Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli
by Santi di Tito, 16th Century
Vecchia Cancelleria

There's a saying of how to run a kingdom, whether in a harsh way or in a kind way, it would lead to an unknowing future. There are ways to be some type of leader to run an entire kingdom in your hands. Taking on the approach of Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" he discusses these rules in some kind of manner and how a leader, like a prince, would approach it in some type of way. One thing to mention is, "All the states and governments that ever held or now hold sway over men were and are of two sorts: either republics or principalities…" (Machiavelli 4). The main idea is that the approach indicates the meaning of being a leader, mostly a prince, and how it comes into two terms of either having republication or having principles under the rule of the family. Another thing to mention is from an article coming from the novel itself, an article by J.G.A. Pocock, where he discusses his own take from his novel The Machiavellian Moment'' and breaking down the "moment" in Renaissance Italy. Starting with that, "The 'moment' he refers to is the period when the republic must confront the problem of legitimacy that is needed to maintain the stability of its institutions and the allegiance of its citizens." (Pocock 193). Meaning the definition of what the moment is and put into a matter of the government themselves to the people living in the kingdom. Overall, this is the beginning of what "The Prince" is all about and how Machiavellian discusses the roles of what a prince is to his subjects and the people, and with Pocock added in to get into further detail. 

When reading Pocock's article to Machiavelli's idea, helps me understand the concept of what the novel is all about. For instance, Machiavelli's idea is discussed in chapter 20 when he mentions, "Without a doubt, a prince becomes great by overcoming the difficulties and obstacles placed in their way, and therefore, especially when Fortune wants to enhance the reputation of a new prince…" (Machiavelli 67-68). Discussing how a prince would go through the challenges when running an entire kingdom and fortune would enhance giving a new role to a prince since it would take an advantage to be in that type of role. Speaking of fortune, Pocock mentioned how, "It is rather an analytic study of innovation and its consequences; but within that character, it proceeds straight to the analysis of the ultimate problem raised by both innovation and the decay of citizenship...it is the art of dealing with fortuna as the force which directs such events…"(Pocock 194). Coming from this to the reading it focuses on the roles the person would face as challenges would have to be overcome on that matter depending on the size of the issues. The reason why I choose this article among the others in the book is that I felt this would stand out from all of them, given into detail what Pocock would say in Machiavelli's novel.

Lastly, I think Machiavelli's novel would work in the 21st century based on what he has to say that would make sense of what's currently going on at the moment. In one of the last chapters of the novel, he mentions, "I certainly believe this: that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because Fortune is a woman, and it is necessary...and one sees that she lets herself be conquered by men of this stripe more than by those who proceed coldly." (Machiavelli 80). Saying that he described Fortune as a woman who would have the power to overcome men, and if she's being let down and left behind, then the men would be affected in his own way. For Pocock's article, it depends since he would also point out ways coming from Machiavelli and himself, in the 21st century would take on his own ways to interpret the sources. Pocock mentioned that "Given a world which they see and experience as action and fluctuation rather than as tradition and legitimacy, their feelings about the present are bound to be stronger; action is more exciting than custom, it holds the attention and stirs up the emotion." (Pocock 201-202). Stating that when experiencing something in the new world, it takes on the challenges rather than what rules to follow and what to expect, mostly talking about the exciting experience that comes to mind. My advice when reading "The Prince" is just skim it through the first time and then read it to make perfect sense of what Machiavelli discusses in the novel.

Here's a 3-minute video on the explanation of the novel itself. Also, another discussion on the novel coming from Course Hero.

Work Cited

Machiavelli Niccolò, and Wayne A. Rebhorn. The Prince. W.W. Norton and Company, 2019.