3rd+Machiavelli+Chapter

Summarize what Machiavelli believes that a prince ought do and why.

Machiavelli believes that a prince must actually be hypocritical sometimes. Although this sounds pretty awful, he justifies it by saying that since a prince rules over the masses, and the masses are only concerned with the outcome of a situation, the prince must do all that he can to ensure a favorable outcome - otherwise he will be overthrown. In addition, the prince must always act or appear merciful, truthful, humane, sincere, and religious, because that is what the people look for and that is what will make them happy.

A prince should appear to be good to his people, but he must also be ready to break his promises if needed. People judge others by what they see rather than what they know, so a prince must keep up with his superficial appearances to maintain his reputation. However, a prince must also be ready to break promises. If he is worse off by keeping a promise, there's no reason for him to keep it. To keep the people from questioning him, he should become an expert liar, which isn't difficult since the excuses are endless. - Choong Hwa Shin

Machiavelli believes that a prince must measure his actions according to the world that is, not the world that should be. Princes in the past have acted as if the world were perfect, but since it's not, Machiavelli says that the ends justify the means. In order to be successful, a prince must be willing to make "unpopular" decisions. These may result in some minor, temporary losses, but will allow the prince to gain power for himself (which is the goal). -Jonathan Safron