Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the way that the author learned that he could not buy friends, just as Machiavelli stated in "The Prince". The author points out that Machiavelli writes "it is wiser to be a miser" because then the people know that they will not have everything handed to them on a silver platter, and the prince will be respected. The paper concludes that the way of the ideal prince and behavior in one's own friendships lies somewhere between being generous and greedy.

From the Paper:

"Thinking about the respect issue, I was never really respected when I was around my friend Patrick. We always went where he wanted to go, do what he wanted to do, and bought the things he liked. All this was done just to gain a friend. It was as if I altered myself just to have some relationship with someone else, but I am going off on a tangent now. Getting back to Machiavelli's idea of not buying people, it can relate to altering one's self. If you think about it, the prince will have to do what the people want to make them happy and not himself."

More papers on Machiavelli's "The Prince":

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• Analytical Essay # 124650 : "The Prince" and Modern Business"
• Essay # 4621 : "Playing Dirty - Machiavelli's 'The Prince'"

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