Reading "The Prince"
It's for this reason that I decided to read Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince." No one else is more closely identified with the idea of self-advancement than Machiavelli; the man's name is literally synonymous with naked, calculating ambition. So much so that the adjective "machiavellian" -- like "quixotic," "platonic," "pyrrhic" and "Kafkaesque" -- belongs to a select class of modifiers. These words are employed so commonly, and their meanings are so presumably eminent, that people do not hesitate to use them even if they have never studied Machiavelli, "Don Quixote," Plato, King Pyrrhus of Epirus, or Franz Kafka. And when I say "people," I do not exclude myself. Though I've done some research into King Pyrrhus, I have never finished "Don Quixote," I've read only a small selection of Plato and not much more of Kafka, but this has never stopped me from dropping a "quixotic" or a "platonic" into conversation. I've probably also used "machiavellian" -- though the conspicuousness of its many syllables does have the effect of reminding me of my lack of intellectual rigor.
For some time now, it has been my intention to mend this gap in my education. "The Prince," after all, is a very short book (the recent Penguin Classics text runs to 85 pages, and that includes Machiavelli's introductory letter to "the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici"). Divided into 26 unambiguously titled chapters (e.g., "Military organization and mercenary troops"; "Generosity and parsimony"; "How princes should honor their word";" How flatterers must be shunned"), it has been praised for its compact, unembroidered prose. And intended for a busy Renaissance prince, it was conceived as a quick and painless read. Which is all to say that I have no legitimate excuse for not having read it.
Continue on Salon, on the Summer School series featuring War and Peace, Jane Eyre, The Art of War, Anna Karenina, and many more, read by students and thus making us remember those days. Yep, those were the days.................
Now, Salon has developed a system for accessing its content that I never thought I would approve of and actually use extensively, which is to accept a Site Pass, watch a commercial for much less that a minute, and goooo! So please don't feel deterred and do enjoy the very interesting and valuable content.
...it should be noted that when he seizes a state the new ruler must determine all the injuries that he will need to inflict. He must inflict them once and for all, and not have to renew them every day, and in that way he will be able to set men's minds at rest and win them over to him when he confers benefits. Whoever acts otherwise, either through timidity or misjudgment, is always forced to have the knife ready in hand and he can never depend on his subjects because they, suffering fresh and continuous violence, can never feel secure with regard to him...
[A prince] will be despised if he has a reputation for being fickle, frivolous, effeminate, cowardly, irresolute; a prince should avoid this like the plague and strive to demonstrate in his actions grandeur, courage, sobriety, strength.
It's for this reason that I decided to read Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince." No one else is more closely identified with the idea of self-advancement than Machiavelli; the man's name is literally synonymous with naked, calculating ambition. So much so that the adjective "machiavellian" -- like "quixotic," "platonic," "pyrrhic" and "Kafkaesque" -- belongs to a select class of modifiers. These words are employed so commonly, and their meanings are so presumably eminent, that people do not hesitate to use them even if they have never studied Machiavelli, "Don Quixote," Plato, King Pyrrhus of Epirus, or Franz Kafka. And when I say "people," I do not exclude myself. Though I've done some research into King Pyrrhus, I have never finished "Don Quixote," I've read only a small selection of Plato and not much more of Kafka, but this has never stopped me from dropping a "quixotic" or a "platonic" into conversation. I've probably also used "machiavellian" -- though the conspicuousness of its many syllables does have the effect of reminding me of my lack of intellectual rigor.
For some time now, it has been my intention to mend this gap in my education. "The Prince," after all, is a very short book (the recent Penguin Classics text runs to 85 pages, and that includes Machiavelli's introductory letter to "the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici"). Divided into 26 unambiguously titled chapters (e.g., "Military organization and mercenary troops"; "Generosity and parsimony"; "How princes should honor their word";" How flatterers must be shunned"), it has been praised for its compact, unembroidered prose. And intended for a busy Renaissance prince, it was conceived as a quick and painless read. Which is all to say that I have no legitimate excuse for not having read it.
Continue on Salon, on the Summer School series featuring War and Peace, Jane Eyre, The Art of War, Anna Karenina, and many more, read by students and thus making us remember those days. Yep, those were the days.................
Now, Salon has developed a system for accessing its content that I never thought I would approve of and actually use extensively, which is to accept a Site Pass, watch a commercial for much less that a minute, and goooo! So please don't feel deterred and do enjoy the very interesting and valuable content.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário