Niccolo Machiavelli & The Prince
Machiavelli’s Life ( ) Early life ( ) Old Florentine family Humanist education Rise in Florentine politics ( ) Helped depose Savonarola (1498) Secretary of gov’t. agency on warfare & foreign affairs ( ) Assistant to head of Florentine Rep., Piero Soderini ( ) Medici depose Soderini & Machiavelli accused of involvement with plot to overthrow Medici (1512)
Machiavelli’s Life continued… Banishment/absence from politics ( ) Discourses – on republics The Prince – on principalities Return to politics/final years ( ) Official historian of Florence + minor gov’t. jobs Ousted again – this time for ties to Medici dies from illness
The Prince principality vs. republic practical guide vs. idealism (More’s Utopia) purpose: how a prince is to gain & maintain power Lorenzo di Piero de Medici ( ) - Duke of Urbino - Leader of Florence ( )
Themes in The Prince 1. human nature 2. the art of war 3. the ends justify the means / abandonment of Christian morality (amoral politics) 4. goodwill vs. hatred 5. traits of a prince: virtues vs. vices 6. virtú (ability) vs. fortuna (chance) – what role does each play in how a prince comes to power?
TO DO: 1. Record 4-5 supporting quotes or paraphrases. For each one, cite the chapter number parenthetically. 2. Write a 2-3 sentence summary of the theme.
iPad Directions Use Pages. Bullet each example. Bullets found under paintbrush icon (upper right). Title document. Go back to Documents page (upper left). Hold finger down on current title “Blank” – a box will appear to rename the doc. Title the document following this format: Prince Period 3 Theme 1. me the document. Click on the wrench (upper right). Select “ Document.” Send it to me in “Word” format.