This signifies that the prince’s mind must always be on the subject of war and that the best of princes will look to a historical figure, for example, Alexander the Great, on how one should lead a country. Machiavelli shows this when he says “Above all, he should do as great men have done before him, and take as a model for his conduct some great historical figure who achieved the highest praise and glory by constantly holding before himself the deeds and achievements of his predecessors” (Machiavelli 42). When Machiavelli signifies that the prince’s mind must always be on the subject of war, he is saying that as war goes on, he needs to figure out the best battle tactics. Likewise, in times of peace the prince always needs to know where his enemies are and what they are up …show more content…
The Prince, urged by Machiavelli to go to any lengths to obtain stability and the allegiance of the people as he says “if he wants to keep a name for generosity, he will have to load people with exorbitant taxes and squeeze money out of them in every way he can” (Machiavelli 43). This is a contradiction of what Machiavelli is trying to do as he desires to obtain stability and order, but will break all the rules and give up his morality to do so. Moreover, while Machiavelli is right that vices are inevitable this does not signify that the prince should not act virtuously to the best of his