Question

Read the passage from chapter 17 of The Prince. Coming now to the other qualities mentioned above, I say that every prince ought to desire to be considered clement and not cruel. Nevertheless he ought to take care not to misuse this clemency. Cesare Borgia was considered cruel; notwithstanding, his cruelty reconciled the Romagna, unified it, and restored it to peace and loyalty. And if this be rightly considered, he will be seen to have been much more merciful than the Florentine people, who, to avoid a reputation for cruelty, permitted Pistoia to be destroyed. Therefore a prince, so long as he keeps his subjects united and loyal, ought not to mind the reproach of cruelty; because with a few examples he will be more merciful than those who, through too much mercy, allow disorders to arise, from which follow murders or robberies; for these are wont to injure the whole people, whilst those executions which originate with a prince offend the individual only. How does the repetition of the words cruel and cruelty affect the tone of the paragraph? It creates a frightening and despairing tone as Machiavelli offers example after example of the actions of cruel rulers. It creates a tone of weakness and resignation as Machiavelli ultimately shows the negative results of a ruler’s cruelty. It creates a matter-of-fact tone as Machiavelli demonstrates the positive effects of a ruler’s cruelty. It creates a threatening tone as Machiavelli shows what happens to people who disobey cruel rulers.

Answer 1

I think that the correct answer is: It creates a matter-of-fact tone as Machiavelli demonstrates the positive effects of a ruler's cruelty.

In The Prince, Machiavelli gives empirical examples of his ideas to demonstrate the logic behind them. In this case he does the same, although he warns the prince that it is better to be known for mercy than for cruelty, he the demonstrates that some cruelty is necessary for a monarch. This to keep under control those who would take the power if they saw any waeknesses. An excess of mercy will lead to a state in which no one will respect the ruler and everyone will try to take or do what they want. In such a state, murder, robbery and crime in general would be common. With some acts of violence, the prince will give an example of his power and will maintain everything under control, leading, eventually to less deaths than being completely merciful.

Answer 2

It creates a matter-of-fact tone as Machiavelli demonstrates the positive effects of a ruler’s cruelty.