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Audrey Yue

Mrs. Chahine

A.P. European History, Period 1

18 October 2008

The Prince: Summary

During the early 16th century, Italy found itself under a new rule of Lorenzo de’ Medici.

In the times of change, Niccolo Machiavelli, a man who once held a political power of position

in the Florentine government, soon found himself out of a job. He decided to write a book about

politics directed to Medici. The Prince, by Machiavelli, contains Machiavelli’s thoughts of the

guidelines that an ideal ruler should live by. Written in 1513, The Prince builds upon the ideas

based on the prince maintaining the welfare of the state. Therefore, Machiavelli’s goal was not to

have a perfect Prince that was one of good morals, goals, and strength but rather a practical

prince. Machiavelli puts morals aside and describes what a prince should do creating the idea of

Raison D’état, meaning the prince must do anything and everything necessary for the benefit of

his state. Though often considered unscrupulous, The Prince provides an excellent example of

the most efficient way to rule and has remained an example to power politics from the 16th

century politics to modern day politics.

Machiavelli starts off his book with the focus on principalities, states owned by princes,

and how to gain and obtain them. He says that the principalities that are inherited are the easiest

to govern because the Prince would already have the favor of the people who most likely love

the ruling family. Principalities are new are harder to govern because often the people have

expectations of the Prince and the prince must be sure not to upset the people. Therefore, the

prince of a new principality must be careful when chastising his subjects and the prince must

make sure that he has mastered the affairs of the whole country in order to maintain the
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wellbeing of affairs in his state. Machiavelli also warns that the princes who take on ministers to

govern a principality must be careful because ministers may turn on the prince. Machiavelli then

talks about principalities that were once free with people accustomed to their own laws. In these

once-free principalities, the Prince has three choices that can help him maintain the principality:

the first is to destroy the state, the second is for the Prince to live there in person, and the third is

for the Prince to let the state continue living under its own laws and setting a government ruled

by the state’s men while collecting tribute from the state. Machiavelli states that the first is the

most efficient because it is better to destroy a state than to be destroyed by it. By destroying the

state, the Prince can build a new and will not have to worry about suiting to the will of the

people. The second is efficient because when the Prince lives in the state, he can attend to

problems easily as well as defend his principality. Machiavelli states that the third is the easiest

to do because if the Prince sets up a government, then the government will need the support from

the Prince, but it will have the same laws that the people are use to. Machiavelli says that it is

easiest to rule a principality that was once free through the people.

Machiavelli moves on to talk about principalities that have been gained by the Prince in

detail. When dealing with principalities that have been gained through the achievements of the

Prince, Machiavelli suggests that the Prince look to past examples in order to rule his state.

Machiavelli says that the Prince must not rely on fortune to rule his state but rather his valor and

strength. He warns for the Prince not to rely on pure persuasion in order to rule, for people who

fall easily into persuasion can fall easily out of persuasion. Instead, the Prince must rely on his

abilities and his power to force rather than persuasion of the people to agree. In dealing with

principalities that have been acquired by others’ fortune and military, Machiavelli says that these

princes will have an extremely difficult time in ruling. Machiavelli says that will and fortune are

fickle things and a prince who has gained his principality through the two is destined for
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hardship. The Prince who has gained his principality though others will most likely not have his

own forces and will not be able to maintain order or defend his principality. Machiavelli says

that fortuned acquired positions are easily lost because the Prince does not know how to keep

what fortune has given him. Machiavelli moves on to principalities gained by evil means.

Machiavelli states that evil deeds will bring the Prince power but not glory. If a prince must gain

a principality through evil means then Machiavelli suggests that when the Prince seizes the state,

he must decide on the amount of injury to inflict and be sure to inflict it at once so that the cruel

deeds will not be savored one by one by the people. Machiavelli then says that the Prince must

be consistent in his treatment of the people thereafter. Regarding principalities that have been

gained by the Prince through the favor of the people, Machiavelli says the focus of these princes

should be the people, since they gave these princes the power. If power was given to the Prince

by the people, then the Prince should strive to maintain the favor of the people. If the Prince

received the position by nobles, then the Prince must try to win the affection of the people.

Machiavelli then moves on to describe what is the strength of a principality. The Prince must

always have a strong army ready to attack and defend. In times of war, Machiavelli says that the

Prince must convince the people that the conditions are only temporary. Princes often lose their

states due to a week army, so it is important to have a strong one. Machiavelli then moves on to

ecclesiastical principalities, principalities that are of the Church’s property and says that these

principalities are ruled by religion and the Prince does not even have to govern these

principalities. Instead of trying to govern these ecclesiastical principalities, Machiavelli suggests

that the Prince observe how the Church managed to keep and maintain its power.

Machiavelli then moves on from principalities to the defense and military matters of the

Prince. He begins by saying that a prince must build on strong foundations and strong

foundations are fair, good laws and a strong army. The Prince who has a strong army normally
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has good laws, therefore a good army is the foundation that the Prince strives for. There are three

types of armies, the army of the Prince, mercenaries, and auxiliaries which are armies of other

states that help the Prince. Machiavelli says that mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless. A

mercenary troop is loyal to money, not the Prince and an auxiliary troop is loyal to another

prince. Therefore, Machiavelli says that the prince must have his own strong army. Next,

Machiavelli stresses the importance of the Prince’s concern with military matters. He says that

the Prince needs to be the most educated in war. He creates a metaphor using an armed man and

an unarmed man and says that a prince who is not educated in war is like an unarmed man

leading an armed man. The Prince must study the tactics of war, past battles, and great war

leaders of history if the Prince wishes to achieve a strong army that will benefit his state.

Machiavelli talks about the reputation of the Prince next. To Machiavelli, the Prince

should not strive to have the ideal reputation. He states that the Prince must keep in mind that it

is better to be practical then ideal. The Prince should concern himself with achieving practical

benefits for his state and not worry about living up to morals, virtues, or scruples. The Prince

should be always cognizant of the safety of his state and in order to achieve the safety of his

state, the Prince sometimes has to have characteristics that are often frowned upon. The Prince

must often be cowardly when it is best not to fight, cruel when it comes to the means of

protecting the welfare of the state, and miserly in order for the Prince to raise funds. Though

generosity is often praised, the Prince should avoid the reputation for generosity. Machiavelli

explains that the Prince who is generous will often find himself losing money and if the generous

Prince suddenly becomes conservative in his money, he’ll automatically gain the title of a miser.

It’s best for the Prince to be miserly and frugal first so that he’ll already have the funds to defend

and fund projects and by having money when the time calls for it, the Prince will no longer be

considered frugal or miserly but gain the title of generosity. Machiavelli then tackles the
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question whether the Prince should be feared or loved. Ideally, Machiavelli says that the Prince

should try to be both feared and loved. However, if it must be one or the other, Machiavelli says

its best to be feared. Machiavelli stresses the fickleness of people and says that even if the people

love the Prince, the people will often turn on the Prince in times of trouble. It is easier to turn

against a loved prince. If the Prince is feared, the people will not turn against him because they

are scared and would not wish to anger the Prince and so they will not turn against the feared

Prince. However, the Prince must be sure that when he is feared, he is not hated. Whatever the

Prince does must have justifications so that the Prince does not bring hatred directed to him.

Machiavelli later goes on stressing the importance of not being hated. The Prince should try to

avoid hatred at all cost. The Prince who has the public favor of the people will seem less

vulnerable to his adversaries. The Prince should try to delegate the responsibilities of

unfavorable laws to others so that the blame is not on the Prince himself. If the Prince cannot

avoid hatred, then the Prince must find a way to escape the hatred as soon as possible. When

regarding the honesty characteristics of the Prince, Machiavelli expresses that sometimes a

Prince must resort to chicanery and cunning. Machiavelli uses the metaphor of a lion and a fox to

display the meaning that a Prince must be honest and strong like the lion, but the Prince must

also be a fox and resort to trickery when the time calls for it. The Prince should seem virtuous

and honest to the people and do all his chicanery in secret. The Prince should be a master of

deception. These are the characteristic guidelines that a Prince should follow.

Machiavelli then describes the ways the Prince can gain favor and a prestige. Machiavelli

says that in regards to subjects and the Prince, the Prince should not disarm his subjects for it

causes mistrust. Arming his subjects is a sign of trust between the Prince and his subjects. In

regards to new principalities and new subjects, the Prince can choose to disarm them or the

Prince can arm the subjects, but weaken them. If the Prince means to arm his new subjects, then
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he should keep his army on standby. The Prince should also not focus on a strong fortress that

protects against rebellions but rather try to appeal to the subjects in order to prevent rebellions.

When trying to earn prestige, Machiavelli says that there are two ways. The first is through many

military campaigns. An ambitious prince who conducts many campaigns will receive a better

reputation. The second way of gaining prestige is for the Prince to declare himself as an ally of

one side in a conflict. By being an ally, the Prince will gain protection whether the ally wins or

loses and if the ally wins the Prince will profit from what the ally won. The Prince, however,

must be careful when choosing allies and it is best for the Prince to declare himself an ally to one

that is weaker than him. The Prince should assess the risk of all the different possibilities when

choosing allies and pick the least risky. This is how the Prince can gain approval from his

subjects and from outside forces.

When dealing with ministers and flatterers, the Prince must be careful. Choosing

ministers is a critical task for the Prince. The ministers give the first impression of the Prince to

visitors. The Prince should avoid the ministers who care only for themselves and their personal

gains. These are the ministers who will not be loyal to the Prince and will most likely turn on the

Prince when it is in their favor. Instead, the Prince should choose the ministers who are loyal

because these are the ministers that have the intentions of helping the Prince and will be obedient

to the Prince. Flatterers are dangerous to the prince because flatterers often cause a ruler to

become more egotistic and more self-absorbed. The Prince should not let flatterers affect their

decisions. The decisions should always be the Prince’s and only the Prince’s decision. Even

when he has advice from his advisers, the decision should be the Prince’s in the end. Therefore,

the Prince must be intellectual and he cannot depend on the intellect of his advisers if he wishes

to be a successful and good ruler.

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Machiavelli closes off with the idea of fortune. He states that 50 percent of what happens

to men is fortune while the other 50 is by the actions of man. Therefore, man controls at least 50

percent of his destiny. The Prince should make use of what he can control. If the times change,

Machiavelli says that the Prince must change with the time. What one prince achieves can be

accomplished by different means of another prince, depending on the situation. The Prince must

be ready react to the time. Furthermore, Machiavelli states that fortune favors those who are

aggressive. The Prince must be bold, audacious, and aggressive and must not be timid in

behavior. Fortune will shine on those who are bold.

The book ends with Machiavelli returning to his present time and expressing that he feels

Lorenzo de’ Medici is Italy’s best hope and he explains that Lorenzo needs a very good calvary

to defeat the Spaniards and the Swiss. Though the book is directed towards Lorenzo de’ Medici,

it’s reasoning and logic still apply to the politics of modern day. Looking at one’s own

government, one can see characteristics of the Prince that Machiavelli described. Governments

are in favor of the wellbeing of the state and governments ruled by only morals and religious

values have been deserted. Machiavelli’s ideas of Raison D’état have been used to justify the

ambitions of a nation. If a present day nation’s government has justifications for all the things

that they do, similar to what Machiavelli suggests that the Prince should do. The Prince has

provided the most practical and feasible kind of ruler for any government system from whether it

be in the 16th century to today.