Analyzing Ideas, Structure, and Purpose in Machiavelli’s The Prince
Question 13 • ELA 10B - 2023
Read this paragraph from chapter 5 of The Prince.But when cities or countries are accustomed to live under a prince, and his family is exterminated, they, being on the one hand accustomed to obey and on the other hand not having the old prince, cannot agree in making one from amongst themselves, and they do not know how to govern themselves. For this reason they are very slow to take up arms, and a prince can gain them to himself and secure them much more easily. But in republics there is more v
Answer
F
Former republics are more difficult to rule than hereditary states, and they will rebel if they are not tightly controlled.
T
The strategies for controlling hereditary states and former republics are the same.
H
Hereditary states come with a history that must be deeply understood if a new prince is to control them easily.
H
Hereditary states never forget their former loyalties, so they are hard to control.
Explanation
The paragraph contrasts hereditary states, whose people are accustomed to obeying a prince, with republics, whose people remember their former liberty. Machiavelli says republics have greater hatred and desire for revenge, making them harder to rule and more likely to resist. This supports A: former republics are more difficult to rule than hereditary states and require strong control.
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