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    The Prince
    The Prince
    The Prince
    Ebook129 pages1 hour

    The Prince

    By Niccolò Machiavelli and Tham Trong Ma

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    About this ebook

    Do you want to improve your political knowledge but not sure where to start? Then this is the perfect book for you!


    Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince is one of the most famous books about politics ever written. Perhaps, what

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDigiNetStor LLC
    Release dateAug 23, 2023
    ISBN9781954891524
    Author

    Niccolò Machiavelli

    "Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.""It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones."- Niccolò Machiavelli

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      Book preview

      The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli

      1.png

      THE PRINCE

      All rights reserved
      First Edition, 2022
      © Tham Trong Ma, 2022

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by means of electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author.

      Written by
      Niccolò Machiavelli
      Translated by
      Tham Trong Ma

      The Art Of Obtaining And

      Maintaining Power

      The PRINCE

      Contents

      A Few Words 8

      About Niccolò Machiavelli 15

      Chapter 1

      Of Different Country Types And How To

      Acquire Them 19

      Chapter 2

      About The Hereditary Monarchy 21

      Chapter 3

      About Mixed Monarchy 23

      Chapter 4

      Why the Kingdom Of Darius¹⁰ Conquered By Alexander The Great11 Did Not Rebel

      Against The Successors Of Alexander

      The Great After His Death 35

      Chapter 5

      About How To Govern Cities Or Countries

      That Live Under Their Laws Before

      They Were Annexed 41

      Chapter 6

      About New Countries Acquired With

      Your Own Abilities 45

      Chapter 7

      About Newly Acquired Territorial Lands

      Either By Arms Of Others Or By Luck 51

      Chapter 8

      Of Countries Captured By Wickedness 61

      Chapter 9

      About Civil Monarchy 67

      Chapter 10

      About The Way Of Measuring The Strength

      of Nations 73

      Chapter 11

      About The Church Nations 77

      Chapter 12

      About Soldiery Types And The Mercenaries 81

      Chapter 13

      About The Auxiliary Army, The Mixed

      Army, And The Private Army 89

      Chapter 14

      Of The Prince On The Art Of War 95

      Chapter 15

      Involving Men Things, Especially Prince

      About Praising Or Blaming 99

      Chapter 16

      Of Generosity And Miserliness 103

      Chapter 17

      Of Ruthlessness and Mercy, And

      Whether Love Is Better Than Fear 107

      Chapter 18

      About How Prince Keeps His Promise 113

      Chapter 19

      Of Avoiding Being Scorned And Hated 117

      Chapter 20

      Whether Citadels And Many Other Things

      The Prince Used Are Useful Or Useless 131

      Chapter 21

      How The Prince Must Behave To Be Famous 139

      Chapter 22

      Of The Prince’s Personal Staff 145

      Chapter 23

      How To Avoid Flatterers 149

      Chapter 24

      Why The Italian Princes Lost The States 153

      Chapter 25

      Effects Of Human Fate And How To Fight It 157

      Chapter 26

      An Exhortation To Free Italy From

      The Barbarians 163

      Notes 169

      Useful Books 177

      A Few Words

      Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince is one of the most famous books about politics ever written. Perhaps, what sets it apart from the hundreds of books written about the same subject matter is that Machiavelli describes politics as having its own set of rules that should not be influenced by any other source where the goal is not to succeed over others.

      In simpler terms, The Prince describes politics in such a way that the only rules that apply are the ones that bring the expected results of victory - the end justifies the means.

      The book is a thorough analysis of how to obtain and maintain power. It has 26 chapters that can be broadly divided into parts. Chapters 1 - 11 describe the different types of principalities. Chapters 12 - 14 describe the different types of armies, how to manage them, and how a prince must conduct himself as a military leader. Chapter 15 - 23 talk about the conduct of the prince and how one can use them to secure his kingdom for longer. Chapters 24 - 26 describe the dire political situation in Italy. The final chapter is a direct plea to Lorenzo de Medici and the Medici family to save Italy from the humiliation of being enslaved.

      To this day, after reading the book, one wonders if the several advices given on how to gain power and maintain it are rooted in evil or simple realism. Most people will argue that some of the things described in the book are jarring. In fact, one of the reasons why the book is so famous is because of the infamy attached to it. The things recommended in the book led to the coining of the adjective Machiavellian.

      When people use the word, Machiavellian, to describe someone they are trying to point out the cunning, devious, scheming, deceitful, and unscrupulous behaviors they find in them.

      The essence of Machiavelli’s politics, as described in the book, is that you can get away with anything, including murder, if you succeed in your political endeavors. Only those who lost were punished for their actions.

      While it might be unproductive to argue against the generally accepted evil significance of his name due to this book, it should be noted that Machiavelli (according to scholars) was not an evil man who taught evil doctrines. Far from it, as his personal life story will show for he was only moderately successful in his political career. In conducting his affairs, Machiavelli was timid and it is only in the literary side of his character that we find a daring boldness to conquer at any means necessary.

      Even at that, the harsh implications of the teachings in his book were not known in his time. At the time that he wrote the book, most men lived by the sword and died by it. So, what we would consider Machiavellian in this age must have been very normal to them. Machiavelli was clearly a man of great observation, sharp, and brilliant. He noted everything that had happened before him and made his observations based on those events.

      Thankfully, a lot of research has gone into helping us understand his mind and interpreting his work more reasonably. These researchers say that Machiavelli much preferred the republics over monarchy and would in no way have supported tyranny and the cruelty involved. Additionally, they argue that his passionate plea for the deliverance of Italy in the last chapter is not in line with the evil tag that has been given to him. These scholars also believe that he was one of the forerunners of modern political science.

      All these things, when they come together, show Machiavelli as a republican, patriot, and political scientist. A mild image that heavily contrasts with the reputation that he has. Machiavelli was not Machiavellian after all. Either way, there is one thing that we can gather from all of this, or it is that Machiavelli was an enigma that everyone should have a chance to form their own personal opinions about.

      Although over 500 years have passed since his work, The Prince, was published, some of the problems that were addressed in the book are still relatable and interesting to debate. That is because, even though we no longer fully practice monarchy (except for some European and Asian countries), at the core of it, the same problems between the rulers and the ruled exist.

      As it stands, although most of the code of conduct described in the book was for those that lived in Machiavelli’s time, we cannot completely rule them out as being outdated.

      Machiavelli draws parallels between historical incidents and people and uses them to illustrate his proposed theories of government and how they should conduct themselves. Some of those parallels still apply to the present-day world.

      Leaving out the state of affairs, some of which still plague some European and Asian countries that practice monarchy, there are several proven truths to be gotten from reading the book.

      For example, men are still the same victims of their foolishness and greed as you would find in the story of Pope Alexander the Sixth. The decadence and corruption of the Church can also be viewed through Pope Alexander’s behavior. Present-day religion still conceals vices, such as those that Machiavelli exposed in the character of Ferdinand of Aragon.

      In breaking down the innate character of men, Machiavelli shows that men do not like to see things as they are in reality but will choose to deceive themselves by seeing them as they wish them to be. The result of this kind of mentality is most often destruction, as can be proven by the historical events in the book.

      He also notes that people can be fickle and their affections are easily bought over because they are only invested in their self-interest. As long as there is abundance, you will never run short of people that support you. However, the moment you fall into difficult times, you will be hard pressed to find someone in your corner. People will admire generosity, faithfulness, courage, and honor in others but will rarely display those characteristics themselves.

      Of politics, he notes that there is not a perfectly safe course to take. It is your responsibility, however, to chart all the possible risks and choose the one with the least dangers. He also notes that although cruelty and wickedness may win you an empire, the only reward you would get for it is infamy rather than glory.

      Of goodwill, he also mentions that for any ruler to remain in power, he has to avoid being hated by his people. No, this does that mean that he has to be completely loved by them, for it is in fact in his best interest that he is revered, rather than loved by his subjects. Goodwill is a ruler’s best defense against domestic insurrectionists and foreign attackers. Nobody is more supportive of a government than the people who enjoy benefits from it. On the other hand, when a ruler is completely hated by his people, it brings about his complete downfall.

      This part of the book may be contradictory to what he says about using cruelty to govern, but Machiavelli states that a little cruelty is okay, as long as it does not affect the goodwill of the people. He warns rulers against doing things that would lead to hatred.

      With these as examples, Machiavelli gives a balanced outlook on the good, the bad, and the ugly of politics as they

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