Acting the Princely Style: Ethos and Pathos in Cicero's On the Ideal Orator and Machiavelli's The Prince
In: Political studies: the journal of the Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom, Band 58, Heft 3, S. 590-608
Abstract
This article explores the relationship between the prince and his subjects in Machiavelli's The Prince. Drawing on Cicero's On the Ideal Orator, I develop a reading of the prince as acting out a persuasive ethos while appealing to the pathos of his audience. Rather than viewing this relationship as one of sheer manipulation and deception, however, I suggest that the beliefs and experiences of his subjects constrain the prince, preventing him from engaging in utter dissimulation. However, whereas Cicero's orator projects good character and cultivates goodwill, Machiavelli's prince need not cultivate good character, and rather than seek his audience's love, he need only avoid their hatred. Adapted from the source document.
Themen
Deception, Manipulation, Audiences, Values, Machiavelli, Niccolo
Sprachen
Englisch
Verlag
Blackwell Publishing, Oxford UK
ISSN: 1467-9248
DOI
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