The Writing of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote his infamous book The Prince in 1513 although it was not published in full for another nineteen years in 1532. Before writing The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli had already shown that he was a capable writer as well as a former diplomat.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a keen student of the Ancient World in general, and the Roman Republic in particular. As far as Niccolo Machiavelli was concerned the Roman Republic had been the ultimate form of government, in which the people had an influence over events whilst the leaders had governed effectively and expanded the power of Rome itself (Crystal, 1998).
The Reasons for Writing The Prince
An overwhelming sense of despair was the prime motivation for Niccolo Machiavelli in writing The Prince as he was despairing about the present as well as the future of Italy, which at the beginning of the sixteenth century was divided and mainly under direct foreign control. In The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli is calling for somebody to act as a saviour for the Italian nation, namely The Prince. He is hoping for a prince in the mould of Cesare Borgia who had made some brief conquests in Central Italy yet was unable to achieve a united Italian state before his death in 1507 (Drabble & Stringer, 2007).
The Contents of The Prince
Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a tract to advise any future saviour on the best methods of achieving a united Italian state rule from Rome without any foreign intervention, interference, or influences telling it what to do. Unlike his other political books The Prince did not extol the virtues of republican forms of government (Drabble M & Stringer, 2007).
Instead Niccolo Machiavelli in The Prince explores the ways in which states, countries, and individual rulers come to achieve power as well as how they go on to lose that power (Crystal, 1998). Reading The Prince shows up Niccolo Machiavelli outstandingly expansive knowledge and grasp of diplomacy as well as political power (Drabble & Stringer, 2007).
The actual content of The Prince is the primary cause of Niccolo Machiavelli gaining an odious reputation (Crystal, 1998). At the beginning of the sixteenth century most rulers and their nominated successors were generally advised to be good and generous leaders. Rulers were supposed to always act in moral ways. Rulers needed strength, cunning, decisiveness, and luck to achieve their objectives over the long-term (Drabble & Stringer, 2007).
On the other hand in The Prince Niccolo Machiavelli claimed that it was better in the long run for rulers to act in amoral or even immoral ways in order to achieve their political and military objectives (Drabble & Stringer, 2007). Rulers should be brutal, devious, and immoral whenever it suited them to be (Crystal, 1998).
Bibliography
Crystal D (1998) Chambers’ Biographical Encyclopedia, 2nd edition
Drabble M & Stringer J, (2007) Oxford Concise Companion to English Literature
