Analyzing Rhetorical Techniques in Machiavelli’s The Prince
Question 7 • ELA 10B - 2023
Read the passage from chapter 17 of The Prince.Among the wonderful deeds of Hannibal this one is enumerated: that having led an enormous army, composed of many various races of men, to fight in foreign lands, no dissensions arose either among them or against the prince, whether in his bad or in his good fortune. This arose from nothing else than his inhuman cruelty, which, with his boundless valour, made him revered and terrible in the sight of his soldiers, but without that cruelty, his other virtues were not sufficient to produce this effect. And short-sighted writers admire his deeds from one point of view and from another condemn the principal cause of them.
Answer
A
empirical evidence in the form of observation
B
logical evidence in the form of inductive reasoning
C
anecdotal evidence in the form of historical examples
D
logical evidence in the form of deductive reasoning
Explanation
Machiavelli uses Hannibal’s conduct and the loyalty of his army as a specific example from history. He points to this case to support his claim that Hannibal’s cruelty helped keep his diverse soldiers united and obedient. This is anecdotal evidence in the form of a historical example, not a deduction from general premises.
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