There are Two Sides on Every Coin

Today in honors, we talked about the infamous Niccolo Machiavelli, as well as his two works: Discourses on Livy, and  The Prince. I would like to discuss The Prince in relation to the man who wrote them, as I find several discrepancies between the man and the work.

First, I'll give a brief biography of Machiavelli in order to give us an accurate picture of the man behind the books. Machiavelli enjoyed an early childhood education, which he later decided was useless for understanding politics. In 1494, Florence drove out the ruling Medici family and created the Florentine Republic, placing Machiavelli at the head of the second Chancery. During this time, he carried out several diplomatic missions to foreign governments, sampling everything from the Court of Louis XII to the brutal methods of Cesare Borgia. In 1512, the Medici, with the aid of Spanish troops, retook Florence, and imprisoned Machiavelli, where he was repeatedly tortured due to his previously held political positions, as well as a supposed involvement in a conspiracy. After repeatedly denying involvement, he was released and sent to his home, where he lived for the rest of his life. It is believed that the Prince was written during this time.

Now , I would like to point out some things that did not line up as I saw them in between what he did and what he wrote. First, throughout the entire work: He uses the words "prince" and "tyrant" interchangeably. Second, To be more specific, In Chapter 17, he states:

 “The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both.”

This is Machiavelli's "defining quote" as we might know it. It is what he is most famous for saying. Ironically, he was a publicly elected official before he wrote this book. He was loved as a public official as well. In addition, concerning the matters of the military, Machiavelli supported arming the people, many of whom would hypothetically recently conquered. He also advised that the prince should live in a city that he himself conquered. I'm not a political expert by any means, but I'm pretty sure that living next door to the people whose family members you killed aren't going to sit idly by while you rule over them. 

I'd put a conclusion here, but I think I've rambled on for long enough.

~~Cody Martin

PS. I commented here.