Prince Essays (970 words) - Machiavellianism, Political Philosophy

Prince Governing countries and states properly has been a difficult task from the beginning of time. In every country there will be people to who are unhappy and will disagree with your rule, causing your system to fail. So, century after century, people have tried new ways to make their politics suffice everyone's needs. However, the art of politics is a complicated and challenging issue that will always be needed to be dealt with. There have been many ways in which people have preached their ideas on politics, but none were better than those of Niccolo Machiavelli. Born in 1469, Niccolo was adamant in creating a master plan for seizing and controlling power. He voiced these themes on what it takes to be a prince of a state in his magnificent book, The Prince. In his book many themes were expressed in order to fulfill the role of a prince. These themes ranged from human nature to military force and most importantly virtue. Machavelli believed that the state is the highest achievement of man and one should love the state more than his own soul. Being the perfect prince is clearly a difficult task, but if done correctly, it can be very rewarding. Machiavelli also believed that human nature does not change. In general Machiavelli thought people were ungrateful, selfish, and insincere people, who only care about themselves. Therefore the government must take account for man's true nature and use his qualities for its purposes. Machiavelli also explained that a ruler who intends to be successful must be prepared to do bad things when necessary. He must sometimes caress, sometimes hurt, sometimes forgive, and sometimes punish. This requirement must override all moral judgments, and when making the decision, the ruler must act without hesitation. Hesitation would project"false wisdom". Another, and probably the most important concept of political success is the idea of virtue. Virtue means strength, intelligence, and courage, the necessary qualities of any human being. Machiavelli felt that the quality of virtue was found in some of the world's most important leaders; Moses, Cyrus, and Romulus to name a few. Governments ruled by an individual depends upon this leaders virtue. Without it, the political success will crumble. Aside from virtue there is fortune or fate as we sometimes put it. Although Machiavelli feels that the quality of virtue is necessary for a states success, chance or luck also has an affect. He feels that in life no matter how much intelligence and strength you have, there is a part of life in which you have little or no control over. Virtue being a powerful quality, Machiavelli saw its potential to build a defense against fortune. However, fortune is inconsistent and variable so, you must treat it like a woman. Machiavelli states, and I quote, "fortune is woman, and it is necessary, if you wish to master her, to conquer her by force". His point is that when you encounter fortune, you must approach it aggressively. Machiavelli said that the ruler must be able to imitate both the lion and the fox. He is saying that the qualities of a ruler must show the bravery and strength of a lion, but also, the slyness of the fox. These characteristics are imperative for a new ruler especially. That way he can get the respect from the people right away. An example of one ruler who showed both the qualities of a lion and a fox was Septimus Serverus, a Roman emperor from 193-211 A.D. Another quality of a ruler should be that he is both loved and feared. In actuality, it is almost impossible to be both those, so it is better to be feared. Love can lose effectiveness because of human nature. When something conflicts, love can easily be overcome for one's own private interests. And fear on the other hand is maintained by the dread of punishment, which is always present. Machiavelli made it very clear why it is better to be feared than loved. Another quality of a prince is that it is better to be considered merciful than cruel, but mercy must never be misused. Machiavelli declared that the art of war was the subject of most importance to the ruler. A prince can be attacked in two ways: internally, by conspiracies, and externally, by enemies. A prince can defend himself from external attacks by having good armed forces and good friends. He can defend himself from conspiracies by avoiding hatred. Machiavelli also stated that no prince should disarm his subjects or else he will

Self Eulogy Essays

Self Eulogy Essays Self Eulogy Paper Self Eulogy Paper Eulogy: A eulogy is a speech or piece of writing, usually at a funeral, in which a person who has just died is praised. Peter was an intelligent and bright man. He lived a wonderful life. He was my friend who cried with me and advised me when I had problems with my work. I cannot tell you what it was, but I am happy that I had friend who always stayed next to me every time. He was the kind of friend who stands by you when you need somebody to be there. I first met him in our first year of high school. We were so young and such naughty boys. We took the same bus, lived in the same street. That is how I became close to Peter. We exercised every morning in 5 oclock before we go to school. That would be almost 60 years ago. He was also an intelligent man. Throughout school, he was aiming for dentistry. As far as I know, he had to get an OP 1 to enter the dentistry course. I also wanted to be a dentist, but I gave up because I thought it was impossible to be a dentist. Peter never gave up. I went to sleep around 11 oclock at night, but Peter wouldnt sleep in until around 12 oclock. He always went to sleep late and woke up early. Normally, people usually sleep around 6 to 7 hours, but he slept only 4 to 5 hours. I still cannot believe how a person slept only 4 hours and could then study again school. His dream finally became true to be a dentist after 8 years of hard working. And then, he got married before his graduation to his good friend, Cindy. They were so happy that they could live together forever. After his graduation and marriage, he made a weird decision. At that time, he could have been employed by Queen Elizabeth II Hospital to become a professional dentist in there. However, he booked a plane ticket to Ghana straight after his graduation. Even his wife, Cindy agreed with it. He built a small hospital funded by one of the biggest companies in Ghana. Although, it is funded by the biggest company, the conditions werent good enough; He treated many sick children and adults. There were a lot of people who had to wait a whole day to see him. His appearance wasnt as good as a normal person till his death. In his 4th year in Ghana, he suffered with many diseases, such as malaria, an endemic disease, heat stroke and many more. But until last week, he was still treating children as usual, even when he was sick. Peter will be in the heaven, no, he might be there already. My memory of him is that he lived everyday like Albert Schweitzer who is known as a famous devoted doctor. I am sure we all can meet him again with a smiley face. I will try to remember him as a good friend, an intelligent man and a famous dentist forever. [After writing your eulogy, comment on what choices you will need to make in your life in order for what has been stated in your eulogy to come true; for example, if you state that John was a great dad to his 3 children in the eulogy you will need to make comment on what choices John made to become a great dad.] [His dream finally became true to be a dentist after 8 years of hard working] To become a professional dentist, I must enter the Bachelor of Dentistry. To enter the dentistry, I must get an OP 1. The Bachelor of Dentistry is known as the one of the most competitive and hardest courses that only intelligent students can get in with good grade. Mostly, most of students who go to dentistry course get an OP 1 to an OP 2 which is almost A+ for every subject. But there is a one way that only International students are able to go dentistry without an OP. That is the test called IELTS Examination (International English Language Testing System). This examination is English test includes Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking that examine international students English proficiency. If students get minimum overall 7.0 out of 9.0, then they are qualified to apply the Bachelor of Dentistry. Next, I must take two more exams after I got qualification to enter. They are UMAT (Undergraduate Medicine and Health Sciences Admission Test) and ISAT (International Student Admissions Test). These tests are essential exams to enter the dental school. UMAT tests students ability about basic scientific knowledge and ISAT international students ability to enter the university. After entering the dental school, I must study for 8 years with success grades. After graduation, I can be employed by many hospitals and become a professional dentist. To conclude, it is very hard to be a dentist that I have to take many exams. But, if I try my best with Gods help, I believe I can be a professional dentist one day.