Machiavelli Essay - 1597 Words

quot;The term Machiavellian refers to someone who is unscrupulous, cunning, cynical, and unprincipledquot;(Goods 1998). Many scholars agree that this particular adjective would have dismayed Niccolo Machiavelli, the man from whom the term is derived. In reality he has been attributed as being one of the brightest lights of the Italian Renaissance through his works as not only a writer, but also as an influential philosopher of history and political thought. His most famous work The Prince has been misunderstood due to the motives discussed and the blatantly honest language used. Many of his critics have condemned him for his pessimistic outlook of man as a whole and in doing so try to negate the bulk of his work. Yet even after over 470†¦show more content†¦In fact, Machiavelli used various early diplomatic missions as the basis for a short guideline he sent to the Florentine diplomat of Spain named Raffaelo Girolami. In this letter Machiavelli discussed not only what he had done but also how he could have improved (Gilbert 1961, 209). This letter was meant not only as advice for a particular situation but also as a learning aid to apply to all situations. We see from this and other letters like it that Machiavelli not only learned the theory behind politics but also continually refined his skill with each new challenge. Machiavelli demonstrated a great knowledge and insight regarding politics through his writings but more importantly he displayed a man who went through great effort to pay attention to details. Nowhere else is this fact more evident than in the advice and instructions that he imparted to less experienced government officials. His own advice states to â€Å"†¦write to those with whom you do business so clearly that when they have a letter of yours they may think they are there-in such detail it describes the thing to them†(Gilbert 1961, 123). Not only does this apply to his beliefs in documentation, but also encourages them to pay close attention to details in order to supplement those writings. This type of statement was far from uncommon, in a large quantity of his letters to less experienced diplomats he advised them to â€Å"’go to the extreme of writing too much rather that too little† (GilbertShow MoreRelatedThe Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince2 348 Words   |  10 PagesI have always found great interest in the infamous Niccolo Machiavelli and his ways of thinking; my eye was drawn to him long before I knew I would be studying at Colorado State and even before I had any interest in politics. It was from young man know as Tupac Shakur, and let me tell you it is great to finally understand who Machiavelli is and the things he has done for the outlook on politics after hearing about how much respect and praise he got from the iconic rapper of the 1990s. In this paperRead MorePrinciples Of Machiavelli1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn the 16th century Niccolo Machiavelli presented Lorenzo de Medici with his most prized possession, â€Å"The Prince†. At this time, it was custom to present the prince with your most prized possession, in order to gain their friendship. Machiavelli spent much time studying past rulers and wrote â€Å"The Prince† in which he describes how one acquires and maintains power. At the time, Th e Prince was not well accepted as it went perceived to go against the Catholic Church. However, today the prince has beenRead MoreMachiavelli as a Humanist1886 Words   |  8 Pageswho is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans. Niccolo’ Machiavelli can be thought of as a humanist. Although opinions on this differ greatly depending on whom you speak with. Machiavelli’s life consists of so many examples and lessons that he has learned throughout his life. 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In this reading, I seen 5 points that Machiavelli talked about, and those were: Free Will, Being Hated vs Goodwill, Virtue, A Good Military, and finally Human Nature. These are a necessity to the recipe that Machiavelli is making in this book. In the first few chapters of the book, Machiavelli begins to talkRead More Machiavelli And Plato Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pages Niccolio Machiavelli (Born May 3rd, 1469 amp;#8211; 1527 Florence, Italy.) His writings have been the source of dispute amongst scholars due to the ambiguity of his analogy of the amp;#8216;Nature of Politics; and the implication of morality. The Prince, has been criticised due to itamp;#8217;s seemingly amoral political suggestiveness, however after further scrutiny of other works such as The Discourses, one can argue that it was Machiavelliamp;#8217;s intention to infact imply a positiveRead MoreNiccolo Machiavelli Essay1536 Words   |  7 PagesNiccolo Machiavelli Around 1513 Niccolo Machiavelli while writing The Prince would not be considered a theologian. When thinking of Machiavelli many people confuse him together with the names of rulers who have abused his writings. It also seems other people confuse Machiavelli with the rapper who took his name. Either way people confuse Machiavelli it seems they fail to look at his true message, bettering the state and the greater good. Machiavelli may seem evil to some but his political