The Prince / Discourses on Livy by Niccolo Machiavelli

By Miguel Fernandez
1. Summary.
Divided into twenty-four chapters (or books), the work by Niccolo Machiavelli (NM) describes
the shapes, ways, and categories of power. It starts with a brief description of the types of
government that can be identified in his time, classifying them by its nature and form. The first
book distinguishes between the kinds of dominions that have existed in human history, being
those the republic or principalities. The latter are further classified, according to the way they are
acquired, in hereditary (blood transmission) and new (separation of former principalities). The
distinction between forms of government is more richly discussed in book 1 and 2 of NM’s
“Discourses on Livy,” adding the discussion about monarchic (principalities), aristocratic, and
popular (democratic) states. Moreover, the second book identifies the way principalities should
be governed and maintained, acknowledging that due the nature of new principalities, this are
far more complex to keep.
From the binary distinction initially presented in NM’s work, the third book introduces the
notion of a mixed principality, one in which the root of power derives from an old principality
but that need to be governed as a new one. This type of state could be characterized based on
their cultural and historical backgrounds, which indeed determines the degree of complexity in
the task of governing; if the central state which tries to dominate the new principality is similar
in its nature (biology) and nurture (social institutions), then the task will be more comfortable,
and the prince must keep the liberties of the people and only place his efforts in collected
revenues for the central state in order to complete a successful annexation. To illustrate this
advice and deepen the discussion about how the types of government affect the likelihood a
principality will be a fruitful occupation, NM discusses in chapter four the case of Alexander and
introduces the notion of how decentralization of power can affect the continuity of the empire
after the death of the prince.
In the following four chapters (5 to 8), NM exemplifies the way principalities are acquired by
different means should be governed, and the effects of using the prince’s own force, others’
arms, fortune or crime to conquer them. The relevance of a national army comes into play, being
reinforced in subsequent chapters (12 to 14), especially because if the gun-power used to
dominate the enemies are held by others, then the prince will become a prisoner of the others’
army. By this, the survival of the principality (or state) relies on the existence of a strong army
that can both eliminates external threats and hold their respects for the prince.
Further, NM presents the duties and guidelines for the prince, placing particular attention on
how to develop the relationship with the citizens, how to construct the team of councilors to
govern and how to avoid those men who only try to maximize their gains in the expense of the
prince. Here, the highest virtue is the prudence and the audacity or astuteness of the one in
power, as the author claims “…the princes who have done great things are those who have taken little account
of faith and have known how to get around men’s brains with their astuteness” (p.69).
In his work “Discourses on Livy,” NM developed in a wider range the ideas of government
formation exemplified in the case of Rome. Moreover, he describes historical passages and
critically analyzes decisions made by rulers in order to order the republic, maintain power and
expand it. For instance, on chapter 21 of the first book NM addresses the importance of
maintaining an own army, making contrasts with the scenario of this time in Italy: “Present princes
and modern republics that lack their own soldiers for defense and offense ought to be ashamed of themselves…”
(p. 54).

2. Discussion.
Meant to be a gift for Lorenzo de Medici, the book by Nicholas Machiavelli is a guideline for
acquiring, maintain and expand power. It does not try to be a work of what the world should
be, or what it might be, but instead of what it is and how can the prince navigates through the
dangerous paths of power.
Although the work can be classified as a description of the art of ruling, it involves a realistic
notion of power exemplified by the idea that “the nature of men is to be obligated as much by benefits
they gives as by benefits they receive” (p. 44), acknowledging the idea of a selfish man who only seeks
their own benefit. This belief about the human nature is expanded through the entire work,
enlightening arguments such as the idea that “a wise prince must think of a way by which his
citizens, always and in every quality of time, have need of the state and of himself; and then they
will always be faithful to him” (p. 42), i.e., the construction of a clientelist relation between the
ruler and the governed that could ensure the survival of the prince and his state.
Hence, in “The Prince” (TP), NM presents that the final objective of the state is to secure its
own survival, not only against the foreign powers but also inside the walls of their sovereignty.
Accordingly, the work of NM in “Discourses on Livy” (DOL) expands some of the notions
presented in TP, reinforcing the importance of the survival of the state in passages such as the
one presented in chapter 5 of book I when the author claims that “for those who have prudently
constituted a republic, among the most necessary things ordered by them has been… that free way of life lasts more
or less” (p. 17).
Lastly, and returning to the point of political realism, several anecdotes exhibited in both TP and
DOL arguments in favor of a distinction between the political arena and the rest of the matters
of society. Exemplified in the history of Remirro (pp. 29-30, TP) and the justification of the
assassination committed by Romulus (chapter 9, book I, DOL), the author arguments in favor
of a “fierce lion and very astute fox” (p. 79, TP) as prince, which will do what it takes to maintain and
secure his power.

3. Critical Questions
a) How is power acquire, maintained and expanded?
b) What are the critical forces that led to changes in political regimes?
c) What is the lesson history shed on us about the way a state should be governed?
d) What are the crucial variables that the prince should be aware of when governing?
e) What is the goal of the state?
f) How can the prince assure the survival of his dominion?