/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.23008658]

Will reading this give me the ability to become a master manipulator?

[Anonymous No.23008689]

>>23008658
No just observe and study women

[Anonymous No.23008696]

>>23008658
No, it's more about what to do when you already have some degree of power and how best to manipulate it to your advantage. His play and short story are pretty good though.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandrake
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belfagor_arcidiavolo

[sage No.23008707]

>>23008658
Nah, but it'll give you some basic tips for running a small princedom. Don't hire mercenaries, never actually do charity; only appear to, etc.

[Anonymous No.23008723]

>>23008658
Nah, but it'll give you some basic tips for running a small princedom. Don't hire mercenaries, never actually do charity; only appear to, etc.

[Anonymous No.23008741]

>>23008658
I disagree with those other anons. it will help you. it's the foundation of all modern politics. if anything seems trite it's because of how much cultural influence the book has had.

[Anonymous No.23008744]

>>23008658
No!

[Anonymous No.23008748]

>>23008741
Look at his question once again
>Will reading this give me the ability to become a master manipulator?

[Anonymous No.23008757]

>>23008741
>It´s the foundation of all modern politics
No,Aristotle and others already talked about this,the thing that people get all wrong is because they don´t understand what they are reading,i suggest reading his book with the name of Livy is a good one and a must.
But he said that you rule being loved or being feared but never hated.
Also never you are going to find the concept of "End Justifies the means" i challenge you,to find the idea in Machiavelli bibliography.
>>23008658
Read some professors lecture on this and then read the book.

[Anonymous No.23008777]

>>23008757
you are right that he doesn't say "End Justifies the means" he does say something along the lines of it's more important for a prince to appear good than to be good in respect to maintaining his rule. it's important to understand that machiavelli isn't talking about ethics, therefore whether or not ends justify the means isn't up for discussion.

[Anonymous No.23008781]

>>23008658
No, it's a guide for leaders, not a book on how to become a leader. Don't think you will read it and become le sigma male

[Anonymous No.23008786]

>>23008658
It will definitely make you a master baiter

[Anonymous No.23008795]

as another note on why these anti-machiavelli anons are wrong, it's important to understand what machiavellianism is. what the price does, which is radical and hard for people to understand even today, is lay out a methodology for accomplishing a goal is a way completely divorced from moral dogmatism and emotions. obviously the methods for doing this when ruling a country are going to be different than whatever your goals are but seeing the process still has value. once you get done with machiavelli it may be of some use to read about game theory and behavioral psychology.

[Anonymous No.23008834]

>>23008723
the one that stuck with me is that if you have to do a bunch of evil shit, do it all at once, as people are more likely to forgive one instance of it instead of worrying about you doing it all the time

[Anonymous No.23008836]

>>23008795
>as another note on why these anti-machiavelli anons are wrong,
I'm not "anti-machiavelli". I just don't think OP will achieve his stated goal in his opening lines simply by reading this book. To me, some people are just awful like that by birth or upbringing, not by reading a tome. These subjects are trained in the art of reading people their whole life, and practice very often. They always have an ulterior goal, even in their good-mornings. They always recall you of the good they have made.
But when they laugh their smile is that of a shark.

[Anonymous No.23008848]

>>23008834
>the one that stuck with me is that if you have to do a bunch of evil shit, do it all at once
I remember his corollary to this too, which was
"do good little by little".

[Anonymous No.23008850]

>>23008848
The nigga was right about a lot. A very insightful and well-organized book. I did prefer his play and novella though. He's always portrayed as some kind of evil sociopath, but he had a really good sense of humor.

[Anonymous No.23009474]

>>23008658
Reading isn't enough to acquire any skillset, let alone a skill such as manipulation. You need to be willing to actively experiment and practice with the information before you can effectively use it. Also, you're better off reading a more modern book that deal with subject of manipulation directly, because you'll get more relevant information without having to wade through all the historical minutia.

[Anonymous No.23009620]

>>23008795
It isn’t even that original everything Machiavelli says was done before by empires

[Anonymous No.23009920]

I understood a bit more about the USA when I read about him recommending that a leader arm their people to create trust.

[Anonymous No.23009922]

>>23008658

I've read the book many times and the answer is no. But don't worry, people will call you a master manipulator despite being dumb as shit.

[Anonymous No.23009924]

>>23008658
No, but it will tell you how to conquer land and rule in the pre-Napoleonic era.

[Anonymous No.23010404]

>>23008658
Hell yeah, brother. Easy levers to pull on the SHEEPLE and the CATTLE. Just like all the animes.

[Anonymous No.23010417]

No. This book is basically just an insight to the way the sort of wannabe aristocracy lower gentry/middle class thought about power and politics at the time, and maybe still think about power and politics. I mean, the fact that the Yarvin crowd loves this book should tell you everything you need to know about it.

[Anonymous No.23010420]

>>23009620
>everything Machiavelli says was done before by empires
No shit, retard. That was the whole point. He analyzed mistakes made by historical rulers.

[Anonymous No.23010470]

>>23008658
If you're a literal prince in Italy, maybe. Look up "mirrors for princes"

[Anonymous No.23011115]

>>23008658
The mystique surrounding the book and its author have created an unrealistic expectation about what the book contains. Popular culture has basically created a reputation that the book will turn you into some sort of political/social mastermind or some sort of S tier CEO, or something along those lines. Go ahead and get rid of all of those notions, this is not to say The Prince cannot help you achieve these sorts of things, but just reading The Prince is not going to turn you into either. Part of the reason for this cult of hype is the nature of the work and time that produced it. Go ask a boomer about how explosive Watergate was, or why boomers care about Kennedy getting assassinated, 9/10 times the fundamental premise will boil down to the completely and totally different world they perceive world leaders to live in. Now take the type of reverence/outrage they elicit and amplify that exponentially to the notion that some bureaucrat would write about the mechanical nature of a leader's life and decisions in the Era before media dissemination when feudalism was still the norm and the average person still thought leaders had some kind of divine mandate and this was a widespread belief. Now you can begin to see why this book has a reputation that it will never be able to live up to for people in the 21st century where we basically expect our leaders to be as evil as possible for all intents and purposes. I would advocate reading the book, it is not lengthy and quite interesting, and does have the ability to give you insights you may not have possessed prior to reading it, but do not expect it to make you a master manipulator. If anything you will begin to see through most political charades that leaders have to undergo that are part of the process of being a leader. If you choose to partake on some sort of similar path you will inevitably find yourself thinking back to Machiavelli in the back of your head while you smile and practice politics.

[Anonymous No.23011151]

>>23009920
here's a nice little read for you

[Anonymous No.23011184]

It’s literally just a political treatise. It isn’t a self help book. God this board is stupid