The story, “The Morals of a Prince”, has given author Niccolo Machiavelli great success in his work, giving people a new perspective on how to think and act as a leader. No one did not know there was a different side oftolike being a leader until Machiavelii’s work comes out. The story tells the reader how to act like a Prince or a high leader and how to be a great one, whether the reader wants to be a leader or the reader already is. Machiavelli goes and changes the minds of many people of others likely stating a few necessary points, such as: How generous a leader should be, if it is greater to be loved or feared by their followers, and in what certain cases a leader should keep their word and when they should not keep his word. He uses this writing to argue about how a leader should lead the right way and the ways to do it. Machiavelli has used many popular techniques in this story, including pathos and historical examples. He used these techniques to give examples of leaders in power and how well they succeed with that power.
To begin with, the technique that Machiavelli first uses is pathos, and he uses this by writing in such a way that makes the reader feel different emotions. On page 223, he writes out “This is the first step in making him odious to his subjects; for when he is poor, nobody will respect him. Then, when his generosity had angered many and brought rewards to a few, the slightest difficulty will trouble him, and at the first approach of danger, down he goes.” This statement can show how it can affect someone’s emotions by writing stuff that can be a generalization. The fact that when someone is poor they do not get treated right can make people angry for thinking this is a harsh statement or it can make people sad, by agreeing with Machiavelli, knowing that what was written in the sad reality of the world. Another example of pathos is on page 224, “You can always be a more generous giver when what you give is not your or not your subjects.” This statement can confuse the reader by making them wonder what Machiavelli could mean by this statement and why he choose to write it this way. Pathos is a great way to make the reader feel connected with the story, and Machiavelli does it fantastically.
To continue, the second technique Machiavelli uses in this story is using historical examples, and he uses them quite a bit. “…the present king of France was waged many wars without levying a single extra tax on his people, simply because he could take care of the extra expenses out of the savings from his long parsimony.” as stated on page 223. Machiavelli uses this history when he refers to leaders gaining generosity and how they had gained it. This passage can refer to how a king/leader does not need to make their followers pay if they do not need to. Also, as written on page 228, “Alexander VI never did anything else, never had another thought, except to deceive men, and he always found fresh material to work on…Yet his deceptions were always successful because he knew exactly how to manage this sort of business”. Machiavelli had written this when it came to if it was better to be loved or feared. This statement refers to how a person can be successful if they know what they are doing. Knowing how to do certain things can benefit you in the long run. Machiavelli uses these examples to help the reader know that certain leaders have done aren’tthatarent that givesgivewhat evidence of what Machiavelli talks about.
All in all, “The Morals of the Prince” by Niccolo Machiavelli shows a lot of techniques being used, such as pathos and historical examples. Machiavelli uses these types of literary devices in his writings to get the reader’s attention and the reader to get more interested in his story. Machiavelli has done a great way with these literary devices, his effectiveness is shown throughout this writing piece and by using these techniques. This method and its effectiveness is still relevant to this day by showing how to correctly be a Prince and what comes with it. Througharen’t his message is completely different from what are leaders uses today, by how they think they should rule, creating their own opinions for others to follow and use. Machiavelli’s views on how to rule isn’t bad, it is a nice way to get people thinking about how they should follow their leaders and, if they want to, rule one day. Even though not everyone likes to rule this way, this story is great to read to see the minds of views of otherslikely likely. others
