Research on Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince”
...he bulk of the citizens are more interested in personal gain than in the general welfare, then riots and other disturbances are threatening to the state. Free and open debate is invaluable when men are virtuous, but dangerous when they are corrupt, because great orators, advocating measures that advance only their own gain, often carry the day (Impeachment: The Machiavellian View). Further: so long as the state is sound, citizens will freely express their opinions, to the benefit of all. But once the rot has set in, honest men and women will be afraid to speak openly, knowing that they are likely to be the targets of those whom they criticize. Machiavelli was born in Florence to an established though not particularly affluent middle-class family whose members had traditionally filled responsible positions in local government (The Life of Niccolo Machiavelli,3).It is known that as a boy he learned Latin and that he quickly became an assiduous reader of the ancient classics (The Life of Niccolo Machiavelli,30. Among these, he highly prized his copy of Livy's history of the Roman Republic. Machiavelli's first recorded involvement in the volatile Florentine political scene occurred in 1498, when he helped the political faction that deposed Girolamo Savonarola, then the dominant religious and political figure in Florence (The Life of Niccolo Machiavelli,3). In the same year Machiavelli was appointed to the second chancery of the republic. As chancellor and secretary to the Ten of Liberty and Peace, a sensitive government agency dealing chiefly with warfare and foreign affairs, Machiavelli participated both in domestic politics and in diplomatic missions to foreign governments (The Life of Niccolo Machiavelli,3). These posts afforded him innumerable opportunities over the next fourteen years to closely examine the inner workings of government and to meet prominent individuals, among them Cesare Borgia, who furnished the young diplomat with the major profile in leadership for The Prince (The Life of Niccolo Machiavelli,3). Machiavelli sought to establis...