In Response to the Ideas Brought about by the writer Machiavelli:
1. Machiavelli's writings in The Prince demonstrate some important elements of the Renaissance, being the changes in the way that people thought, and the way in which they confronted new thoughts and ideas. The ideas that Machiavelli discussed in The Prince, which was published for all to see, were different than any others at the time, which shows how during the Renaissance, not only were there many more people coming up with new ideas, they were also much more willing to share them than they would have been during the Middle Ages, when they would have likely been rejected. This brings to light the change in the way that people confronted new ideas during the Renaissance; rather than rejecting people's new thoughts and imprisoning them for heresy, during the Renaissance, people became much more accepting of new, radical ideas, and allowed others to express their thoughts, which led to cultural change.
2. Machiavelli's The Prince is considered by many to be very historically significant, both because of how it modeled they way in which changes began to come about during the Renaissance, how people were more willing to hear and express new ideas, and because of the new ideas for which it itself was advocating. In The Prince, Machiavelli discussed how a ruler should act and manage their country, and brought up new points such as how one does not really need to be extremely good, he just needs to appear that way. Machiavelli even goes as far as to say that, at times, it can even be better to be bad than to be good, which was a completely revolutionary concept, as previously most writings, stories, and works of art, were all idealistic, meaning that they claimed that the people upon whom they focused were absolutely perfect in every way imaginable. It was a complete change for Machiavelli to be publicly stating that this was far from reality.
3. I, Alexander of Aragon, strongly agree with the ideas and principles discussed by Machiavelli in his writing, The Prince. Of course anyone will agree that it is good for a ruler to be liked by his people, but I cannot agree more with Machiavelli's new concepts of how a ruler should come to be liked. While some may think that the idea of portraying yourself as something that you are not in order to gain personal benefits is somewhat scandalous, I firmly believe that Machiavelli intended it not to be dishonest, but to be persuasive, and charismatic. After all, what does it matter to the people whether their ruler is truly that kind to them, as long as they are happy with him? In addition, I also agree with Machiavelli's idea that it is better to be feared than loved, to some extent. I know that rulers have tried to maintain control of their estates through fear alone before, and it has not ended well for them, but I agree that it is good for subjects to have some measure of fear for their ruler, so that they stay in line; as long as it is not enough to make him hated, a little bit of fear equates to a little bit of respect.
2. Machiavelli's The Prince is considered by many to be very historically significant, both because of how it modeled they way in which changes began to come about during the Renaissance, how people were more willing to hear and express new ideas, and because of the new ideas for which it itself was advocating. In The Prince, Machiavelli discussed how a ruler should act and manage their country, and brought up new points such as how one does not really need to be extremely good, he just needs to appear that way. Machiavelli even goes as far as to say that, at times, it can even be better to be bad than to be good, which was a completely revolutionary concept, as previously most writings, stories, and works of art, were all idealistic, meaning that they claimed that the people upon whom they focused were absolutely perfect in every way imaginable. It was a complete change for Machiavelli to be publicly stating that this was far from reality.
3. I, Alexander of Aragon, strongly agree with the ideas and principles discussed by Machiavelli in his writing, The Prince. Of course anyone will agree that it is good for a ruler to be liked by his people, but I cannot agree more with Machiavelli's new concepts of how a ruler should come to be liked. While some may think that the idea of portraying yourself as something that you are not in order to gain personal benefits is somewhat scandalous, I firmly believe that Machiavelli intended it not to be dishonest, but to be persuasive, and charismatic. After all, what does it matter to the people whether their ruler is truly that kind to them, as long as they are happy with him? In addition, I also agree with Machiavelli's idea that it is better to be feared than loved, to some extent. I know that rulers have tried to maintain control of their estates through fear alone before, and it has not ended well for them, but I agree that it is good for subjects to have some measure of fear for their ruler, so that they stay in line; as long as it is not enough to make him hated, a little bit of fear equates to a little bit of respect.