A Goodreads user asked this question about The Prince:
Niccolo Machiavelli seems confused (and hence, confusing to me). Of course, he has written a lot of evil in the book, and then he writes something as quoted below. What's the account/motivation behind him writing the following? "It cannot be called ingenuity to kill one's fellow citizens, to betray friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; by these means, one can acquire power but not glory."
James His argument makes perfect sense. In this part of the book, he explains that if you seize power purely through grabbing it and not tempering the conse…moreHis argument makes perfect sense. In this part of the book, he explains that if you seize power purely through grabbing it and not tempering the consequences, then you will have trouble down the line.

He basically points to the fact, as he does several times in the book, that a prince must at least appear to be loyal, faithful, pious and merciful. Note, they must 'appear', not necessarily be. Duplicitous behaviour is parcel of absolute rule and a theme the book raises often (perhaps the best is the Lion/Fox example).

He cites a specific ruler as an example of this and also points out that the Holy Roman Emperor of the time (one of the Maximilians) was bucking the trend by being none of those.

In short, Machiavelli's statement above relates to the duplicitous nature of ruling principalities and how appearances are as important as action. Those princes who took action without caring about appearances usually didn't have long reigns. (An example of this from me, not from the book, is from Machiavelli's home town, the tyrant Alessandro de Medici ).(less)
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