re protection to liberty:
Happy indeed should we call that state which produces a man so prudent that men can live securely under the laws which he prescribes without having to emend them . . . Unhappy, on the other hand, in some degree is that city to be deemed which, not having chanced to meet with a prudent organizer, has to reorganize itself (Machiavelli, The Discourses 105).
In The Prince, however, Machiavelli placed his emphasis on the strong king, or prince, as the individual charged with control of government and required to take whatever means he deemed necessary to accomplish his goals. As a humanist educator, Machiavelli details the nature, goals, and responsibilities of such a leader in The Prince. In examining this issue, Machiavelli swept away much of the moralistic and theological bagga
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