The Prince by Niccol Machiavelli was written in the year 1513 A.C.E. in Italy during a time in which his views were greatly detested by others. They were so hated that he was exiled from his own country for writing them. When hearing this, one must ask oneself, what kinds of views did Machiavelli have so that his own country would cast him out? His ideas, though written very complexly, were very simple. One must gain success and to do so, any means were justifiable. He wrote his ideas in a lengthy letter to prince of Italy, Lorenzo de’ Medici. He gave him advice that was supported by history and what he thought were the precise makings of an excellent leader. That advice was both excellent and awful. In the document, The Prince, Machiavelli writes about many characteristics that a good prince should have. The five main characteristics are as followed: (1) A price must have no other thought in mind than war and how to pursue it (Machiavelli, 279), (2) a price must be liberal, rather than generous (Machiavelli, 282), (3) a good prince should be merciful rather than cruel, but must not overuse his mercy (one must be cruel at times, the key is knowing when to be which one) (Machiavelli, 284), (4) a prince must be feared rather than loved (Machiavelli, 285), and (5) a good prince must take on the qualities of a lion and a fox (Machiavelli, 287). Meaning that he must be aware of his enemies and terrifying to them as well. According to Machiavelli, these are the qualities that build a great prince or leader. In this document, Machiavelli also conveys the idea that by doing these things, one must gain success and if success is gained, then any means taken to get it our justified. This is conveyed by his giving methods to simply gain power; and crimes and evil along the way are okay, as long as one indeed does gain power (Machiavelli, 279).The ideas that are portrayed by Machiavelli in The Prince can be thought of as the perfect ways to...
