The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli is a meticulous and methodical commentary regarding the roles and responsibilities of how an efficient leader should conduct their own affairs relating to the state. The pragmatic nature of Machiavelli’s psyche is emboldened throughout the book as The Prince seeks to elaborate that the aspects of survival justify the actions of a ruler in achieving glory and establishing a secure nation.
The Prince was originally dedicated to the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de’ Medici, as a straightforward and logical guide concerning the duplicitous nature of a nation’s subjects, political assertiveness/etiquette, and the desired conduct of a leader during war efforts. Machiavelli also focuses on the personal virtues a successful ruler should uphold, in which specific virtues can be favoured for their merit, but to conform to them would be damaging to the rest of the state. The Prince often uses numerous real-life examples to illustrate the effectiveness of certain forms of government and the strategies they employed to maintain power and the goodwill of the people.
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