Intro

Throughout The Prince, Machiavelli uses historical or contemporary evidence, of his time, to argue his points. I chose not to use these examples because I don’t want the reader to have to have a bases for history to understand this book. However, it is important to know that Machiavelli does try to use evidence to back some of his claims. This prince series continues with part four out of five. I will cover chapters 17 to 21 of The Prince by Machiavelli in this post. If you are interested in knowing more about The Prince, I suggest looking at other parts of this series.

Chapter XVII: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared

The answer is that one would prefer to be both but, since they don’t go together easily, if you have to choose, it’s much safer to be feared than loved.

First up, is the infamous chapter seventeen. This chapter brings up a famous argument from Machiavelli. It answers the question as to whether it is better to be feared or loved. While compassion is usually admired, Machiavelli cautions against showing compassion unwisely. An atmosphere of disorder can come about if the prince is too compassionate and/or doesn’t punish disloyal subjects. Cruelty is sometime necessary in order to maintain order. In the ideal world, Machiavelli suggests it is best to be both feared and loved. This is unlikely to be the case, though. Thus, if a choice is to be made then it is more important to be feared than loved.

Machiavelli says that people are ungrateful, fickle, dissembling, anxious to flee danger, and covetous of gain. During times of danger, the people will turn against the prince. It is easier to break a bond of love, while on the other hand, the fear of punishment is always effective. This doesn’t mean the prince should arbitrarily just punish their subjects. The prince should always make sure that the punishments handed down are justified. In other words, Machiavelli basically says to leave the subjects’ property and their 'women' alone. The last thing the prince wants is hatred from their subjects. The main reason why Machiavelli suggests fear over love is in the case of danger. It is easy to break a bond of love in the face of danger. However, the fear of a punishment is effective in making the population stick with the prince through thick and thin.

Chapter XVIII: Concerning the Way in Which Princes Should Keep Faith

Everyone will appreciate how admirable it is for a ruler to keep his word and be honest rather than deceitful.

Next is chapter eighteen. Machiavelli focuses on the word of the prince. A praise worthy attribute from the prince is keeping their word. The prince has the greatest chance to succeed if they are crafty, cunning, and able to trick others. Machiavelli points out that there are really two ways of fighting. These are by law or by force. Laws come naturally to men and force comes naturally to beasts. It is important to learn how to fight using both, and become half man and half beast. There are two different kinds of beasts, lions and foxes. A fox is defenseless to wolves and lions are defenseless to traps.

While it may be praise worthy to keep their words, a prince must be willing to break his promise if their promise puts them at a disadvantage. This is especially the case when the reason for the promise no longer exists or is irrelevant. Machiavelli says that a prince shouldn’t rely on promises because humanity is, by nature, wretched and deceitful. Like in warfare, a prince should be a master at deceit. This isn’t to say that a prince shouldn’t portray himself as a compassionate, trustworthy, kind, guileless, and pious ruler. It is just impossible to truly hold all these virtues and rule effectively. A prince who can pretend to have virtue will find it easier to hold onto his possessions. The people will judge the prince on results by action and will care not as to whether he is virtuous or not.

Chapter XIX: That One Should Avoid Being Despised and Hated

Now that I’ve discussed the most important of the qualities I listed I’d like to look at the others more briefly in relation to the principle, already mentioned, that a ruler must avoid any behaviour that will lead to his being hated or held in contempt; every time he manages this he’s done what a ruler should and can indulge other bad habits without worrying about the consequences.

This leads to chapter nineteen. As has been stated before in many of the different chapters, Machiavelli warns against being hated or despised. The lack of virtue may result in criticism, but not in hatred. However, if the prince takes property or 'their women' they will be almost certainly hated. It is also important not to rob the prince's subjects of their honor. The prince should not be seen as being fickle, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, or irresolute, otherwise they may be doomed to be despised. A prince that is highly regarded by his subjects will be shielded from conspiracies and open attacks.

A prince should always be concerned with internal insurrection and external threats from foreign powers. The best defense of foreign threats is to have a strong army and good allies. As for internal insurrection, it can be handled by simply not being hated or scorned by their people. A conspirator only exists if they believe the people will be satisfied when the prince is killed. By and by, conspiracies are at a disadvantage. The support of the population is required, as well as allies and the laws of the state. It is for this reason, that it is best to delegate unpopular laws to others. While it may be impossible to be hated by some parts of the population, it is important to keep account of the different groups and their power and try to keep the powerful groups happy.

Chapter XX: Are Fortresses, and Many Other Things to Which Princes Often Resort, Advantageous or Hurtful?

When you’re the one giving people arms, those arms become yours; men who were potentially hostile become loyal, while those already loyal become your supporters rather than just your subjects.

Now, let’s take a look at chapter twenty. Machiavelli discusses the different strategies a prince may use to avoid internal insurrection. These vary, but include dividing towns, disarming the populace, wooing disloyal subjects, and building or destroying fortresses. New princes have never stopped their subjects from having weapons. An armed population helps foster loyalty and defense of the prince. Conversely disarming a population will breed distrust. It is best for the prince's soldiers to occupy a new state because weakening the annexed state by factionalism will only help foreigners capture it. Some princes have made or destroyed fortresses. The usefulness of fortresses really depends on the circumstance. Creating a fortress can breed hatred, and thus a prince shouldn’t put their trust in a fortress to quell rebellion.

Chapter XXI: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So as To Gain Renown

Nothing wins a ruler respect like great military victories and a display of remarkable personal qualities.

The last chapter we are going to analyze for this part is chapter twenty-one. Machiavelli focuses on how the prince may acquire an esteemed reputation. Great enterprises and noble examples are two ways in which the prince may earn prestige. Nobilities can be achieved through grand gestures of reward and punishments. Another way for a prince to gain prestige is by declaring himself an ally of a particular side in a conflict. Machiavelli tends to suggest the prince should avoid neutrality. The victor will see the prince as a doubtful friend, while the loser will see the prince as a coward. Only someone that doesn’t see you as a friend will ask for you to be neutral, while a true friend will ask for assistance. Neutrality will help in the short term, but will lead to long term problems.

A prince should declare support for one side over the other. If the prince supports an ally stronger than himself, then he wins protection through alliance because the obligation the stronger ally will feel. However, the prince also runs the risk of being at the mercy of the stronger ally. If a stronger ally loses then the prince will at least win protection and shelter of the ally. In the case that the prince is stronger than either side then an alliance will mean destruction of the opposing side of whatever the prince chooses. There is no completely safe course of action to take during this situation. The prince should choose the alliance with the least amount of bad repercussions.

Conclusion

This was a summary of The Prince chapters 17 through 21. This post was the fourth part of a five-part series. I suggest looking at the other parts of this series to get a full understanding of Machiavelli's ideas. In the next part we will finally be ending the series. I will also have a full summary spanning all parts of this series.