiavelli “Hannibal had an enormous army, composed of men of all nations and fighting in foreign countries, there never arose any dissention”. This is because with a reputation of being soft, no man can lead a powerful and successful army. ” By saying this, he is trying to prove his point that by being cruel and prioritizing his state over his image, Cesare saved more lives by restoring peace. The medieval thinkers believed that the successful ruler was someone who acquired faith, mercy, and other Christian virtues in his rule. Machiavelli eliminated moral principles from politics. Machiavelli believed that it was difficult to be loved and feared at the same time. To be feared is to in a way to be respected while being hated is because of unnecessary reasons, namely the rulers self.
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