The Book of the Courtier and The Prince share similarities and differences based on Castiglione and Machiavelli’s arguments on the rules that govern society. The Book of the Courtier starts by a description and praise of the qualities that a courtier should have to please their lords. Conversely, Machiavelli dedicates his work, The Prince, to understanding the conduct of great men and how a prince should behave and treat his subjects. According to Machiavelli, it is right for a prince to be cruel than constantly working to please people. Therefore, a prince should be someone who is capable of dismantling promises in situations where keeping them would be against his wish. Therefore, The Book of the Courtier and The Prince both try to provide insight on how to behave as a courtier and a prince with royalty and nobility. As such, the prime focus of this paper is to compare and contrast how Castiglione and Machiavelli understand the rules that govern human society, the relationship of self to society, how power and/or wealth shape social interactions, and the role of arts and learning in society.
Castiglione and Machiavelli differ in their perception of how military organizations should be led. Castiglione argues that people should practice duties with nonchalance. In his view, performing duties with nonchalance makes things to eventually ‘find their means to an end’. “Nor is there lack of credible and abundant witnesses, who are still living, to his prudence, humanity, justice, liberality, unconquered courage, and to his military discipline (Castiglione 8).” However, Castiglione does not discard the fact that being violent is wrong. As such, he argues that to win a favorable reputation in society, people must exercise military power with vigor. Machiavelli, however, claims that the prince will only be safe if he can raise his army to defend himself against all enemies. “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him (Machiavelli 24).” He adds that the prince should be knowledgeable about the customs of the military by studying war techniques, reading histories of different armies, and familiarizing himself well with his land. Thus, while Castiglione focuses on military strength in terms of numbers and focus on violence, Machiavelli focuses on the intelligence aspect of war.
Moreover, the two authors also differ on how rulers should associate with those they lead. Castiglione suggests that the courtier must be pleasant and lovable to the people around him in the first instance. On the contrary, Machiavelli argues that for the Prince to be secure, he ought to destroy all that was unpleasant to him with extreme brevity. “Yet it cannot be called talent to slay fellow-citizens, to deceive friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; such may gain empire, but not glory (Machiavelli 20).” However, Castiglione argues that, for one to achieve a good reputation and favor from the people of the respective societies, they must live according to the expectations of the community. As such, he emphasizes on the virtue of being humble to gain favor from those around him. Additionally, he scorns the vice of cruelty when dealing with the people as advocated for by Machiavelli in The Prince.
Moreover, the aspect of biasness comes out clearly in The Book of Courtier where social relations seem to lie on one’s perception. In connection to this view, Castiglione provided an instance where the courtier’s wife asserts that one must be born of a dignified birth for him to exchange vows with her. “It seems to me that in love, as in everything else, our minds judge diversely; what seems delightful to one person is not the case for another (Castiglione 14).” The implication is that the matrimonial relationships within the Italian society are deeply shaped by the level of affluence that a given family amasses. As such, The Book of the Courtier in many ways shapes the Italian Renaissance society by providing crucial information about what the courtier is expected to do to gain the support of his wife. In support of this view, the author also adds sports and a unique level of education in diverse areas as key issues a women should see in a man. Being funny and amusing are also a port of the characteristics of a courtier women in the Italian society enjoys.
Additionally, Machiavelli argues that the political power is the greatest tool that a leader can have in gaining fame in the society. “Therefore, it is necessary to be a fox to discover the snares and a lion to terrify the wolves (Machiavelli 60).” As such, political leaders should strategize on policies aimed at dispiriting activism from the public domain and have their powers intact. Additionally, for leaders to be more secure in governance, they often possess the capability to manipulate the energy of their subjects for personal interests. Further, Machiavelli argues that political leaders must practice power with violence and promote material possession and respect the traditions of their subjects to gain favor among them. Indeed, the political life of a prince or anyone in power cannot be governed by just a single set of morals or religious absolutes, but through a combination of prudent violence and deception.
According to Castiglione, the virtues of an individual are key to their success. Castiglione believes that, the behavior exhibit of an individual is more important and effective than having what the society would define as high ethical standards. As such, people can perfect their conduct over time. Castiglione opposes Machiavelli’s idea that perfect knowledge is the key to regulating the behavior of every courtier. “Practice in everything a certain nonchalance that shall conceal design and show that what is done and said is done without effort and almost without thought (Castiglione 2).” Castiglione believes that it is only the leader or a commander who is supposed to have perfect knowledge given that the responsibilities they he/she has to handle daily. In his view, an ideal courtier should only have general knowledge about life and everything that revolves around it in addition to being bold and energetic. Indeed, these are the qualities that can make one successful with an emphasis on maintaining a good reputation with the people, which is the most important thing in life.
Machiavelli emphasizes on virtues that impede survival. According to him, a leader governing with a dictatorial leadership style is better than one who is charismatic and loved by a large figure. “Since love and fear can hardly exist together, if we must choose between them, it is safer to be feared than loved (Machiavelli 65).” Machiavelli often viewed the nation as a state where one should not rule with modesty and conventional morality. As such, he argued that a ruler should exercise leadership with full force and in the due process, the populace will become used to his or her leadership style. Correspondingly, guided by his intolerance with people, he shared a similar argument with Castiglione on the use of arms to silence ones enemies.
Indeed, both The Book of Courtier and The Prince have many similar qualities though they also have contrasting viewpoints that set them apart especially on rules that govern society. The roles of leadership are both similar in both books with an emphasis on boldness when leading the public. As such, the two books advocate that leaders should be strong and establish a high profile with the people. Additionally, both leaders from the two books must possess honorable qualities and be benevolent as opposed to ruthlessness. Moreover, both leaders should be knowledgeable about their positions as leaders and how to keep their subjects in control. However, they have contrasting views on the roles of leadership in the sense that The Prince has a stronger army and a greater level of control which is lacking in The Book of Courtier. They also vary on how they perceive people’s perception of them. Nevertheless, both the Prince and Courtier should have a consensus of their qualities and talents. Whereas the Prince makes use of trickery to stay in control of his power, Courtier applies his born talent and hard work from his exercises to regulate his power. Each one of them, however, is an ideal leader with Courtier being a more charismatic leader from the close links he establishes with the people. The qualities displayed by Courtier resemble those of a typical leader in the Italian Renaissance man. On the other hand, the qualities attached to the Prince are easier to accomplish since they are more like natural human behavior.
The relationship of self to the society is also brought out in the two texts. Accordingly, the Italy Renaissance was greatly concerned with how one presented themselves in society. In this regard, the author argues that, as the Courtier masters the skill of war, he must also learn how to love. “He who becomes a Prince through the favor of the people should always keep on good terms with them” (Castiglione 9). As such, there is a greater sense of psychological attachment for Castiglione to the society, which comes out clearly in the form of a strong feeling. Further, Castiglione treats his people with due respect to gain favor and reputation from them because of his psychological feelings. Additionally, the society is mandated to model the behavior of personalities so that they can become significant figures in the society. Outstandingly, even the Courtier is entitled to develop for a perfect gentlewoman who is seen as a social responsibility he has to look after. On the other hand, the gentlewoman is supposed to use all of her integrity to curry favor with her prince.
Arts play a very critical function in the ways individuals perceive various things in the society. Arts education has been an integral part of the modern college education as it impacts on how people envision things in their surroundings. Notably, arts education helps learners and, especially the young generation to conceptualize different aspects in their life clearly, be creative, and possess the ability to understand language. Accordingly, the proper role of art has clearly manifested in the provision of art education constrained to the principles of moral, social, and civic living. Correspondingly, the concept of arts goes hand-in-hand with the idea of being educated. As a result, a person who is educated is assumed to have a good mastery of art skills. Remarkably, the concept of art has been hailed in the twentieth century because it is influential in impacting creative thoughts. As such, when morality is valued for outsourcing order in action, art is valued for yielding order in the apprehension of visible, tangible, and audible appearances.
According to Machiavelli, the role of art is to inspire people and impact their moral principles so that they do not conflict with the society. He believes that art contains great principles that nations and rulers use as a guide in their interaction with other nations and neighbors. “But what invests The Prince with more than a merely artistic or historical interest is the incontrovertible truth that it deals with great principles which still guide nations and rulers in their relationship with each other and their neighbors (Machiavelli 58).” In comparison with Machiavelli, Castiglione also feels that art guides the moral principles of the individuals within the society set up. “Inn horse-back vaulting too, in wrestling, running and leaping, I should be well pleased to have him shun the vulgar crowd (Castiglione 86).” On the other hand, Castiglione argues that the art of martial sports should be use at the discretion of the rank implying that art should be used to please the courtier only. However, Machiavelli does not concord to this view as he views art that should be utilized to benefit the majority. Therefore, the value of arts and learning in the society is seen in how individuals can visualize things in their lives and reflect on their relevance to their societies.
Castiglione and Machiavelli present critical views in The Book of the Courtier and The Prince on the rules that govern society. The presentation of the Courtier and the Prince epitomizes present day leaders on how they relate with their citizens. While the Courtier focuses on building a close relationship with people, Machiavelli advises the Prince to show power where his subjects pressure him. However, they all agree on strengthening leadership through the military, which explains how power shapes social interactions. Finally, this paper has also expounded on how arts shapes the society as a means to understand different attributes such as ethics and how to coexist.
Works Cited
Castiglione, Baldassare. Book of the Courtier. Benedictions Classics, 2012.
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. Xist Publishing, 2016.
