only art for a man who commands" (40). Not the welfare of the people, not the "refinements of life" (40), but only war, for the prince who is a master of war will remain a prince.
Machiavelli has no other purpose in this book than to convince a leader that he must do whatever is needed to stay in power. This is comparable to teaching slaveowners what they have to do to keep control of the plantation and the slaves. If sweettalking the slaves into obedience works, fine, but if not, use whatever force is necessary, including brutality, use it swiftly and without remorse. The leader should be like the slaveowner, in effect, for he should have only one aim---maintaining power and control over his domain and the subjects within that domain. It is a political philosophy which demeans the value of human beings, not only the people but the prince as well, for it reduces all of them to the status of brute animals, or even machines, with no reference to love, compassion, mercy, justice, charity, goodness, etc. In fact, to Machiavelli, "a prince who wants to keep his authority must learn how not to be good" (42). This princely philosophy discourages goodness throughout the kingdom, and encourages evil, for the political leader is also the spiritual and moral leader of the state.
Machiavelli has essentially the same message to deliver in the selections of his writings other than The Prince, beginning with his addressing the group which was essentially the war council of Florence, although he is more diplomatic in this case than in The Prince. He allows the leader himself, on whom Machiavelli is reporting to the council, to carry the message: "My being too gentle, and taking too little care over the details, is what did me harm. . . . I consider the dukedom lost because it was a weak and sluggish state" (82). We find him just as pragmatic, just as ruthless, just as obsessed with war as the essential factor of leadership.
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