Richard IIIMACHIAVELLI
Machiavelli (1469-1527) lived in Florence, where for a time he was secretary of state. Florence and other city states fought each other and the papal states for political and economic hegemony. Rich and powerful families (the Borgia's and the de'Medici's) exerted enormous power as this comment suggests: "Do you not know that here I am. Pope and emperor and lord in all my lands and that no one can do anything in my lands save I permit it--no, not even God." Additionally, Spain and France, seeing a disunified Italy, saw opportunities for invasion, and Italy became a battle ground. Machiavelli hoped that his most famous work, The Prince, dedicated to his patron, Lorenzo de'Medici, would serve as a guide for what a prince need do to unify a nation threatened with conquest. Thus, this "educational book" became a survival guide, and acquired a reputation for fostering political amorality.
The political crisis in Italy deeply concerned the English. For almost 100 years, two branches of the royal family, the Yorkists and the Lancasterians, fought for political power. In 1485, Henry Tudor won and his descendants, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, made English a world power.
Writers did not delay long in seeing that these political controversies offered much for drama--the pragmatic theory was in full operation. Shakespeare wrote a series of history plays outlining the civil war between the Yorkists and the Lancasterians. These plays which would be called docu-dramas today featured what came to be known as the "Machiavellian villain," the cynical, manipulative politician who will do anything to keep power: from Richard III to Iago.
1--One is considered liberal...merciful...trustworthy...humane...serious. I know that everyone will admit that it would be highly praiseworthy in a prince to possess all of the above-named qualities.
2--Liberality if used virtuously will not be known.
3--A prince must proceed in a temperate manner with prudence and humanity.
4--How laudable it is for a prince to keep good faith and live with integrity. It is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious and also to be so.
5--Nothing causes a prince to be so much esteemed as great enterprises and giving proof of prowess.
6--It is an infallible rule that a prince who is not wise himself cannot be well-advised.
7--It is not unknown to me how many have been and are of the opinion that worldly events are so governed by fortune and God, that men cannot by their prudence change them. Nevertheless, our free will may not altogether be extinguished, I think it may be true that fortune is the rule of half our actions.
Excerpts from: The Prince: (Chapters 15-18; Allan Gilbert, trans.)
[from: The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces, Fifth Continental Edition: W.W, Norton and Co., 1987.]
[On the things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or censured]
...Because I know that many; have written on this topic, I fear that when I too write I shall be thought presumptuous, because, in discussing it, I break away completely from the principles laid down by my predecessors. But since it is my purpose to write something useful to an attentive reader, I think it more effective to go back to the practical truth of the subject than to depend on my fancies about it. And many have imagined republics and principalities that never have been seen or known to exist in reality. For there is such a difference between the way men live and the way they ought to live, that anybody who abandons what is for what ought to be will learn something that will ruin rather than preserve him, because anyone who determines to act in all circumstances the part of a good man must come to ruin among so many who are not good. Hence, if a prince wishes to maintain himself, he must learn how to be not good, and to use that ability or not as is required.
...All this gives rise to a question for debate: Is it better to be loved than to be feared, or the reverse? I answer that a prince should wish for both. But because it is difficult to reconcile them, I hold that it is much more secure to be feared than to be loved, if one of them must be given up. The reason for my answer is that one must say of men generally that they are ungrateful, mutable, pretenders and dissemblers, prone to avoid danger, thirsty for gain. So long as you benefit them they are all yours; as I said above, they offer you their blood, their property, their lives, their children, when the need for such things is remote. But when need comes upon you, they turn around. So if a prince has relied wholly on their words, and is lacking in other preparations, he falls. For friendships that are gained with money, and not with greatness and nobility of spirit, are deserved but not possessed, and in the nick of time one cannot avail himself of them. Men hesitate less to injure a man who makes himself loved than to injure one who makes himself feared, for their love is held by a chain of obligation, which, because of men's wickedness, is broken on every occasion for the sake of selfish profit; but their fear is secured by a dread of punishment which never fails you.
Everybody knows how laudable it is in a prince to keep his faith and to be an honest man and not a trickster. Nevertheless, the experience of our times shows that the princes who have done great things are the ones who have taken little account of their promises and who have known how to addle the brains of men with craft. In the end they have conquered those who have put their reliance on good faith. You must realize, then, that there are two ways to fight. In one kind the laws are used, in the other, force. The first is suitable to man, the second to animals. But because the first often falls short, one has to turn to the second. Hence a prince must know perfectly how to act like a beast and like a man. This truth was covertly taught to princes by ancient authors, who write that Achilles and many other ancient princes were turned over for their up-bringing to Chiron the centaur that he might keep them under his tuition. To have as teacher one who is half beast and half man means nothing else than that a prince needs to know how to use the qualities of both creatures. The one without the other will not last long. Since, then, it is necessary for a prince to understand how to make good use of the conduct of the animals, he should select among them the fox and the lion, because the lion cannot protect himself from traps, and the fox cannot protect himself from the wolves. So the prince needs to be a fox that he may know how to deal with traps, and a lion that he may frighten the wolves. Those who act like the lion alone do not understand their business. A prudent ruler, therefore, cannot and should not observe faith when such observance is to his disadvantage and the causes that made him give his promise have vanished. If men were all good, this advice would not be good, but since men are wicked and do not keep their promises to you, you likewise do not have to keep yours to them. Lawful reasons to excuse his failure to keep them will never be lacking to a prince. It would be possible to give innumerable modern examples of this and to show many treaties and promises that have been made null and void by the faithlessness of princes. And the prince who has best known how to act as a fox has come out best. But one who has this capacity must understand how to keep it covered, and be a skillful pretender and dissembler. Men are so simple and so subject to present needs that he who deceives in this way will always find those who will let them be deceived.
[on Fortune]
It is not unknown to me that many have been and still are of the opinion that the affairs of this world are so under the direction of Fortune and of God that man's prudence cannot control them; in fact, that man has no resource against them. For this reason many think there is no use in sweating much over such matters, but that one might as well let Chance take control. This opinion has been the more accepted in our times, because of the great changes in the state of the world that have been and now are seen every day, beyond all human surmise. And I myself, when thinking on these things, have now and then in some measure inclined to their view. Nevertheless, because the freedom of the will should not be wholly annulled, think it may be true that Fortune is arbiter of half of our actions, but that she still leaves the control of the other half, or about that, to us.
I liken her to one of those raging streams that, when they go mad, flood the plains, ruin the trees and the buildings, and take away the fields from one bank and put them down on the other. Everybody flees before them; everybody yields to their onrush without being able to resist anywhere. And though this is their nature, it does not cease to be true that, in calm weather, men can make some provisions against them with walls and dykes, so that, when the streams swell, their waters will go off through a canal, or their currents will not be so wild and do so much damage. The same is true of Fortune. She shows her power where there is no wise preparation for resisting her, and turns her fury where she knows that no walls and dykes have been made to hold her in. And if you consider Italy--the place where these variations occur and the cause that has set them in motion--you will see that she is a country without dykes and without any wall of defence. If, like Germany, Spain, and France, she had had a sufficient bulwark of military vigor, this hood would not have made the great changes it has, or would not have come at all.
XVIII. How Princes Should Keep Faith
EVERY one understands how praiseworthy it is in a Prince to keep faith, and to live uprightly and not craftily. Nevertheless, we see from what has taken place in our own days that Princes who have set little store by their word, but have known how to overreach men by their cunning, have accomplished great thing, and in the end got the better of those who trusted to honest dealing.
1
Be it known, then, that there are two ways of contending, one in accordance with the laws, the other by force; the first of which is proper to men, the second to beasts. But since the first method is often ineffectual, it becomes necessary to resort to the second. A Prince should, therefore, understand how to use well both the man and the beast. And this lesson has been covertly taught by the ancient writers, who relate how Achilles and many others of these old Princes were given over to be brought up and trained by Chiron the Centaur; since the only meaning of their having for instructor one who was half man and half beast is, that it is necessary for a Prince to know how to use both natures, and that the one without the other has no stability.
2
But since a Prince should know how to use the beast’s nature wisely, he ought of beasts to choose both the lion and the fox; for the lion cannot guard himself from the toils, nor the fox from wolves. He must therefore be a fox to discern toils, and a lion to drive off wolves.
3
To rely wholly on the lion is unwise; and for this reason a prudent Prince neither can nor ought to keep his word when to keep it is hurtful to him and the causes which led him to pledge it are removed. If all men were good, this would not be good advice, but since they are dishonest and do not keep faith with you, you in return, need not keep faith with them; and no prince was ever at a loss for plausible reasons to cloak a breach of faith. Of this numberless recent instances could be given, and it might be shown how many solemn treaties and engagements have been rendered inoperative and idle through want of faith in Princes, and that he who was best known to play the fox has had the best success.
4
It is necessary, indeed, to put a good colour on this nature, and to be skilful in simulating and dissembling. But men are so simple, and governed so absolutely by their present needs, that he who wishes to deceive will never fail in finding willing dupes. One recent example I will not omit. Pope Alexander VI had no care or thought but how to deceive, and always found material to work on. No man ever had a more effective manner of asseverating, or made promises with more solemn protestations, or observed them less. And yet, because he understood this side of human nature, his frauds always succeeded.
5
It is not essential, then, that a Prince should have all the good qualities which I have enumerated above, but it is most essential that he should seem to have them; I will even venture to affirm that if he has and invariably practises them all, they are hurtful, whereas the appearance of having them is useful. Thus, it is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, religious, and upright, and also to be so; but the mind should remain so balanced that were it needful not to be so, you should be able and know how to change to the contrary.
6
And you are to understand that a Prince, and most of all a new Prince, cannot observe all those rules of conduct in respect whereof men are accounted good, being often forced, in order to preserve his Princedom, to act in opposition to good faith, charity, humanity, and religion. He must therefore keep his mind ready to shift as the winds and tides of Fortune turn, and, as I have already said, he ought not to quit good courses if he can help it, but should know how to follow evil courses if he must.
7
A Prince should therefore be very careful that nothing ever escapes his lips which is not replete with the five qualities above named, so that to see and hear him, one would think him the embodiment of mercy, good faith, integrity, humanity, and religion. And there is no virtue which it is more necessary for him to seem to possess than this last; because men in general judge rather by the eye than by the hand, for every one can see but few can touch. Every one sees what you seem, but few know what you are, and these few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many who have the majesty of the State to back them up.
8
Moreover, in the actions of all men, and most of all of Princes, where there is no tribunal to which we can appeal, we look to results. Wherefore if a Prince succeeds in establishing and maintaining his authority, the means will always be judged honourable and be approved by every one. For the vulgar are always taken by appearances and by results, and the world is made up of the vulgar, the few only finding room when the many have no longer ground to stand on.
9
A certain Prince of our own days, whose name it is as well not to mention, is always preaching peace and good faith, although the mortal enemy of both; and both, had he practised them as he preaches them, would, oftener than once, have lost him his kingdom and authority.
Richard the Machiavellian villain ?
Niccolo Machiavelli , an Italian statesman and famous author issued in 1513 his book il principe where he describes the characteristics of a sovereign of a country. In Shakespeare’s time Machiavelli’s il principe was thoroughly known by just a few English people but Shakespeare probably knew the content rather well.
Regarding the definition of Machiavellinism , one will say that Shakespeare's Richard III. definitely fits that category due to the fact that Machiavellinism describes the subordination of ethics to political power.
The character of Richard III. pretty much shows that. Having killed almost all of the members of his family and nobles , the subjection of moral to the desire of power becomes clear.Granted, so far everything fits just fine the definition of machiavellinism, however, regarding the book Il Principe by Machiavelli, one will say that Richard III is not really a machiavellian king.
Machiavelli argues in the 8th chapter that a prince should commit all acts of violence that need to be done at once, because otherwise he will have to be prepared for violence throughout his reign leading to mistrust and anxiety towards the prince and thus he might become the victim of conspiracy. According to Shakespeare's play Richard III, that is exactly what happens. Richard does not kill all his enemies at once, but rather one after another, even during his reign. Finally there is no one who can help him in the final battle of Bosworth, because everybody who could do so is dead. To some extent Richard resembles a machiavellian villain. Machiavelli claims in his book that a sovereign should rather be feared than be loved by the people. No doubt this proves the resemblance to a machiavellian sovereign, however, in the same chapter Machiavelli argues that a prince should not be hated by the people. Talking of that one has to admit that Richard is hated by almost everybody in the play.