Why does Machiavelli praise skill in warfare in his opening pages?
How does that skill aid a prince?
In Machiavelli’s opening pages he gives great importance to arms and warfare of the prince. The prince must be in total state of war to be successful during this time. “He must, therefore, never raise his thought from this exercise of war, and in peace time he must train himself more than in time of war;” ( 38). Machiavelli stresses that a prince must never let an opportunity pass. As he stated if there is a time of peace, take advantage of it and plan your next move, or train your army, but never relax.
Machiavelli says, “Such knowledge is useful in two ways: first, one learns to know one’s own country and can better understand how to defend it; second, with the knowledge and experience of the terrain, one can easily comprehend the characteristics of any other terrain that it is necessary to explore for the first time...” (Machiavelli 38). Machiavelli asserts that knowledge of warfare is indeed useful and it will help the prince to defend his own country better. In addition, if the prince has awareness of the terrain, when it comes time to explore new grounds it will not be a problem, and can easily navigate his way. Machiavelli says, “a prince who lacks this ability lacks the most important quality in a leader”. (38). In reading this, I interpret Machiavelli to give scheming and plotting of war a high rank. Machiavelli feels that a prince must know where all obstacles lie and all escape routes exist. This is why he praises skill in warfare, for the reason that a prince must be able to defend to be employed as prince, therefore this skill aids a prince to conquer and succeed.
Works Cited
Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Qualities of the Prince.” A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. pp35-51.
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Andrew, I believe that a prince should be very knowledgable when it comes to war as well. If a prince did know his surroundings he would be better equipped to deal with intruders. If you've never seen the movie 300 you'll see what I mean about 45 minutes through it.
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