In the early sixteenth century when Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, Italy was not a unified country. It was instead a collection of city-states, each with its own ruler and ways of life. In addition, Italy was a political battleground; with the Catholic Church, France, and Spain, along with a number of inner kingdoms hungry for power. Thus machiavelli wrote a book dedicated to Lorenzo Di Medici explaining how to obtain power, and maintain it. From a citizen's point of view, Machiavelli communicated his stance on the principles of a great leader who gains respect from his citizens by using the art of persuasion in which he mainly focuses on cruelty, deceit, and the creation of fear. In The Prince, the art of persuasion is exemplified…show more content… Machiavelli uses many specific historical references to previous leaders in order to prove the majority of his points This allows the reader to see the education and knowledge he possesses along with establishing credibility with his audience.Machiavelli gives the example of Cesare Borgia to prove his point that in order to be considered a great leader it is better to be cruel and feared in order to control your subjects, along with to be respected and obeyed. This is evident in the quote; “Cesare Borgia was accounted cruel; nevertheless, this cruelty of his reformed the Romagna, brought it unity, and restored order and obedience” (53). This is a prime example of how Machiavelli is historically educated since he uses his knowledge…show more content… His approach to persuade the audience through using logos is business like, giving the readers facts instead of opinions. This is evident in his precise wording and general knowledge of subjects brought up in the book. Machiavelli uses logic and reasoning to show his perspective on how a prince should rule by cruelty, deceit and fear, this is conspicuous when machiavelli says: “Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared. For love is secured by a bond of gratitude which men, wretched creatures that they are, break when it is to their advantage to do so; but fear is strengthened by a dread of punishment which is always effective…..So on the question of being loved or feared, I conclude that since some men love as they please but fear when the prince pleases, a wise prince should rely on what he controls, not on what he cannot control” (55-56). Therefore, men are quick to desert or betray a relationship based on love but if based on fear they are less likely to do so, feeling the fear of punishment. Thus the reader can infer that what machiavelli is trying to get across is that relationships based on fear are dependable while those based on love are not, in one case the prince has control and in the other he has none.“A prince, therefore, need not necessarily
