Achilles And Many Other Ancient Princes example essay topic

Niccolo Machiavelli wrote his famous dissertation on power The Prince in 1517. His thoughts on the rules of power encompass the struggles for every level of power, from the proletariat struggling in the corporate world to strategies performed by the world leader in the sixteenth century to now. Talking about the very statement Rivers and man can be controlled but not trusted, we can find many objective arguments which, however, lead us to the very content of ruling. There are a great number of examples in history and Bible, which can prove this statement. For those who have a high rank or position, it is very important to be cautious and aware of those who surround. It is not necessary to trust them, because you never know their genuine intentions.

How many betrayals emperors and leaders experienced from those whom they relied on. For instance to take a Saul, the ruler over Egypt and David, who later became the ruler of Israel (Samuel 9 10). David killed Saul, because he didnt have fear to do this. Another vivid example is Moses with his people, who were crossing the desert. He trusted them very much, but his control over them was not strict, so that every time he left them in order to pray, they disobeyed and betrayed the main belief in one God. If you can control river, trying to causeway its flow, however you can never predict when and how much of downpour or cloud-burst is going to happen that would cause it to enlarge greatly and to spoil all your crops.

The similar situation is with a man. A ruler should work out the behavioral pattern in order to keep his position safe. Machiavelli opens The Prince describing the two principal types of governments: monarchies and republics. His focus in The Prince is on monarchies. The most controversial aspects of Machiavelli's analysis emerge in the middle chapters of his work. In Chapter 15 he proposes to describe the truth about surviving as a monarch, rather than recommending lofty moral ideals.

He describes those virtues which, on face value, we think a prince should possess. He concludes that some "virtues" will lead to a prince's destruction, whereas some "vices" allow him to survive. Indeed, the virtues which we commonly praise in people might lead to his downfall. In chapter 16 he notes that we commonly think that it is best for a prince to have a reputation of being generous. However, if his generosity is done in secret, no one will know about it and he will be thought to be greedy. If it is done openly, then he risks going broke to maintain his reputation.

He will then extort more money from his subjects and thus be hated. For Machiavelli, it is best for a ruler to have a reputation for being stingy. Machiavelli anticipates examples one might give of generous monarchs who have been successful. He concludes that generosity should only be shown to soldiers with goods taken from a pillaged enemy city. In Chapter 17 he argues that it is better for a prince to be severe when punishing people rather than merciful.

Severity through death sentences affects only a few, but it deters crimes which affects many. Further, he argues, it is better to be feared than to be loved. However, the prince should avoid being hated, which he can easily accomplish by not confiscating the property of his subjects: "people more quickly forget the death of their father than the loss of their inheritance". In Chapter 18, perhaps the most controversial section of The Prince, Machiavelli argues that the prince should know how to be deceitful when it suits his purpose. No trust is shown here. When the prince needs to be deceitful, though, he must not appear that way.

Indeed he must always exhibit five virtues in particular: mercy, honesty, humaneness, uprightness, and religiousness. In Chapter 19 Machiavelli argues that the prince must avoid doing things which will cause him to be hated. This is accomplished by not confiscating property, and not appearing greedy or wish-washy. In fact, the best way to avoid being overthrown is to avoid being hated. "The end justifies the means" that if you wish to achieve a worthy goal (such as founding a new state or defeating an enemy) it is perfectly acceptable to use any means at your disposal. This can range from the merely ruthless, such as breaking promises (which Machiavelli encourages), or expending 90% of your soldiers to capture a single town to the diabolical, such as catapulting diseased corpses over the walls of a besieged town.

If you use bad methods for good ends, you gain "power but not glory", to quote Machiavelli. In practice it means that your allies may abandon you because they no longer trust that your judgments can win the war, or they may be outraged by your cruelty. Machiavelli says in his novel: "It is necessary to take such measures that, when they believe no longer, it may be possible to make them believe by force". Everyone understands how praiseworthy it is for a ruler to remain true to his word and to live with complete integrity without any scheming. However, it may be seen through experience how many princes in our time have achieved great things who have little cared about keeping their word and have shrewdly known the skill of tricking the minds of men; these princes have overcome those whose actions were founded on honesty and integrity.

It should be understood that there are two types of fighting: one with laws and the other with force. The first is most suitable for men, the second is most suitable for beasts, but it often happens that the first is not enough, which requires that we have recourse to the second. Therefore, it is necessary for a prince to know how to act both as a man and as a beast. This was signified allegorically to princes by the ancient writers: they wrote that Achilles and many other ancient princes were given to be raised and tutored by the centaur Chiron, who took custody of them and disciplined them. Since it is necessary for a ruler to use the ways of beasts, he should imitate the fox and the lion, because the lion cannot defend himself from snares and the fox cannot defend himself from wolves. Therefore, it is important to be a fox in order to understand the snares and a lion in order to terrify the wolves.

Therefore, a prudent leader will not and should not observe his promises, when such observance will work against him and when the reasons for making the promise are no longer valid. If all men were good, this precept would not be good; but since men are evil and will not keep their word with you, you shouldn't keep yours to them. There are a number of examples from modern times, which reveal numerous peace treaties and promises that have been broken and made completely empty by the faithlessness of princes: these knew well how to use the ways of the fox, and they are the ones who succeed. But it is necessary to know how to hide this nature and to simulate a good character and to dissimulate: for the majority of men are simple and will only follow the needs of the present, so that the deceiver can always find someone he can deceive.

For a vivid instance Alexander VI (1) never did or thought about anything else except deceiving people and always found some reason or other to do it. There was never a man who was better at making assurances, or more eager to offer solemn promises, or who kept them less; yet he always succeeded in his deceptions beyond his wildest dreams, because he played his role in the world so well. Throughout history there have been businessmen who have succeeded to becoming a tycoon by these principals of The Prince. One such individual was Henry Ford. His company ranks as one of the giants of the American industry.

Starting from only ability Mr. Ford built himself an economic empire. To appeal to the customers pocket book he invented the assembly line to make his "Model T" available to families with all incomes. In addition to the savings by the assembly line, he employed other pioneering techniques that reduced considerably the price of Ford in 1913 1924 years. This in turn meant the selling of more cars and more power for Henry Ford. His power is proof that the possession of fortune is as effective as the possession of ability as described in Chapter VI of The Prince. Not only did he have ability to build irresistible autos but also to manage the company to total stability and a controllable device.

For not only was his goodness to his customers awarded with more power, so was he goodness to his employees. The regulations for his employees invaded every avenue of their lives to ensure to the utmost morality of his workers. These rules are the consistency of The Prince used by politicians and businessman alike. As a whole, the strategies of Machiavelli are even more applicable to the world of business than to the present day world of politics. Like the prince, the business person regards his own welfare more greedily than any of the present day politicians because the politician's power is given to him by a vote and the business person's power are given to him by the dollar. The executive knows that the best way to self preservation is through power by the people by manipulating their passions, controlling their actions, staying aware of everything they are intended to undertake.

A company's system of appealing to the customer's trust and loyalty, in turn earning their money, puts an executive prince at the head of a corporate kingdom. A prince should be concerned with conquering or maintaining a state, for the means will always be judged to be honorable and praiseworthy by each and every person, because the masses always follow appearances and the outcomes of affairs, and the world is nothing other than the masses. The few do not find a place wherever the masses are supported. There are certain princes of our own time whom it would not be wise to name, who preach nothing except peace and faith, and yet is the greatest enemy of both; and if they had observed one or the other, they already would have lost both - reputation and state many times over.