There Are Four Ways a New Prince Can Acquire a Principality: by One's Own Arms, by The s1

The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

·  There are four ways a new prince can acquire a principality: by one's own arms, by the arms of others, by evil means, and by civil means. A principality that is won by a prince by his own arms is most secure. (1, 2)

·  "In the end, the arms of another will fall from your hand, will weigh you down, or restrain you." Chapter 13, pg. 52 (2)

·  "The two most essential foundations for any state, whether it be old or new, or both old and new, are sound laws and sound military forces. Now, since the absence of sound laws assures the absence of sound military forces, while the presence of sound military forces indicates the presence of sound laws as well, I shall forego a consideration of laws and discuss military forces instead." (3, 7, 10)

·  "A prince must have no other objective, no other thought, nor take up any profession but that of war, its methods and its discipline, for that is the only art expected of a ruler." (4, 11)

·  Machiavelli states that in an ideal world, it is virtuous for a prince to be good. But in reality, princes who distance themselves from ethical concerns and do whatever it takes for the benefit of their states rule best. (5, 6)

·  "The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. I conclude that since men love as they themselves determine but fear as their ruler determines, a wise prince must rely upon what he and not others can control." Chapter 17, pg. 61 (5, 6, )

·  When two neighbors are at war, a prince must never be neutral; he must take sides. The prince must have the wisdom to choose the least risky venture and act on it courageously. (8)

·  Wisdom is also needed in picking and satisfying his closest advisors and avoiding flatterers. (9)

·  When a prince conquers a new territory that shares a common language and culture as his original domain, all he needs to do to maintain control is to extinguish the former ruling line. (12, 13)

·  The prince must protect weaker neighbors and weaken powerful ones. He must not let a powerful force enter his territories, including allies. Last, the wise prince must be willing to use force to remedy a situation before it becomes unfixable. It is almost always more effective to confront problems early. A wise prince must not put off confrontations for another day. (14, 15)