The Prince
The idea of a political leader remaining popular and in control, regardless of the means, is the subject of Machiavelli. Though personally favoring a republican form of government, he saw in politics a struggle for power in which the end did justify the means. The explanation of current political conditions can be viewed as the product of witnessing a struggle for survival among the competing city-states in Italy. Machiavelli not only lived at a time of turmoil within the states of Italy but had held various diplomatic and administrative posts and had witnessed other ruling entities in Europe.
One of the key aspects that Machiavelli talks about is fate and how it effects the decisions of a ruler. During Machiavelli's time, it was commonly thought that events were ruled by fate and by God only. Machiavelli did believe in fate, but he did not believe in the fact the fate controlled all events that occurred to mankind. …
