More on Machiavelli

I'm going to start this with a general mea culpa.  Last month I thought that posting might be light due to our new arrival.  It might have been a bit less than usual but it wasn't too bad.  I was still able to get process info from things that I'd read before Leo showed up.  What I didn't expect is that he'd tromp all over my Machiavelli reading.  I read in snips and snatches.  I made notes of phrases that popped out and that's what I'll blog about.  By all means, feel free to correct me if I missed some connections or misread something! 

Machiavelli recognizes several different types of states and has mechanisms for dealing with each differently.  In some ways the Prince begs for a flow chart.  'Is the state hereditary or new?'  And then you'd follow the arrow to the next box.  That kind of thing.  (Google can't find any such thing, which frankly astounds me.  If my graphic skills were better I would fix this!)  The entire work is a very frank outline towards securing power.  In that way it simply could not be more different than the more idealistic works that we've read before.
Right away Machiavelli apologizes for daring to offer advice to Great Men and I really liked the way he put it:

Nor do I hold with those who regard it as a presumption if a man of low and humble condition dare to discuss and settle the concerns of princes; because, just as those who draw landscapes place themselves below in the plain to contemplate the nature of the mountains and of lofty places, and in order to contemplate the plains place themselves upon high mountains, even so to understand the nature of the people it needs to be a prince, and to understand that of princes it needs to be of the people.

What a lovely way of putting it.  He understood very well that Great Men are dangerous and he was better off with a little flattery protection.  His previous experience, being tortured, probably made him especially careful.  It was kind of a rough time!