The Prince by Machiavelli has been a taboo book for me for a long time. As a consequence, it has sat on my shelf for many years waiting to be read. I had heard it to be a how-to-guide for ruthless rulers. It seemed to be to be a book about furthering the suffering of innocent people at the hands of had leaders and I thought it would be hard. I was partly right in that there was much advice about how to get and stay on top, but it was not hard to read at all. In fact, it was easy. It flowed really nice and it was fascinating.
Machiavelli wrote it as a gift for Prince Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici. It seemed to me to be a resume or job application. He had been removed by the monarchy from a position his family had held for generations. He had been living in the country and at night secretly dressed in his court garments and conversed, through books, with the great men of history. He state his was writing down his observations about the successes and failures of past rulers in order to advise the new ruler.
The basic premise is that the end power and glory, earthly glory, justifies any means of getting there. Machiavelli advises over and over of avoiding the hatred of the people. According to him, this, having the people hate you, was the most dangerous position for a leader to find himself in. To accomplish this he suggest things such as the prince relocate, temporarily, to a newly acquired principality, not changing their laws or taxes, and at the very least keep the cruelty swift, early, and only to a necessary degree. The other alternative is the ruin them. “They ought to be well treated or crushed, because they can avenge themselves of lighter injuries, of more serious ones they cannot; therefor the injury that is to be done ought to be of such a kind that one does not stand in fear of revenge.”
After reading just a part of it I realized that there was very little that I could apply to me as a wife and mother, so I had to step away from my world view and try to see it from theirs. This was good advice to give to people whose only purpose is to gain power without any worry about eternity. I do know people like this, but even with success they are not happy. Selfishness is the theme running through the whole book.
Probably the most damaging and damning advice he gives is that it is not necessary to possess the good qualities he suggests, just o appear that the does. He points it out most directly when speaking of religious matters, this way when it becomes prudent or necessary they will not be held back by actual faith in God. They need to be good, but only in a way that people see them being good, merciful, faithful, etc. Doing it without the people knowing is a waste of time.
Almost all of what he promoted was the opposite of what I have been taught. Machiavellie is only concerned wit the here and now. He also believes that all men are enemies. Either they are weak or they are strong, but all are bad. The weak are only concerned about not being oppressed and are always looking for a replacement for their leader to better their situation and the strong are all rivals to your power. What a lonely life this kind of thinking leads to!
I prefer the government of god through men who hold the priesthood. Good leaders, in my opinion, let charity be our guide, “Charity suffereth long and is kind, envieth not, and it not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil and rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things hepeth all things, endureth all things.” A real leader follows the counsel found in Doctrine and Covenants 121: 41-46:
41No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned;
42By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—
43Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy;
44That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death.
45Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.
46The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
The man or woman who leads this way will be truly successful. Success and peace in this life come from aiming for success in the next. God already proved this when the Isrealites surrounded the walls of Jericho. His prophet showed that, “They that be
with us are more than they that be with them.” There are many examples of righteous leaders in the scriptures. God has promised the He will go before us, a leader who follows Him can't fail.
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