History Literature / ThePrince

[[hottip:Note: "Prince" (or "principe" in the original Italian) at the time just meant "ruler", more or less (from Latin "princeps" = "first one"). [[IThoughtItMeant It didn't mean "the son of a king"]]. If there was only one person in the state who really mattered, it was called a monarchy. Even a democratically elected president would have still been called a "Principe".]]

* HobbesWasRight: This book made the name "Machiavelli" basically a synonym to "Hobbes".

* FollowTheLeader: Machiavelli advices the reader to read the histories of great leaders, such as Cyrus the Great or Hiero II of Syracuse, and learn the ways they used to get and kept power, but also learn what mistakes they made, so that you don't makes them as well.
* FridgeLogic: See the [[Headscratchers/ThePrince headscratchers page]].

Also, he wrote this book when Italy was in a very chaotic state: to ensure order the prince ''had'' to rule with iron fist. Finally, one must remember that Machiavelli was attempting to ingratiate himself with the Medici, who had just taken over Florence (and promptly ignored his advice: they chose to be universally loved, and ended up massively in debt for it), and that most of his work was about supporting (small-r) republican regimes with an emphasis on freedom (although the means he recommended for operating and preserving them were rather, well, Machiavellian); more educated political theorists tend to regard him as something of a DeepCoverAgent for what eventually became modern liberal democracy. Though if so that would be an ironically Machievellian plan in itself.

* WonTheWarLostThePeace : A [[SlaveToPR Prince who has won a war and wants to avoid being perceived as cruel will let the opposition live]]. ([[ShownTheirWork Machiavelli cites historic examples]]). This inevitably concludes in later war, disorders, and a lot of people dead. So, the paradox is that Prince who truly wants to win the peace must [[ThePurge crush the opposition]] (but not [[CrushingThePopulace the general populace]]) [[NoKillLikeOverkill fast even when the war has already been won]], so all their subjects cannot see any hope in opposing their new ruler, [[HumansAreBastards and don’t waste time and effort trying it and truly accepting the new peace]].

* RevengeByProxy: When taking over a new country, the prince must kill off the deposed prince's family as well.
** That's not revenge so much as preemptive self-defense.

* HumansAreBastards: the prince is advised to assume this from the start, and govern accordingly. Your subjects are fickle, greedy cowards. They will like you, or at least tolerate you, as long as you leave them to their own devices. But don't make the mistake of equating affection with loyalty. You subjects will profess their love and loyalty when things are good in the kingdom, but when things are not so good they will most likely turn on you, and you have to be prepared to deal with that eventuality. Yeah, ''maybe'' they'll surprise you, and show genuine loyalty in times of crisis. But that's not a certainty, and a prince can't afford to make such assumptions. It's a safer bet to make sure they're simply too afraid to disobey you.

* HumansAreBastards: the prince is advised to assume this from the start, and govern accordingly. Your subjects are avaricious cowards who only want to be left alone, and as long as you do that, they will tolerate you, and maybe even ''like'' you. But you shouldn't make the mistake of equating affection with loyalty; they will most likely turn on you when war, famine, or economic crisis looms. Yeah, ''maybe'' they'll surprise you, and stand by you with true loyalty in difficult times. But a prince can't afford to make such assumptions; it's a safer bet to make sure they're simply too afraid to disobey you.

* HumansAreBastards: the prince is advised to assume this from the start: your subjects are greedy, lazy, and cowardly, and to presume otherwise is dangerously wishful thinking. They'll tolerate you as a leader so long as you don't mistreat them. They might even ''like'' you, but they'll only ''obey'' you if you give them no other choice.

* FairForItsDay: With the state of Italy (and most of the rest of [[strike:Europe]] the world for that matter) anything else would be hopelessly idealistic.

* {{Miser}}: While it's good for the wise prince to be seen as generous, he shouldn't make his name from overwhelming generosity. Instead, he should spend as little money as possible, and not worry too much about being seen as a miser - because if things go to hell, he'll have enough money to set things right again. That would've been impossible if the prince was overwhelmingly generous and so if things did go to hell, he wouldn't has any money left to sett things right again.

* TheNeidermeyer: A truly dumb choice of military leadership. It's one thing to be a strict disciplinarian, and another to be a complete JerkAss to the troops. The troops can tolerate the first, since it cause them to shut up and do as they're told. The second will only make them pissed at you, and they will lose morale, and in worst cases, they'll frag your ass.
* NostalgiaFilter: Machiavelli acknowledges that old ideals or rules usually have more followers who are more fierce and loyal to them. It's why it's importent for the leader of new ideals or rules to has a greater sence of discipline, or soon all his followers will be dead or turned traitors in less of a year.
* PlayingBothSides: Subverted. It's effective during peace times, when the Prince has some time weaken his conquered subjects will to fight him and instead strengthen their will to fight each other, but it's a risky tactic during war times, because the weaker faction will likely ally with the enemy.

* PowerOfTrust: Newly conquered people should be left their weapons They will, after all, need to defend themselves, and while disarming them will slow rebellion, it will not stop it since they will be able to get arms somehow, and the good will generated by this trust is better against rebellion than the delay.

* SelfMadeMan: If you plans to take power through your own guts, skills and will alone, and with minimal to no help from stronger factions, you'll have to fight long and hard to get it but if you succeed with it, you'll have it easy to rule, since your efforts more likely will inspire true and sincere loyalty and respect from your followers and subjects. If you got the power handed to you on a silver plate, you'll find it easy to gain it but hard to keep it, since the easy way in doesn't inspire any true loyalty or respect from your subjects, and there's a chance that those who gave it to you will take it back if they think you don't do well enough.

* TheStarscream: These guys are something a ruler should be careful of, since they're more dangerous than foreign enemies. If you find out that someone is a Starscream, then you should depose him in order to teach the other Starscreams a lesson.

* WeAreStrugglingTogether: The last few chapters of the book blame many of Italy's woes on this trope. He concludes by asking the Medicis to seize Italy and conquer it with Italian armies, thereby averting the problems that had cropped up with using mercenaries. His pleas would eventually be answered... 300 years later by Giuseppe Garibaldi.

* WonTheWarLostThePeace : A [[SlaveToPR Prince who has won a war and wants to avoid be perceived as cruel will let the opposition live]] ([[ShownTheirWork Machiavelli cites historic examples]]). This inevitable concludes in a later war, disorders and a lot of people dead. So, the paradox is that Prince who truly wants to win the peace must [[ThePurge crush the opposition]] (but not [[CrushingThePopulace the general populace]]) [[NoKillLikeOverkill fast even when the war has already been won]], so all their subjects cannot see any hope in opposing their new ruler, [[HumansAreBastards and don’t waste time and effort trying it and truly accepting the new peace]].

[[hottip: Note: "Prince" (or "principe" in the original Italian) at the time just meant "ruler", more or less (from Latin "princeps" = "first one"). [[IThoughtItMeant It didn't mean "the son of a king"]]. If there was only one person in the state who really mattered, it was called a monarchy. Even a democratically elected president would have still been called a "Principe".]]

* WonTheWarLostThePeace : A [[SlaveToPR Prince who was won a war and wants to avoid be perceived as cruel will left the opposition live]] ([[ShownTheirWork Machiavelli cites historic examples]]). This inevitable concludes in a later war, disorders and a lot of people dead. So, the paradox is that Prince who truly wants to win the peace must [[ThePurge crush the opposition]] (but not [[CrushingThePopulace the general populace]]) [[NoKillLikeOverkill fast even when the war has already been won]], so all their subjects cannot see any hope in opposing their new ruler, [[HumansAreBastards and don’t waste time and effort trying it and truly accepting the new peace]].

Written by Italian statesman NiccoloMachiavelli in 1513, ''The Prince'' (''Il Principe'') is the single most famous political treatise and the first entirely secular work of TheRenaissance. At the time it was first published, ''The Prince'' was seen as extremely scandalous for its endorsement of ruthlessness and amorality. Nevertheless, it quickly became popular with politicians and remains highly influential in Western politics today. If there's any MagnificentBastard in ''anything'' set after the Renaissance, it's very probable he's taken cues from this book[[hottip:*: Although they aren't quite as likely to actually have an in depth knowledge of the book as much as a pop-culture impression]].

* WonTheWarLostThePeace : A [[SlaveToPR Prince who was won a war and wants to avoid be perceived as cruel will left the opposition live]]. This inevitable concludes in a later war, disorders and a lot of people dead. So, the paradox is that Prince who truly wants to win the peace must [[ThePurge crush the opposition]] (but not [[CrushingThePopulace the general populace]]) [[NoKillLikeOverkill fast even when the war has already been won]], so all their subjects cannot see any hope in opposing their new ruler, [[HumansAreBastards and don’t waste time and effort trying it and truly accepting the new peace]].

* HumansAreBastards

* IDidWhatIHadToDo: The prince's morals [[DirtyBusiness should not get in the way]] of governing his state. After all, don't expect that the other nations will [[GreyAndGrayMorality be be ruled by paragons of virtue]].

Also, he wrote this book when Italy was in a very chaotic state: to ensure order the prince ''had'' to rule with iron fist. Finally, one must remember that Machiavelli was attempting to ingratiate himself with the Medici, who had just taken over Florence (and promptly ignored his advice: they chose to be universally loved, and ended up massively in debt for it), and that most of his work was about supporting (small-r) republican regimes with an emphasis on freedom (although the means he recommended for operating and preserving them were rather, well, Machiavellian); more educated political theorists tend to regard him as something of a DeepCoverAgent for what eventually became modern liberal democracy. Though if so that would be an ironically Machievellian XanatosGambit in itself.

Compare ''TheBookOfLordShang'', whose traditional author actually ''was'' that big a prick. See also ''DiscoursesOnLivy'', Machiavelli's other book, and HobbesWasRight.

* DidNotDoTheResearch: Machiavelli's critics made his name the byword for brutal dictatorship. A closer reading reveals that he was actually against TheCaligula, but in support of the strong leader who [[IDidWhatIHadToDo does what is necessary]] to fight for his people.

* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Something a prince must avoid or else [[LaResistance the serfs will revolt]].
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* ThePowerOfFriendship[=/=]AFriendInNeed : If your friends/allies are in trouble, the first thing you shall do is to help them, not to stand outside and declare "neutral". It just makes you look weak in the eyes of the enemy, and unreliable in the eyes of your allies.

* BeneathTheMask.: He speaks about social masks in detail in chapter XVIII

* WarriorPrince: Fighting on the front lines alongside with your troops is a great way to boost positive PR.

* OrIsIt: Some historians and political philosophers believe that Machiavelli's Prince and other works were a satire against the Medecii's consequentialism, since none of the things he did during his lifetime were backed by his philosophical methodology. If this is true it would mean Machiavelli is one of the most influential and tragic trolls in all history. It would also mean he essentially wrote the first version of the EvilOverlordList.

* OrIsIt: Some historians and political philosophers believe that Machiavelli's Prince and other works were a satire against the Medecii's consequentialism, since none of the things he did during his lifetime were backed by his philosophical methodology. If this is true it would mean Machiavelli is one of the most influential and tragic trolls in all history.