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Essay on The Prince by Machiavelli
Machiavelli's views on the idyllic individuality of a Prince were the predominantly contentious, and above all contemporary and applicable, section of the work. Machiavelli presents a vision of leading a state that is severely dissimilar from that of humanists of his time. He believes the ruling Prince should be the solitary power shaping every characteristic of the state and put in effect a policy, which would serve his best interests. These interests were gaining, maintaining, and expanding his political power. His understanding of human nature was a complete contradiction of what humanists believed and taught. Machiavelli powerfully promoted a secular society and felt morality was not necessary but in fact stood in the way of an effectively governed principality. Despite the fact that in come cases Machiavelli's suggestions seem harsh and wicked one must remember that these views were derived out of concern Italy's unhinged political circumstances.
While humanists of Machiavelli's time believed that an entity had much to present to the well being of the state, Machiavelli was rapid to ridicule human temperament. Humanists alleged that "A person only 'grows to adulthood both rationally and ethically through contribution' in the life of the state." He also suggested that a prince must be voluntarily enthusiastic to betray the citizens. The approach, in which men live, says Machiavelli, is so unlike from the way in which they have to live that even a fine man may be cleaned out. In discussing the manner in which a prince can avoid being ruined by the many who are malevolence, Machiavelli presents the fifth of his golden set of laws:
"A prince consequently who desires to maintain himself must learn to be not always good, but to be so or not as necessity may require".
The connotation of this rule lies in its proposition that a prince who desires only to be sincere may himself come to devastate..............
