... and in assessing to what degree his writing is trulyMachiavellian? lies the key to understanding The Prince. In Chapter Three we see the onset of Machiavelli's brutal reasoning. He says in regard to recently capturing a principality,To hold [the inhabitants] securely, it is enough to wipe out the ... He also warns about allowing other people to gain too much power,anyone who enables another to become more powerful, brings about his own ruin.? (Machiavelli 14). This maxim falls along parallel lines as the reasoning behind the destruction of a powerful ruling family. Within this chapter, a...

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• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... The prince must be able to become whatever is useful and necessary while keeping certain appearances, which are vital to retaining his power. Machiavelli insists that the prince should seem "exceptionally merciful, trustworthy, upright, humane and devout" and says further that the prince "need not ... they are tasted less, they will cause less resentment." . Before explaining the reasons behind the necessity for employing wicked or cruel deeds, Machiavelli once again stresses the importance of keeping up images, he says that "every ruler should want to be thought merciful, not cruel" but...

• Word Count: 1733
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate