Response #3

This week in discussion section we covered Machiavelli's the Prince, a guide on how to govern. Machiavelli wrote it while in political exile for his enemy Lorenzo Medici, who was responsible for his exile. It is widely accepted that Machiavelli wrote the book to win political favor but the brutal nature of the ideas expressed in this book make wonder if the book was written sarcasm, if so why? Machiavelli makes a distinction between leaders of fortune and virtue and it is interesting that his idea of political virtue is often in direct opposition to the Judeo-Christian definition of virtue. This makes me wonder how pious a rule can really be and remain in accord with the Machiavellian definition of virtuous?