Part 15 of Machiavelli's The Prince, entitled Of the Things
for Which Men, and Especially Princes, Are Praised or
Blamed, states that, in order for a man to maintain control
of a government and better that territory, he must engage
in certain actions that may be deemed immoral by the
public he serves. Machiavelli argues a valid point, that the
nature of man is twofold, encompassing good and evil, right
and wrong. The effectiveness of his argument, however,
relies on the fact that the person reading his essay is an
objective observer of human nature. Not leaving this to
chance, Machiavelli plays a psychological game with the
reader in order to convince them of his argument.
Machiavelli prefaces his thesis with commentary that
attempts to place the reader in a subordinate state-of-mind.
He confesses to the reader that he fears sounding
presumptuous for writing about a subject covered many
times before by others and differing from their opinion in
the matter.
This statement places the author at the mercy of
the reader and prepares them to hear an idea that may not
be popular. Having been asked forgiveness for the pride of
the author, the reader drops barriers that he may have
against arguments driven by ego and opens his mind to
Machiavelli on a personal, sincere level. By placing himself
at the feet of the reader, Machiavelli puts himself and his
argument in a position of power. He wastes no time in using
this power to gain more control over the reader. In the next
sentence he states that his intention is to create an outline
for behavior in public office " of use to those who
understand". This statement compels the reader to agree
with the points that the trustworthy, forthright Machiavelli
argues, or be relegated the...