The Prince

Synopsis

The lion cannot guard himself from the toils, nor the fox from wolves. A prince must therefore be a fox to discern toils, and a lion to drive off wolves. The modern-day term “machiavellian” is used to describe deception, dishonesty, and cruelty to meet a goal. The prince by niccolò machiavelli was written as a guide for autocrats on how to govern using means that were meant to deceive and manipulate a government’s constituency—to the extent of advocating the use of evil for political expediency.