Telling the Story of Machiavelli's The Prince

"The Prince" 
Niccolo Machiavelli 

In the article "Machiavelli and the Triumph of Princely Government" by Quentin Skinner shared great ideas about Machiavelli's "The Prince" about how a ruler should be in order to keep power both the people by his side. Skinner really believed that the prince has to believe in both in honor and fortune in order to have a controlled embassy by him. Stated in Skinner's article, "Good fortune is always the companion of bravery, a prince who possesses virtus will also have the best chance of enlisting the support of the capricious goddess in the conduct of his affairs" (Skinner 207). A prince must be brave in order to keep his people in control and have the state in order. Skinner had also a strong message to send to those are were going to become new the new princes; "He issues a warning to all new princes... they need above all to recognize that 'the only sound, sure and enduring methods to employ are 'those based on your own actions and virtus" (Skinner 206). Here we can see the ties between both works as they are saying what a Prince should do in order to be great and lead his people to prosperity. 

Statue of Niccolo Machiavelli 

The article really helped me get a better understanding of "The Prince" of how an upcoming prince should be have both bravery and believe in virtus in order to succeed in the throne not only for the government, but for his people. In "The Prince" it had stated, "... a prince whos possesses virtus will also have the best chance of enlisting the support of the capricious goddess in the conduct of his affairs" (P. 280). This particular quote from the the reading really ties both the works really well in what the overall main idea. The overall main reason why I had selected this article was how Skinner's ideology behind the government the the prince's rule. Stated in the article, "Having enphasized the role of fortune in human affairs, the mirror-for-princes writers  go on to ask what qualities a ruler needs to possess in order to ensure that fortune's power is controlled and minimized" (Skinner 205).  It was really amazing to see how two works can have a lot of similarity and the articles depth in detail about honor and virtrus really made it easy for the reader to get a better understanding of how much it really means to get to be prince and the responsibly it comes with. 

I do believe that Machiavelli's "The Prince" is worth reading in the 1st century as it really bring a lot of thought and emotion. I would have to say that the Article by Quentin Skinner was also worth reading as it brings a lot of information to the table; it really worked as a translation for what Machiavelli had to say during his work. Advice I would give to interpret Machiavelli is to really slow down and create a side note of what he is trying to really say; putting something in your own words can make it a whole lot easier to follow. Another great help would be to highlight key words that you may not know for the reason that it can potentially show up later on in the reading. 

Telling The Story: Before the Renaisance

The Roman Forum Arch of San Severus
Peter Phipp
National Geographic

From all the influences that were involved in the Renaissance, an idea that I really enjoyed reviewing over was how the Romans embodied their own government and how these ideas are still being used to this day. Our own government in the United States  embodies the ideology that the Roman republic and Empire had placed hence how the Republic and Democratic parties are brought into light; "It is not a coincidence that the two main political parties in the USA today are Democratic or Republican. By naming our political parties after these two civilization are honoring and acknowledging their legacy" (Part II).                                                                   

Quran Heals All Wounds

Something that I have learned more about was how the idea of Islam had originated and different aspects of the religion. Islam had started with a caravan trader known as Mohammed had crossed paths with the angel Gabriel to recite the word of God, or more known as Allah,  becoming a major prophet. Stated in John Green's video, Islam, the Quran, and the five Pillars All without a Flamewar: Crash Course World History, the overall goal of Islam was to bring back the worship to only one powerful God.

In the past I have heard from people of the Islamic faith tell me about their culture. Something that I was really aware about was one of the five pillars called Sawm which lies in the month of Ramdam; one must not eat or drink during the day that does change seasonal between the summer and winter. Another concept I had learn before was about the Roman Empire's ideology and ideas. The Roman Empire was a huge part of my learning in my sophomore year of high school; We had read a lot of text involving Julius Cesar's ideologies and how the body of government worked. What really caught my attention most about the Romans was how blood thirsty they were in order to get into the government and have power; the system was very corrupt and it did ultimately did play a role in the downfall of the powerful Roman Empire.  

Work Cited

Changing the lens through which we view islam. The Wire. (n.d.). https://thewire.in/books/changing-lens-view-islam.

crashcourse. (2012, April 19). Islam, the Quran, and the five PILLARS all without a Flamewar: Crash Course world History #13. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8.

National Geographic Society. (2018, July 6). Rome's transition from Republic to Empire. National Geographic Society. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/romes-transition-republic-empire/.