Machiavelli Reading
Eta and Theta – Due Monday 9/11/07
Zeta and Epsilon – Due Tuesday 9/12/07
1) Make a list of vocabulary words you did not know from this reading. Write the definitions in your own words, and make a sentence of those words showing you understand the meaning.
2)Summarize the reading in no less than 250 words (about a page hand-written). Highlight what you think are the main points. Make an attempt to define the purpose of Machiavelli’s writing.
3)In 5-7 sentences, describe the difficulties you had with this reading.
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17 comments:
Sheryl Soo
Theta
1)exertion-using power to make something happen
satraps-ruler
capricious-sudden foolish behavior or thought
prowess-great ability/skill
ramifications-possible results of an action
prudent-avoiding risks
consolidate-to make/be stronger and more certain
edifice-an established system that lasted for a long time
superfluous-more than needed/wanted
aggrandizement-increase power, wealth or importance
endeavouring-trying
gainsay-deny the truth
duchy-land owned by duke
adherents-person that strongly supports someone or a set of ideas
dissimulation-illusion
rife-frequently found
brigandage-life and practice of robbery
papacy-pope's authority/office
censure-strong disapproval
magnanimous-forgiving
2)Machiavelli's The Prince explains his beliefs of what a true and effective ruler should be, how they gain their powers, and how others are incapable of doing so. In the reading, there are examples of effective actions made by a ruler, and mistakes made by a ruler. Machiavelli brings up a many points in the reading. The first and most important one would be that those who cannot obtain loyalty and devoted troops are incapable of being a good ruler because they will end up in failure. Talent and prowess are what is necessary to be able to rule efficiently. There are two ways of obtaining the "prince" position: from prowess or fortune. For these two ways, Machiavelli gives an example: Francesco Sforza and Cesare Borgia. Francesco gained from his prowess and became a duke. Cesare gained from his father's fortune. The duke made decisions to kill those who were near capable of harming him in order to prevent it from happening, and even if they were once used by him to gain advantage. This action is an example of cruelty but it benefited the duke. In the end, the duke suffered from his "bad choice" where he was seen to believe "with great men new services wipe out old injuries." I think the purpose of Machiavelli's writing is to describe the traits of a good ruler: outstanding talent and prowess and/or fortune. He wanted to convey the message that not anyone can become a "prince," but only those who are born with the capability of ruling.
3)The major difficulty I had with this reading was vocabulary. There was an unfamiliar word in every two sentences for the first few pages, and I couldn't understand some of the sentences without the words. This caused a disruption in my flow of reading, and I would usually lose track of what I have already read. There was also a confusion in who was being talked about. Sometimes it was "the duke" and at other times it was "Cesare." The transition between the two was confusing and I would get lost and forget who I was reading about. The names of places and people were also hard to absorb because there were many of them and I didn't have enough background information about each to be able to fully understand the situation in those parts of the reading.
Eta Block
1)
Prudent- Wise and careful in handing practical matters
I can be very prudent when it comes down to my friend’s issues.
Superfluous – Spending more than enough or necessary
John and my mom are very superfluous when it comes down to money.
Inordinate- Not within the reasonable limit.
My dad drank an inordinate amount of alcohol last night.
Aggrandizement- To increase the size or gain more power.
I wish my money would aggrandizement.
Halfhearted- Showing little enthusiasm.
Ivy is never halfhearted.
Tribunal- A place for judgment.
My room should be a tribunal.
Papacy- When the pope is known as the supreme head.
I believe the pope is the papacy.
Prowess- Someone who is really skill or strength in an area of something.
I can be a very prowess public speaker when I want to be.
Magnanimous- to forgive an insult or injury.
I don’t think I can ever be so magnanimous.
2)
In the reading Machiavelli writes about power and fortune. He explains of what a good ruler should be and how to get to such high power. The main highlight from his reading is when he explains what a good leader should be. The first and the most important rule are to gain loyalty and keep it from their troops. After explaining this rule he uses examples from different duke’s lives to show his point. One point he talks about the most is the Alexander VI leader. He talks about how there was a time when he made a “bad choice” which brought down his whole good fortune and power. Machiavelli also revisits and explains what he could have done and what would have made a difference. He talks about there are different ways of gaining power and keeping it. Machiavelli also goes into extreme details of different actions that would have happened.
Close to the ending of the reading Machiavelli also talks about how “Men do you harm either because they fear you or because they hate you.” This line pops out the most to me because of the fact it’s true. It something that made me really thinks about how our society works today.
I think the purpose in Machiavelli’s writing is to teach us what a good leader is. What kind of good leader will bring us down and the damage that can be cause by it. Or by how much battles and wars that can happen by a so called “good leader”.
3)
The difficulties I had when I was reading were trying to stay in focus. Also keeping track of words that I didn’t know, I tend to guess the meaning of the word awhile I’m reading it. But that is about it. The reason of why I couldn’t really stay in focus was because it wasn’t the type of reading I would enjoy. When it got close to the end I started to get more into it. But before that I wasn’t really into it therefore I didn’t really think about it that much.
John Carreon
Blcok Epsilon
1) Capricious - Acts on a whim, or doesn’t really think before they act. Maria is so capricious sometimes I think she’ll overreact.
Prudent - Good judgment or common sense. Calvin made a Prudent choice.
Inordinate - More then the limit, excessive. Ivy drank an inordinate amount of soda.
Gainsay - To deny. Sheryl tried to gainsay the truth.
Patricians - A person of a noble family. Christine is a patrician.
2) The reading Machiavelli’s The Prince tells a price of how a future ruler should act and govern. It tells how to gain power and some examples of some who tried but didn’t do so. He talks about the actions of Francesco Sforza and Cesare Borgia. Francesco gained power from his actions. And thus because duke. Cesare gain power from his fathers fortune. The duke who have gained power and became a ruler went on with his own agenda. But with his bad decisions and actions he fell. With every thing he did to build up his reputation and with bad choices he fell. A ruler has to be conscience of his actions and how it will affect him later on in life. the duke did not realize any of the cost for his actions. Machiavelli also talks about how a ruler should have the loyalty and trust of his troops. With out the rust of the troops the ruler kingdom will fall very easily. Not any one can be a prince, there are only two ways of becoming one. Only one with prowess or fortune may become one. But with both one still needs the things the things that Machiavelli’s believes one needs to be to be a great ruler.
3) Some of the difficulties I had with this reading was trying to understand what they are saying. Because sometimes I would just get lost in what he was trying to say and I would read the passage again. I had some difficulties with vocabulary but not as much as I thought. A lot of the words I have come a crossed before were in their. But the ones I didn’t understand made it really hard for me to get what the text is saying.
Sheryl Soo
Theta
I forgot to add the sentences for question#1.
exertion: Everyone disliked the results of his exertion.
capricious: We should never depend on capricious people.
prowess: They envied his prowess.
ramifications: He needs to consider the ramifications of his rushed behavior.
prudent: It is safe to depend on a prudent person.
consolidate: I am always told to consolidate my thesis.
edifice: They didn't want anyone to disrupt their edifice.
superfluous: Ivy is always superfluous with her little Pooh collections.
aggrandizement: Anyone would want an aggrandizement in life.
endeavouring: I'm endeavouring to make something out of everything I do.
gainsay: There's no point to gainsay when everyone knows the truth.
duchy: The duke was very pleased with his duchy.
adherents: He needed some adherents who'd be on his side of the argument.
dissimulation: There was a dissimulation that threw off her research.
rife: Cell phones are rife nowadays.
brigandage: The upper class disliked seeing the brigandage.
papacy: They wanted the papacy to approve their proposal.
censure: There was a censure in the performance.
magnanimous: It is sometimes rewarding to be magnanimous.
Jessica Wells
Eta
Capricious- To be fanciful or impulsive. Her capricious actions caused the people around her to be on guard.
Edifice- Any large, complex system or organization. The edifice of the new government confused most citizens.
Aggrandizement- To increase in power, scope or intensity. The aggrandizing of her own point in the argument made the others want to ignore her.
Gainsay- To oppose or contradict. The gainsayer took the opposite to my point out of spite.
Brigandage- A robber or thief especially in a mountainous region. I saw the brigandage take off with my snow plow!
Magnanimous- High minded or noble. He magnanimously forgave me for wrecking his car.
Papacy- The jurisdiction of the pope. The papacy declared married men to be eligible for priesthood to attract more people to the Catholic Church.
2.) Like you had mentioned in class, the purpose of this writing served as advice for a young prince. Machiavelli wanted to illustrate to the young prince how effects of the origin of your power will have on your reign. The things that come with power. How to keep your power in play and exercised, and how to use prowess effectively.
In the reading Machiavelli gives examples of past princes who had made decisions that were effective in their ruling and other decisions that caused failure. Both Princes had the same power but they came from very different places. Borgia fell into fortune and was given his power by his father, the other prince Sforza who used his prowess (a prominently used word with much importance in this text)& cruelty to elevate himself to a point of power and security. The decisions made by both had different repercussions toward the end of their lives. The decision made by Sforza to become a murderous tyrant secured his power for most of life but could not protect him from his ultimate ruin. This writing would be helpful because of the detailed explanations and the facts and examples given in the text. I am sure that whoever received this probably thought twice about the power bestowed upon him.
3.) The difficulties I had in reading this excerpt primarily revolved around getting lost in the intricate story line of the two princes from two different backgrounds. The details were important to the point, but it became kind of difficult for me to decipher the main ideas from the intricate and rapidly moving storyline. I had a few words that I couldn’t really look at and figure the definitions for. Going back and forth between dictionary and text and then starting up again raw like that made me feel like I should read the text twice because of potentially skipped information. I still don’t think that I completely grasped all of what this excerpt had to offer.
1) In his The Prince, Machiavelli list what he believes that a strong ruler needs to do in order to be successful. He lists examples of rulers who were successful and then analyzes what they did to succeed. He states that rulers who have to work hard to obtain their power have much less difficulty maintaining their power than those who a given it with little effort. Rulers who spend years and years building up their power have an appreciation for it and understand what it really is. Rulers who are gifted their power have no comprehension of it, of how to use it or keep it. They often can’t even appreciate it. Another important point he brings up is that a ruler must either win people over or destroy them so that they can’t hurt him. “Men do you harm either because they fear you or they hate you.” This means that any opposition you have either need to be convinced that you are a good thing, or they must be destroyed so utterly that they leave no reason for someone else to go after you. You must be a forceful leader who is willing to get his hands dirty if you have even a tiny hope of succeeding in staying in power. This is Machiavelli giving license to rulers to use extreme force to get their way and to maintain they’re grip over their constituency. He’s saying that anything is acceptable to keep hold of your power and control over people.
2) The difficulties that I had with this reading came out of a lack of context to the events and people described. I don’t know whom the Alexander to whom he refers to was. I don’t know whom the piece was written about, nor who is referenced as being his enemies. The lack of context means that when people are referenced in the section we’re reading, there was information presented earlier that we missed. This lead to a lot of time spent trying to figure out if I knew who these seemingly random people were.
1) Make a list of vocabulary words you did not know from this reading. Write the definitions in your own words, and make a sentence of those words showing you understand the meaning.
-Having read many books like this before, I did not find any word I did not know.
2)Summarize the reading in no less than 250 words (about a page hand-written). Highlight what you think are the main points. Make an attempt to define the purpose of Machiavelli’s writing.
-I believe that the purpose of Machiavelli’s writing is as follows: To define the actions of nobility. Specifically, he explains what one must do to maintain one's position when one acquires that position without effort or work on their own part. If, perhaps, they obtain their position through inheritance or some fluke, than their power is tenuous at best and Machiavelli makes a point that only an exceedingly talented man can maintain the kind of power that falls into ones' lap. He goes into detail with two examples; one a man who gained his power through his father's fortune and subsequently lost it, one man who gained his power and solidified it instantly. Only when fatal illness and poor circumstance blocked the successful man did he fall; but he worked around not only disloyalty, enemies, and fear, he stabilized his base and solidified his standing with more than one intelligent maneuver. More than one obstacle stands in the face of a man who did not earn his title, but the intelligent man, the strategical man, and the tactical man can persevere when the odds stack against him. You need trust, faith, love, and adoration to maintain the best kind of power over others.
3)In 5-7 sentences, describe the difficulties you had with this reading.
-The difficulties I had with this reading didn't have much to do with the reading itself. I have some issues focusing on occasion due to some anxiety problems. On top of this, I came down with a bothersome cold over the weekend. A stuffy nose and sore throat do nothing for one's focus. I had a lot of trouble focusing through the entire reading. However, I've read “I, Claudius,” which this reading reminded me of, and I knew all the words from reading similar words in different, older readings, especially those of old philosophers.
calvin zhang
theta
1.
ramifications - branches
A family will ramify within time.
capricious-sudden foolish behavior or thought
I am sometimes capricious
prowess-great ability/skill
I can perform math with great prowess
gainsay-deny the truth
Not many people gainsay global warming anymore.
papacy- when the pope is known as the supreme head.
I don't believe in papacy
brigandage - bandit / a group of bandits
Brigandages aren't common around here.
censure - strong disapproval
I censure racism
magnanimous - forgiving
I am not very magnanimous.
2. Machiavelli The Prince tells us about what aspects make up a good leader and what aspects make a bad leader. Th reading talks about the actions of Francesco Sforza and Cesare Borgia. Francesco Sforza gained power by working hard and gaining prowess while Cesare Borgia gained power by inheriting his father's fortunes. Machiavelli talks about how having loyalty is an important element in a leader which Cesare Borgia didn't have and had a harder time staying in control. However, Francesco Sforza had loyalty but messed up by making bad decisions and lost some of it. I think this reading is saying that there are many things that you need and require to be a good and effective leader and not just anyone can become one.
3. What was hard in this reading was that while i was reading i wasn't engaged and after i read a paragraph, I had to re-read it again because I was just so out of it and didn't want to do the assignment. What added to it was that there were vocabulary words that I couldn't figure the meaning of and didn't want to look it up until I had to which was dumb because i had to scan the text again! for words.
Yuri Bondarenko
Govt/Econ
Mr Koh
Sept 9
Theta
Machiavelli Reading
A.
1. Capricious – Prone to sudden changes of mood or behavior. “His capricious behavior was the reason why he didn’t have many friends.”
2. Aggrandizement- To increase the power, size, or wealth of. “I’m going to aggrandize myself by working.”
3. Inordinate – Unusually or disproportionately large – “We’re getting an inordinate amount of homework for it being the second week of school this year. Not bueno.”
4. Tribunal – A court of justice. “I hope I never have to go to a tribunal.”
5. Magnanimous – Very generous or powerful. “Mr. Koh would be very magnanimous if he gave me an A in his class.”
B.
Machiavelli’s writing is focused around power. More specifically, he talks about how fickle power is, and how the different ways it is obtained affects the way it is used. If someone gets power through force, in a spur of the moment thing, then his power can and shall be lost in the same way. If the leader gains his position through respect, honor, and trust then he will be respected, honored and trusted in return. The most important thing for a king to do is to maintain his reputation and trust with his pupils. If he has the people’s support, he has nothing to fear, because they are the ones that decide whether he is the leader or not. Even an oppressive tyrannical king needs to appease the higher ups in the society to keep them on his side, to give him the power to oppress the people.
Machiavelli talks about many different people who have gained and lost power through these various methods, and he makes a good point when he points out that a ruler’s power is based on emotions and general image than the actual position the ruler is in. Just as a king is nothing without a kingdom, a government is nothing without structure. A good example is Hitler. He convinced the public to support him even though his intent was completely different than what he made it seem. He said he was going to bring Germany into power once again, and he made many powerful speeches to lure the general population into believing that what he was doing was the best thing for the country. When he had announced the “final solution” it was already too late for the people to fight back, because the major powers of the country (military, politicians) were already on his side.
C.
I didn’t find anything in the reading overly difficult. Some of the vocabulary was new to me, but that was easy to work with through context alone. The writing style of Machiavelli is very easy to understand due to the cues he gives in his writing. His ideas are also very interesting and his ideas offer an interesting perspective on things. Overall this was a very enjoyable reading and it has made me interested in his ideas.
Rolando Casella
Theta
1)satraps-ruler
prowess-great ability/skill
ramifications-possible results of an action
consolidate-to make/be stronger and more certain
edifice-an established system that lasted for a long time
superfluous-more than needed/wanted
aggrandizement-increase power, wealth or importance
endeavouring-trying
gainsay-deny the truth
adherents-person that strongly supports someone or a set of ideas
dissimulation-illusion
brigandage-life and practice of robbery
papacy-pope's authority/office
censure-strong disapproval
magnanimous-forgiving
2)In "Machiavelli's The Prince" it explains his beliefs of what a true and effective ruler should be, how they gain their powers, and how others are incapable of doing it. There are examples of effective actions made by a ruler, and mistakes made by a ruler. Machiavelli brings up a many points throughout the reading. Talent and prowess are what is necessary to be able to rule successfully. There are two ways of obtaining the "prince" position: from prowess or fortune. For these two ways. Machiavelli gave two example of people: Francesco and Cesare. Francesco gained from his prowess and became a duke. Cesare gained from his father's fortune. The duke made the decision of killing those who might be capable to taking power or getting closer to it. This action is an example of cruelty but it benefited the duke. In the end, the duke suffered from his "bad choice". He wanted to indicate that not anyone can become a Prince, but only those who are born with the ability to rule.
3)The major difficulty I had with this reading was vocabulary. Though I saw that it was easier than Hobbes reading. There was an unfamiliar word and I couldn't understand some of the sentences without the some of words I didn't know. There was also a confusion in who was being talked about. Sometimes it was "the duke" and another times it was "Cesare." The transition between the two was confusing and I would get lost and forget who I was reading about. When I got closer to the end I then started to get more into it.
ETA (H)
1. Alight: to settle or stay after descending
(The bird alighted after descending from flight.)
Satraps: an auxiliary ruler, or an advisor
(Napoleon won many battles through good communications with his satraps ruling his territories.)
Aggrandizement: to make higher in power or rule
(After the aggrandizement of all the soldiers in his division he was an officer.)
2. People who become rulers by good fortune or by the strength of someone else they are leaching off of will not last in a position of power. Even the most prudent new rulers cannot lay the groundwork for a lasting political system fast enough. Rulers who gain power but are corrupt will inevitably fail because even if they reform and become quite competent rulers, their past mistakes will not be erased in the minds of the people because of their new efficiency in ruling. People who work their way up from a private citizen are much more likely to maintain their power, because they have experienced and understand all the levels and ranks of people that they rule. A person who becomes a leader by corrupting people and making soldiers turn on their leaders is also less likely to maintain their power, because they have not had the experience to gain their own power, as soon as the people stop liking him and his soldiers doubt him, his power will fail. If you gain power by the success of others, your success is based on their success, and when their support structure falls out, you will fall with it because a new leader doesn’t have what it takes to maintain power. This is exactly what Plato was talking about with the examples of people’s souls being forged out of different kinds of metal, when someone with bronze ascends to power through the help of someone with bronze, they will fail because they are not ready or able to be rulers.
3. I did not have much difficulty with this reading. Compared to Hobbes, Machiavelli uses simpler, newer, English which wasn’t confusing at all. If I had to pick something to say about being confused about this reading, I would have to say that the examples of the different rulers throughout Europe and how they either succeeded or failed by how they came into power was a little hard to follow because it was hard to figure out where 1 example ended and 1 began, I didn’t know which leader I was reading about at which time, then he mentions the previously discussed leaders in examples of other leaders to make a point and it is confusing.
©Fia.
Zeta
1. Superfluous- Here she goes again adding something that is completely superfluous to the discussion.
Aggrandizement- That the waterfall was as big as Niagara was an aggrandizement.
Allegiance- Ah, yes it makes sense that the word allegiance means devoted support because it has the word ally in it…
Magnanimous- I think some one might say that a good example of a magnanimous is Jesus Christ, he is hella magnanimous.
Censure- Publishers tend to censor things they censure.
2. Machiavelli wrote this book because he wanted to define the way you should rule people, or the way people should be ruled for the new prince. In this particular section he is taking about rulers that come to acquire power in two different ways; one: by fortune, other wise known as luck. Two: by using their talent and prowess. It seems to me that Machiavelli considers private citizens, as he says or civilians/peasants (as I interpret it) are lacking prowess and talent, especially in the commanding field. He believes that private citizens cannot command people or secure their fortunes or create solid foundations. He points out a very obvious reason: because normal people don’t have “loyal and devoted troops of their own”.
He says that men that become rulers or princes or any other kind of high authority purely by good fortune get into power extremely easy, like they had wings he even says, but once there that’s when problems occur. He also states one thing that very much sketches out for us what Machiavelli thought of human nature. He says that the men who are granted power by wealth of fortune rely on the loyalty and kindness of the people who granted them the power and that these things are capricious things. Obviously he believes that humans don’t often help others unselfishly, and that a human’s companionship, constancy and devotion are nothing you can trust a hundred percent.
3. I think that I understood a lot of small points, probably the once that I could somehow relate my own opinions to. Because I find most of the things I understand (or think I understand) I somewhat agree with. It was hard to keep reading and focusing when Machiavelli was taking about the duke of Milan and the duke Valentino because I know nothing of this history.
Ivy Leung
Zeta
1. Vocabulary:
- capricious - doesn't think before they act.
My younger cousin was capricious to everything.
- prowess - great ability
John and Sheryl shows great prowess in math.
- prudent - wise
I am never prudent in almost everything I do.
- stratagem - a plan, a scheme
John uses a stratagem to scare me. :(
2. This text is about what makes a good and bad leader. It tells the good points and the bad points providing examples throughout this text. Like some rulers can rely on goodwill and fortune and they are capricious and this leads to not being able to maintain their position.
3. What i had trouble with in this text is the vocabulary and somewhat the reading itself because the words were a bit difficult and maybe that was why I wasn't understanding the text much.
yvette ly, zeta
Ramification – branches
Edifice – large, complex system or building
Avail – to be of value or advantage
Inordinate – uncontrollable, excessive amount
Malice – harmful intent
Aggrandizement – extend or enlarge
Stratagem – plan
Despoil – strip of values
Rife – prevalent
Temporize – gain time or come to terms with
Papacy – time when pope is in office
Magnanimous – generous in forgiving
Machiavelli’s piece was written with intentions of helping a man become a good prince. He uses Cesare Borgia or duke Valentino, who “acquired his state through the good fortune of his father”, as an example. He thought that examining the “duke’s career” and actions could be advantageous to this potential prince. A prince who becomes a prince by using his “exceptional prowess” and not “good fortune” builds his state so it has good foundations. Otherwise, it, “like everything in nature whose growth is forced” will be “destroyed in the first bad spell”. Machiavelli then explains how both Alexander VI and Cesare utilized their resources to gain what they wanted. For example, Alexander won control by throwing other’s states “into turmoil”. Cesare knew that the previous lords of Romagna were weak and caused the people anarchy rather than union so he hired people to assist him in creating a pacifying government. After all that Cesare acquired through “good fortune and the arms of others”, he accomplished three of his four goals because of Alexander’s death and his own illnesses. Machiavelli concludes with his own solution of what a prince should do, that a prince should secure against enemies by winning friends, be loved and feared by his subjects, “reform ancient” rules among others.
I had difficulties following the “characters” in the text. I don’t have enough previous knowledge about these people and events to know who is who. I had to look back into the text to see who he was talking about, which duke was who and etc. Secondly, his sentence structure is very different so I had to reread often. There were some words I did not know the meaning to but other than that, I enjoyed this reading.
Julian MacDonnnell
ZETA
1.Vocab List: There were never any real problems with the vocab. I understood all of the words because I have seen them in other texts I have read before. I might have had to take a double take on the words, but I quickly was reminded of their definitions and continued.
2.Machiavelli wrote this book because he wanted to inform the people who should be qualified to rule a country. The main points he brings up to give his text a bit more than just a list of who is capable is by comparing how those in power came to be. One that was born into it and another who fought for that right. The interesting thing Machiavelli brought up when comparing/ contrasting the two rulers is how the one that was brought up in that particular life, watching and studying everything around him, still did not help him stay afloat when he stated to lose control. Yet, the other leader that became a soldier earned his place where the kings stood and lead his people well. One lesson I pulled from that is that even though you might meet the requirements of becoming a leader, you are still human, and as such you aren't invincible. That is always a good lesson to take into account when you become in possession of authority.170 A few other points Machiavelli brings up is how a good ruler always needs talent and prowess. With talent, he will be able to maintain loyalty and keep good faith with the people of his kingdom. Prowess so that you don't need to rely on others to make decisions for you, and from their basically be controlled and become a puppet.
3.The main difficulty I had with this reading was staying focus for a good amount of time. Due to the two story lines being said at the same time and so many details being thrown at you to keep, remember and decipher, it just became difficult about every paragraph or so. Let alone the fact I was trying to see the big message or other littler messages that were scattered around the story. Trying to find those and remember them was difficult enough with out the story lines and their details.
Daniel Kong
Epsilon
1.Satraps- a ruler
capricious-sudden foolish behavior
prowess-great skill
edifice-an established system that lasted for a long time
superfluous-to be more than needed/wanted
aggrandizement-to increase power, wealth or importance
gainsay-to deny the truth
2.Machiavelli's The Prince touches on what makes a good ruler. He goes on to say that not everyone can rule effectively. Only those that have the necessary skills and traits should be come rulers. Those who inherit the kingdom through family and fortune may not be suited whearas a person who takes a kingdom may be because he is able to rule effectivly. Natural born talent and prowess in ruling people is what he states is necessary to be a just ruler. I believe that Machiavelli wanted to convey that anyone, anyone off the street can become a ruler. However, only those that have the talent and ability to hold onto the position and not piss off everyone else at the same time can rightly rule.
3.Vocabulary. I'd like to think that I have a very good vocabulary but reading this, I will have to revise that train of thought. It's a bit of an older version of english with its different spellings. The biggest problem with it was with some words that I had no idea of the meaning. For example:gainsay. At first I thought that meant gaining something, but it didnt feel right so I looked it up. From gaining something to “deny the truth.” is a big difference.
Jasmine Martinez
Epsilon Block
1. exertion- making something happen
satraps- a ruler
capricious- impulsive and unpredictable
He is a capricious person, we never know what he's going to do.
ramifications- dividing
The government began to divide into different branches.
avail- to be of use or value, to have power.
Being that he's the leader he is avail.
malice- the desire to inflict pain or bodily injury because of meanness.
He's always being malice to woman.
aggrandizement- to make bigger or greater in power and wealth.
stratagem- a plan or trick to decieve or suprise an enemy.
brigandage- a robber or bandit.
tribunal- a court of justice.
2. I think that Machiavelli was trying to show what the qualities of a good leader are, and what qualities make up a bad leader. He was trying to teach men how to become a good prince. He did this by talking about Cesare Borgia and Fracesco Sforza and what they did good or what they did bad. He talks about the correct way to gain power and be an effective leader. And how its very important to be trusted by your alliances and the people that your ruling becuase without that your practically alone and when you need someone they woun't be there for you.
3. I had many difficulties reading this. First of all I didn't really understand what he was trying to say. It was all very confusing to me and hard to keep up with it. I got lost a lot and just couldn't grasp what he was trying to say. It was also hard to read because it had so many words that I didn't understand and it was hard for me to stay focused I think because the reading was very difficult for me.
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