The Necessary Cruelty of Medieval Rulers essays

The Necessary Cruelty of Medieval Rulers essays In reading Machiavellis The Prince, one would gather many insights into the sort of moves a ruler should make and into the mind of Machiavelli. Machiavelli has many topics and gives a lot of advice, but some of his advice is more drastic than others. For instance, Machiavelli states that cruelty should be pursued in occasional acts of severity as needed to put a message out to the public. It is used to set an example and grab the attention and most importantly fear of the princes subjects. Machiavelli states this because in order for the Prince to keep his subjects fearing him, which Machiavelli leans toward as a better option than their love, the Prince must exercise his authority and show the people that he means business. In order to keep them under control and prevent any sort of insurrection. Therefore, Machiavellis references to necessary cruelty and being feared are simply actions a ruler must take to keep safety and order in a kingdom. Cruelty is a subject which dictators and princes alike have dealt with as long as crimes have required punishment. It is a tough subject for a ruler to deal with, but it is necessary that a ruler, according to Machiavellis point of view, be cruel when it is needed. Machiavellis justification is that if a ruler comes out with cruelty against one or a few individuals for a crime or any disobedient action. It is better to inflict consequences on a few individuals than it is to be merciful and to let the problem at hand grow. If you let something slide before the public, people see it. The public may have higher favor for or even love a king if he grants mercy. However, it only triggers another affect from those who would commit a crime which requires consequences. The people who are on the side of the guilty party and people who are simply on the opposite side of the Prince would be smiling at his mercy more than any other subjects. The reason is that the...