Initial Thoughts on Machiavelli's "The Prince"

Niccolo Machivelli's The Prince
Translation by William J. Connell

When I first saw that Machiavelli's The Prince was one of the books required for the Humanities Core class, I was actually kind of excited. This book has been on my to-be-read pile for awhile now; since about junior year in high school, actually. 

It was during that year of high school, that my AP Language teacher assigned each student a topic to research and to present a 5 to 7 minute power point presentation. My topic was Machiavelli. Because of this, I had some prior background knowledge on Machiavelli, his political and social status around the time he wrote this book. That being said, that is all I had. My high school self spoke 7 minutes on Machiavelli, his social standing, his book The Prince, and some of his ideologies but could not be bothered to actually read his most known work. 

Now that I am required to read it I must say this: it is a tough read. Now the translation is easy enough to understand, the tough part is wrapping my mind around his [Machiavelli's] concepts. However, when I do come across some of the points I presented in high school such as the infamous question "Is it better to be feared or loved?" I find a wave of new energy come over me and I try to read The Prince more diligently. 

I suppose the reason I am slowly making my way through the text is because I cannot connect to the history. I am not extremely knowledgeable of all the historical and political figures that were prominent during Machiavelli's time  (thank goodness for those footnotes!). I understand the want a prince may have for growing his empire or why a lord might want to become a prince. I even understand why having troops of one's one would be better in the grand scheme of things than having mercenary arms (hired soldiers). I am just finding it difficult in making a connection between myself and the message of the book. 

I have often thought that people's tones and intentions come across differently through just plain text (i.e. a letter, a book, on a screen such as a text or website) than when they are actually in your presence speaking to you. I did not know Niccolo Machiavelli when he was alive and have no idea how he would have spoken the ideas in his book. All I have is the book. 

Machiavelli is so straight forward in his composition that he does come across as harsh at times. I understand why at the time of its publication this book was so controversial, why it was banned years later, and why Machiavelli gained an unfavorable reputation. However, I also recognize that the content of the book itself is adequate advice. The advice is just stripped of emotion and is all business. 

And ultimately, I think the book is exactly just that: Business. The business of taking over other states, expanding an empire, or on how to gain and maintain control. 

I encourage (if you haven't read it already) to pick it up and read it. I would love to hear what you all think of it and what kind of book it strikes you as. I know I will be returning to it to try and find more meaning within its pages.