Roman civilization.” Both More and Machiavelli reflect Renaissance humanism through their use of classical sources and how they use these sources in their efforts to suggest reform within society. The Prince reflects Renaissance humanism through Machiavelli’s various examples of princes from the classical era wise and unwise conduct. The Prince also reflects humanism as Machiavelli was writing during a period when humanism was the dominant intellectual force of the era. The dominance of humanism influenced humanist writings on the topic of advising a prince. He wrote in the mirror of princes genre that can be traced back to antiquity. Felix Gilbert proves this point in his article, “ The Humanist Concept of the Prince and The Prince of Machiavelli.”
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. The dedication of The Prince to Lorenzo Medici is an imitation of Isocrates Address to Nicocles; and as already stated, it is this address that was considered as the best-known ancient example of a “ mirror of princes.” Another way in which Machiavelli reflects the humanistic culture of the Renaissance is through his examples from history that instruct a prince on how to effectively rule. He refers to Scipio to illustrate how leaders must maintain order and be feared by their followers. In this allusion, he is referencing both the example of Scipio and the method of Plutarch, while drawing his details from Livy (47) <n. 1>. The allusion to Scipio, Plutarch, and Livy reflects humanistic values as humanists partially based their ideas on the examples of antiquity. The genre that The Prince is written in and the examples from antiquity that Machiavelli uses throughout his treatise make him a humanist. Furthermore, The Prince reflects the humanistic culture of the Renaissance, subsequently; it can be considered a humanistic …show more content…
The Prince is often considered to be immoral or amoral whereas Utopia is moral. In The Prince, Machiavelli argues that if a prince can be moral that is good; however, if they have to be immoral for the benefit of the principality they need to be immoral. Machiavelli does not support immorality, rather; he suggests that a prince needs to base their decisions on what is good for the principality. If a prince bases all their actions on morality, they are bound to fail. He argues, “ It is good to appear merciful, truthful, humane, sincere, and religious; it is good to be so in reality. But you must keep your mind so disposed that, in case of need, you can turn to the exact contrary.” The Prince argues that ultimately a prince needs to be amoral, being overly concerned with the morality of a decision will hinder a prince’s leadership. The Prince does not promote morality; conversely, morality governs much of the conduct of the Utopians in Utopia. They value virtue and punish deeds that they consider immoral. The Utopians, for example, consider hunting to be immoral and equate taking pleasure in hunting with being immoral and punish hunters by making them slaves. More writes, “Even in beasts, taking such relish in the sight of death reveals, in the Utopians’ opinion, a cruel disposition, or else one that has become so through the constant practice of such brutal pleasures.” More is usually
. The dedication of The Prince to Lorenzo Medici is an imitation of Isocrates Address to Nicocles; and as already stated, it is this address that was considered as the best-known ancient example of a “ mirror of princes.” Another way in which Machiavelli reflects the humanistic culture of the Renaissance is through his examples from history that instruct a prince on how to effectively rule. He refers to Scipio to illustrate how leaders must maintain order and be feared by their followers. In this allusion, he is referencing both the example of Scipio and the method of Plutarch, while drawing his details from Livy (47) <n. 1>. The allusion to Scipio, Plutarch, and Livy reflects humanistic values as humanists partially based their ideas on the examples of antiquity. The genre that The Prince is written in and the examples from antiquity that Machiavelli uses throughout his treatise make him a humanist. Furthermore, The Prince reflects the humanistic culture of the Renaissance, subsequently; it can be considered a humanistic …show more content…
The Prince is often considered to be immoral or amoral whereas Utopia is moral. In The Prince, Machiavelli argues that if a prince can be moral that is good; however, if they have to be immoral for the benefit of the principality they need to be immoral. Machiavelli does not support immorality, rather; he suggests that a prince needs to base their decisions on what is good for the principality. If a prince bases all their actions on morality, they are bound to fail. He argues, “ It is good to appear merciful, truthful, humane, sincere, and religious; it is good to be so in reality. But you must keep your mind so disposed that, in case of need, you can turn to the exact contrary.” The Prince argues that ultimately a prince needs to be amoral, being overly concerned with the morality of a decision will hinder a prince’s leadership. The Prince does not promote morality; conversely, morality governs much of the conduct of the Utopians in Utopia. They value virtue and punish deeds that they consider immoral. The Utopians, for example, consider hunting to be immoral and equate taking pleasure in hunting with being immoral and punish hunters by making them slaves. More writes, “Even in beasts, taking such relish in the sight of death reveals, in the Utopians’ opinion, a cruel disposition, or else one that has become so through the constant practice of such brutal pleasures.” More is usually