The Prince
The setting for this book is in 1512 with the fall of Rome. The first chapter is titled "The kinds of principalities and the means by which they are acquired," because this is the first chapter and in order to understand the book you need to understand the most basic and most frequently used word. A principality is a type of government. These governments are hereditary meaning they are passed down from a previous family ruler or they are completely new. All dominions are acquired by fortune or by ability. All dominions also acquired are accustomed to being ruled by a prince or being free. I think this follows the lines of the United States a little. I see a connection with the fact that all dominions acquired, like the president acquiring the job, free or used to living under a prince. We also follow this because we are a free country. Machiavelli likes to write small chapters, which I like. They are easy to read and get straight to the point. This chapter is titled "hereditary principalities" because this chapter discusses what types of principalities there are and how hereditary principalities are ran. Machiavelli states that hereditary states are easier to rule when they are accustomed t
This chapter is titled, "concerning the influence of fortune in human affairs, and the manner in which it is to be resisted." This chapter, for the most part discusses how majority of the people then thought that fortune controlled everything, that fait was the only explanation of past events. Machaivelli stresses that it is not only fortune, which accounts for half, but also free will. He refers to fortune as a great river; it only damages so much because men have not built dikes against it beforehand. Machaivelli says that you must compromise between free will and determination by saying that fortune controls half our actions, which leaves the other half to us. So for a prince to be successful he must be flexible and adjust to the ever-changing circumstances. Many men try to stay with the original paths that lead them to great glory, but unless they can adjust, they will have a short-lived success. Machaivelli refers to this with, " fortune is a woman, and if you wish to master her, you must strike and beat her." This philosophy sounds great to be teaching us teenagers; I'll be sure to remember this when fully engaged in a fight with my wife.
Some common words found in the essay are:
CHAPTER IV, CHAPTER IX, CHAPTER III, CHAPTER XIII, CHAPTER II, CHAPTER VI, CHAPTER XIV, CHAPTER XXII, CHAPTER XXV, CHAPTER XVII, chapter titled, chapter titled concerning, titled concerning, 15th century, auxiliary forces, chapter discusses, real world, type government, prince power, forces useless, chapter talks, 15th century ruler, freedom private property, easy read straight, chapter titled avoid,
Approximate Word count = 6079
Approximate Pages = 24 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
