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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Machiavelli consider to be the means of someone rising from the bottom to gain a great fortune?

2. What does Machiavelli predict will come to Republics that do not provide for dictatorships or powerful authorities in times of urgent perils?

3. According to Machiavelli, what type of people seek what office to cause a city to become corrupt?

4. What are the two important items that Machiavelli considers to be unwise for a Prince to put entirely into peril?

5. What support did Machiavelli use for his view of what he considers to be the worst example provided by leaders?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why should a Prince measure his forces and govern by his decisions based upon them before he enters a war?

2. What kind of Prince does Machiavelli consider to be weak?

3. What examples from history does Machiavelli claim offers guidance to leaders?

4. Why does Machiavelli recommend to leaders of a Republic to keep a shadow of the institutions that are being reformed?

5. What acts by governing officials does Machiavelli consider "pernicious" or damaging to the authority of the government?

6. Why does Machiavelli report that the Roman Senate decided to pay a public stipend to the soldiers in the army?

7. In the title of Book 1, Section 8, what does Machiavelli mean with the phrase, "...so much so calumnies are pernicious...?"

8. Why did Machiavelli praise the Plebes for refusing to choose their peers for Tribunes for which the Nobility allowed Plebes candidacy?

9. What does Machiavelli claim proves the Romans' love for liberty?

10. What are the three types of state that Machiavelli detailed and by what name are they known today?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast Machiavelli's favored tactic of forming military divisions for the purpose of absorbing an enemy's initial thrust to the tactic that is known as "Blitzkrieg". Using the American occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan as modern examples of how both are used, as well as the history of Rome and the regime that depended on "Blitzkrieg", give your views on which tactic is more successful.

Essay Topic 2

"The Discourses" were originally written as a letter to two Italian politicians at the time. Explain how that intended audience of this letter shaped the focus and tone of the text. What does Machiavelli's recommendations throughout the book say of the character of the intended audience? Give examples from the book to support your assumptions.

Essay Topic 3

In Book 1, Sections 21-23 Machiavelli begins a repeated focus on the role of the military in maintaining a Free Republic by focusing on making sound decisions on the cost of a military to a Republic. Identify quotes from Machiavelli that detail Machiavelli's advice on the use of resources on the military, whether or not his advice is being followed today, and what you consider to be the consequences of the current decisions regarding the modern costs of the military.

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