My take on Niccolo Machiavelli

By Cruz
Philippines
June 25, 2020 8:39am CST
Hi! It's been a really long while since I've been here. Anyways, I was thinking of sharing here the things I've learned while out of MyLot and practicing my writing skills here while I have the time. So about Machiavelli, he was famous for writing a how-to guide for princes waaaaay back before internet how-to guides existed. It was called Il Principe or The Prince. The thing about him, though, was not just about him writing a guide, but what he wrote in his guide. He wrote that in order to maintain power, one must be willing to deceive, torture, cheat, and steal, among other things, just as evildoers do. He also wrote how to best to do them. It was against the popular belief that those in power should be good people, trustworthy and kind, so that the heavens above will bless them and their kingdom. But Machiavelli had a good point. He lived at a time when his homeland, Italy, was filled with wars and coups. He noticed that those who strictly followed the good path were simply deceived by their enemies into losing their power. At worst, they were killed. Niccolo Machiavelli is one of my favorite philosophers. Mainly because of his belief that there is power in everyone, even among the slaves and peasantry, which the royalty can never really possess. And I think that it is this power, or rather the fear it gives to the royalty, that gives those in power a reason to make life better for everyone in the hierarchy, be they slaves or stewards. Thanks for reading! I really hope you guys could give me some feedback. I'll gladly answer any questions you have. Edit: it seems that I misspelled Il Principe with an "s" instead of a "c" in the original version of this post. Thanks to @MALUSE for pointing that out!
4 people like this
4 responses
@rhuenz (10646)
25 Jun 20
Don't know about Niccolo but thanks anyway for sharing that wonderful story.
2 people like this
• Philippines
25 Jun 20
You're welcome! I'll try to share stories and views on different influential people from time to time. I hope you would enjoy them!
1 person likes this
@rhuenz (10646)
26 Jun 20
@Tierkreisze that's great.sure, i will.
1 person likes this
@SHOHANA (16094)
• Bangladesh
27 Jun 20
Sounds he became very famous for his writing, thanks for sharing
1 person likes this
@SHOHANA (16094)
• Bangladesh
27 Jun 20
@Tierkreisze okay I see, thanks for sharing
1 person likes this
• Philippines
27 Jun 20
You're welcome! And yes, he got really famous (or should I say infamous) for his works. He's now the father of modern political science because of it.
1 person likes this
@louievill (28851)
• Philippines
25 Jun 20
I'm also an admirer of Niccolo Machiavelli, I had read the " the Prince" several times and a lot of his philosophies are still applicable even today, in my case in business.( It has a lot of applications even in daily life) The problem with people's biases is because most only remember " ends justifies the means " without ever really going through and reading his book and writings or going into deeper understanding of the man's philosophies.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
26 Jun 20
Glad to find another fan! Indeed, that's the most unfortunate thing about Machiavelli. Unfortunately so that you could consider him lucky that he went through torture and not assassination. Maybe if the people back then knew that he would end up becoming the father of modern political science in the future...
1 person likes this
@MALUSE (69409)
• Germany
27 Jun 20
I'm not a 'guy' and don't appreciate being addressed as one but will respond nevertheless. Machiavelli has even made it into the dictionaries as an adjective - the final proof for being influential! (Collins Dictionary): "Machiavellian If you describe someone as Machiavellian, you are critical of them because they often make clever and secret plans to achieve their aims and are not honest with people. ...Machiavellian republicans plotting to destabilise the throne. ...the Machiavellian and devious way decisions were made. A Machiavellian plot was suspected. Synonyms: scheming, cynical, shrewd, cunning" ----------- You can see the statue outside the Uffizi galleries in Florence and his tomb in the church Santa Croce.
1 person likes this
• Philippines
27 Jun 20
That's also one other reason why I love Machiavelli! His name has come down through generations as that of a cunning deceiver when, in fact, he's deceived the rest of the future world into believing that he was doing the deceiving. But truth be told, he did not.