Machiavelli Opinions of a Perfect Princedom

Niccolo Machiavelli?s work The Prince is a letter he wrote, while he was in exile to Lorenzo Medici. In his work he sought to establish a state capable of resisting foreign attack. His writings are concerned with the principles on which a state is founded, and how they are maintained. He describes the methods by which a prince can acquire and maintain political power. Machiavelli believes that a ruler is not bound by traditions and ethical norms. In his view, a prince should be concerned only with power and held down only by rules that would lead to success in political elections. In The Prince, he describes the moral principles and limits of successful rule, what a ruler must seek and avoid, goals and ends of a ruler and the relationship between them, and the issues of violence in a principality. Machiavelli is often praised in his ability to separate political from moral issues. In Machiavelli?s opinion the perfect prince with the perfect principality sees the role of moral principles as being a necessity for any prince who wishes to uphold his office. He thinks that a prince should treat is servants and people morally, the way that he would like to be treated. His ideal prince is an amoral and calculating tyrant capable of unifying Italy. (Encycolpedia.com) Mac