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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book One, The Development of Rome's Constitution, The Use and Abuse of Dictatorship, The Road to Ruin, Sundry Reflections Based on the Decemvirate.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why does Machiavelli consider the Roman Caesars to have been a benefit to the Roman Empire?
(a) The Roman Caesars had the convenience of acting quickly to confront hazards.
(b) The Roman Caesars acted ruthlessly when confronted with challenges.
(c) Because without the power of the Caesars, the empire would have had difficulty avoiding hazards.
(d) The Roman Caesars were skilled in choosing advisers to direct the directions of the Republic.

2. What do fertile areas offer to those who settle there according to Machiavelli?
(a) Raw materials that can be sent to sterile areas for manufacturing and refinement.
(b) The ability to affect the economy of sterile areas.
(c) Resources that will sustain a growing population.
(d) The means by which a city can grow and have the ability to defend themselves.

3. To what does Machiavelli compare great kingdoms and republics from history?
(a) To great works of antique art that have been found and preserved.
(b) To his ideal state that combined the most successful institutions from those civilizations.
(c) To his projections of the future in which Machiavelli speculated on how power would be preserved.
(d) To the state of political instability in which was common to Machiavelli's day.

4. What is a Prince as Machiavelli uses the term?
(a) A dispatched bureaucrat that carries out orders over a territory.
(b) A hereditary noble.
(c) An underling to the ruling authority.
(d) A monarch over a sovereign system of government and territory.

5. What does Machiavelli suggest causes corruption?
(a) Princes who are preoccupied with seeking pleasure rather than power.
(b) Rebellious citizens who defy ruling authorities.
(c) An insufficiency of or inability to enforce laws that deal effectively with corruption.
(d) Princes who are not cruel enough with punishment.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Machiavelli suggest that Princes and other leaders deal with acts that offend their citizens?

2. What are two reasons Machiavelli gives for foreign forces building a city?

3. What can be inferred of Machiavelli's idea of virtue from reading the review of the first three kings of Rome as he begins his discourse of weak Princes and excellent Princes?

4. According to Machiavelli, what caused the Roman Republic to form?

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

(see the answer key)

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