POL200Y1 Chapter 1: September 19
Document Summary
Macchiavelli"s inclusion of moses a religious figure, points to his admiration for how moses had achieved his two values for a prince: the role in developing a religion, and the founding of a republic or kingdom. There is no other figure of his time that had achieved both as moses had. I believe machiavelli meant to portray cesare"s actions as a commonly prescribed set for dominance and successful rule. Cesare"s downfall was owed to external factors such as luck, and chapter 7 proves his virtues alone weren"t enough he still relied on his father. Machiavelli admired borgia"s tactics, but frowns on borgia"s perils of dependence. Chapter 7 promotes the characteristics of an ideal prince, borgia had a number of them: 3. This note was likely made for dramatic effect, not out of forgetfulness. It may be that the definitions and virtues he assigned to princes may be most applicable in principalities are acquired by either virtue or fortune: 4.
