The Prince A 16Th-Century Political Treatise

This title The Prince begins by describing the subject that he will handle. In the first sentence, Machiavelli uses the word "state" to cover, in neutral terms, "all forms of organization of the supreme political power, whether republican or princely." How the word "state" came to acquire this kind of modern meaning during the Renaissance has been the subject of much academic debate, and this phrase and others like it in Machiavelli's works have been considered of particular importance.Machiavelli says that The Prince would be about principalities, mentioning that he has written about republics elsewhere, but in fact, he mixes the discussion of republics into this work in many places, effectively treating republics as one type. of principality, too, and one with many strengths. He more importantly, and less traditionally, he distinguishes new principalities from hereditary established principalities. He deals with hereditary principalities quickly in chapter 2, saying that they are much easier to rule. For such a prince, "unless extraordinary vices make him hated, it is reasonable to expect his subjects to be naturally well disposed toward him."