Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince

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After reading the novel, I chose the above seven lines to represent Machiavelli's message as a whole because it covers the most prominent subjects that Machiavelli discusses, such as: how a prince should relate to his fortune, Machiavelli's thoughts on mankind, and methods of defense. A prince should know how to successfully acquire knowledge on these subjects in order to gain and remain in power. In Chapter XXV, Machiavelli compares fortune to a powerful river which changes and shapes the world around it, sending the message that a prince should not rely on his fortune because it is always changing. "I believe that is it probably true that fortune is the arbiter of half the things we do, leaving the other half or so to be controlled by ourselves. …show more content…
"Because fortune is a woman and if she is to be submissive is it necessary to beat and coerce her. experience shows that she is more subdued by men who do this than by those who act coldly." He is explaining that you have to take control of your fortune and not let it control you, like in the average male and female relationships of that time period. "Always, being a woman, she favors young men, because they are less circumspect and more ardent, and because they command her with greater audacity."(Page 81) Relating to "So these princes of ours, whose power had been established many years, may not blame fortune for their losses." Another subject Machiavelli seemed to put deep thought into was the nature of mankind and what he thinks of the species. He commonly speaks as though is not human and neither is the reader, giving the feeling that humans are small and unintelligent. He easily seems to make such a complex being easy to understand. "Men do you harm either because they fear you because they hate you." …show more content…
happy and protected state. Good laws an armed forces, not using mercenaries or auxiliaries, and commanding your own troops are the keys to success a prince mainly needs. "Now, I say that the arms on which a prince bases the defense of his state are either his own, or mercenaries, or auxiliary, or composite. Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous." (Page 40) Mercenaries are just looking for money, auxiliaries are useless when you want to be respected. "To sum up, cowardice is the danger with mercenaries, and valour with auxiliaries(...) They have preferred to lose battles with their own forces than win them with others, in the belief that no true victory is possible with alien arms." Relating to "The only sound, sure, and enduring methods of defense are those based on your own actions and prowess."
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