The Qualities of the Prince Rachel Garden English 300, Section 31 Professor Hays February 5, 2017, The Qualities of the Prince Thesis:
There are specific qualities and ways a Prince should adhere to in order to be successful. By living by Niccol Machiavelli's standards, a Prince will be prepared to withstand every attack.
Summary:
In Niccol Machiavelli's The Qualities of the Prince, he did not advise general principles and morals for the prince but instead gave specific instructions and guidelines to secure power (A World of Ideas, 2013, p. 219). Machiavelli is direct in his teachings of how life actually is for a prince and gave examples of successful and unsuccessful leaders as evidence. One quality Machiavelli addressed is the importance of constantly being thought of and in training for war (A World of Ideas, 2013, p. 222). He went on to describe how it is important to have praise-worthy qualities, but everyone possesses those that are blameful; however, "a prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him" (A World of Ideas, 2013, p. 224). The quality of generosity is also discussed and though Machiavelli would consider it good to possess, it could end up giving one a harmful reputation (A World of Ideas, 2013, p. 225). He is passionate about a prince knowing the difference between fear and hate and explains that one must not be scared of being fearful, for that will keep his people and soldiers united (A World of Ideas, 2013, p. 228). He goes on to provide direction to avoid any possible hatred.
Personal Response:
While reading Niccol Machiavelli's The Qualities of the Prince, there were several concepts about his philosophy that I did not agree with, but there were a few things I thought would be good pieces of advice to a future leader of any sort. Just after reading the headnote, I learned that Machiavelli is very stern about voicing what he thinks to be right, and though I believe everyone should voice their opinions, I do not think it is fair to say that there is only a way to be a person or a prince. He is also cynical, but I believe in looking at what is best about an individual rather than their worst. One of the things I questioned from the beginning was the fact that he supported the use of punishment through such acts as repression, imprisonment, and torture if it was necessary to remain prince, no matter what problem may come of it. He later states that as long as your people fear you but do not hate you, you will be safe from harm; however, I do not see how these two pieces of advice line up. These unjust actions will lead to the problem of people hat...
