The Prince

After reading "The Prince", I found it to be interesting, not because it explains how to take control of other lands and how to control them,but because it gives advice that often disregards all moral and ethical rules. Macchiavelli states that:

 "Because how one ought to live is so far removed from how one lives that he who lets go of what is done for that which one ought to do sooner learns ruin than his own preservation: because a man who might want to make a show of goodness in all things necessarily comes to ruin among so many who are not good. Because of this it is necessary for a prince, wanting to maintain himself, to learn how to be able to be not good and to use this and not use it according to necessity."

 To me, this isn't the normal advice on how to take control of other lands and how to control them. This sort of advice wouldn't be used for mayors, senates, world leaders, etc. This is the type of advice that we, as ordinary people, can use everyday. It's something that we can live by. I think it also means that only we can control how we live out our own lives and to determine the path we will go on as the journey continues.

-Blair Thomas