Military Dictatorship and Hieratical Political Leaders Essay

Military dictatorship and hieratical political leaders failed in Bangladesh Military dictatorship and hieratical political leaders failed in Bangladesh to institutionalize democracy and ensure development and liberty for the people. It looks like that we have to restart from the beginning. As early as 1965 the late Akhter hamid Khan of Comilla Academy had a vision to take government to the doorstep of common people through a local government and micro- enterprises under cooperative with management support from a rural based bureaucrats and reduce the revenue urden of the central government a corresponding reduction of members in the centralized bureaucratic administration. To invoke public propositions and opinion in this regard, the following few points have been innumerate to be further developed in future. . Bangladesh was liberated by the toiling masses at great sacrifices primarily by farmers, labors and students, though history did not credit them for their role and instead placed all laurels and benefits of the liberation war to the army, politicians, bureaucrats, greedy elitist and business community to whom all the ealth and privileges and legal concessions of all the Governments have been showered upon. Another liberation war is necessary to liberate real peo ples and ensure their development. 2. points were fundamental basis of ensuring all right, entitlement & Justice to peoples of a promised Sonar Bangla. On that same basis we have to restructure & reform our executive & Judicial functions with maximum autonomy & power to local government leaving only such functions as National security, Foreign affairs, Currency, reserve bank & federal financial affairs, Planning upport and coordination, One integrated national Industrial corporation for development of Basic & large Industries, One integrated R & D council for development of Science and technology, with major emphasis on empirical research. One National Multimode integrated Transport Network System, One National IT Centre for networking all ministerial & local government functions, archiving and retrieving data and information etc. 3. Democracy, Socialism, non-alignment and secularism were the basis of our constitution which was tempered and tailored many times by all Governments to suit certain specific objective of some leaders and their party. The basic principles of a constitution should be sealed for any amendment except through referendum only. The 1st constitution of Bangladesh had some clauses with embedded party interest such as preventive detention under article 33, unrestricted tenure for PM;s office article 57, Local Govt. structure and power as in article 59 & 60, blind following of party line as in article 70 and many others. Though all parties derive certain benefits from these, they must be recast to reflect public pinion on them. . The chapters and clauses on part VI Judiciary contains no structural, Judicial and procedural reforms to ensure dispensing timely Justice within affordable cost. The system has become single biggest obstacle towards â€Å"prevention of vices and chapters and clauses on part IX Services of Bangladesh contains no structural and procedural reforms to convert the servants of the colonial masters to respectable employees of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Myopic planning, redtapism and fund crumpling are common causes of all or most project failures in Bangladesh. PSC failure to recruit proper personnel on the basis of personnel integrity, meritocracy, accountability and preference to generalist in place of function based specialist are major causes for rise of a elitist, high living and corrupt bureaucrats who hold every thread of power over political government and who will never allow local government function to be within control of elected local government as the same will hamper their financial interest. . Reorganization of Statutory bodies ; state owned enterprise, public undertakings including banking, securities, and non banking inancial enterprises in Bangladesh is essential as they have substantial bearing on our economy caused due to drainage of capital through loans given to be subsequently classified. Project failure and loss of employment, flight of capital and money laundering, low FDI, management failure, undisciplined labor, lack of accountability and transferency etc. 7. Prepare a total guide line proposal for long, medium and short term development plan for developing Bangladesh with a vision to raise it to a modern state with an egalitarian society by dismantling the existing horrible wealth gap between rich and poor.

Machiavelli the Art of War

Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM THE ONLINE LIBRARY OF LIBERTY Â © Liberty Fund, Inc. 2005 http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/index. php NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, THE ART OF WAR (NEVILLE TRANS. ) (1675) URL of this E-Book: http://oll. libertyfund. org/EBooks/Machiavelli_0523. pdf URL of original HTML file: http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/HTML. php? recordID=0523 ABOUT THE AUTHOR Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance political philosopher who wrote a famous piece of advice to The Prince on how to get and keep political power.ABOUT THE BOOK A translation by Neville, a leading English republican thinker of the 17th century, of one of the few major works of Machiavelli published in his lifetime. Machiavelli drew on his own experiences of the nearly constant warfare in which the Italian city states were involved, as well as his deep knowledge of Roman history. THE EDITION USED The Seven Books on the Art of War, by Niccolo Machiavelli, Citizen and Secretary of Florence, trans. Henry Ne ville (1675). COPYRIGHT INFORMATION The text of this edition is in the public domain.FAIR USE STATEMENT This material is put online to further the educational goals of Liberty Fund, Inc. Unless otherwise stated in the Copyright Information section above, this material may be used freely for educational and academic purposes. It may not be used in any way for profit. http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 1 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM _______________________________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE FIRST BOOK SECOND BOOK THIRD BOOK FOURTH BOOK FIFTH BOOK SIXTH BOOK SEVENTH BOOK ______________________________________________________ NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI, THE ART OF WAR (NEVILLE TRANS. ) (1675) PREFACE BY NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI CITIZEN AND SECRETARY OF FLORENCE ON THE BOOKS ON THE ART OF WAR TO LORENZO DI FILIPPO STROZZI, A GENTLEMAN OF FLORENCE Many, Lorenzo, have held and still hold the opinion, that there is nothing which has l ess in common with another, and that is so dissimilar, as civilian life is from the military.Whence it is often observed, if anyone designs to avail himself of an enlistment in the army, that he soon changes, not only his clothes, but also his customs, his habits, his voice, and in the presence of any civilian custom, he goes to pieces; for I do not believe that any man can dress in civilian clothes who wants to be quick and ready for any violence; nor can that man have civilian customs and habits, who judges those customs to be effeminate and those habits not conducive to his actions; nor does it seem right to him to maintain his ordinary appearance and voice who, with his beard and cursing, wants to make other men afraid: which makes such an opinion in these times to be very true.But if they should consider the ancient institutions, they would not find matter more united, more in conformity, and which, of necessity, should be like to each other as much as these (civilian and milit ary); for in all the arts that are established in a society for the sake of the common good of men, all those institutions created to (make people) live in fear of the laws and of God would be in vain, if their defense had not been http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 2 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM people) live in fear of the laws and of God would be in vain, if their defense had not been provided for and which, if well arranged, will maintain not only these, but also those that are not well established.And so (on the contrary), good institutions without the help of the military are not much differently disordered than the habitation of a superb and regal palace, which, even though adorned with jewels and gold, if it is not roofed over will not have anything to protect it from the rain. And, if in any other institutions of a City and of a Republic every diligence is employed in keeping men loyal, peaceful, and full of the fear of God, it i s doubled in the military; for in what man ought the country look for greater loyalty than in that man who has to promise to die for her? In whom ought there to be a greater love of peace, than in him who can only be injured by war? In whom ought there to be a greater fear of God than in him who, undergoing infinite dangers every day, has more need for His aid?If these necessities in forming the life of the soldier are well considered, they are found to be praised by those who gave the laws to the Commanders and by those who were put in charge of military training, and followed and imitated with all diligence by others. But because military institutions have become completely corrupt and far removed from the ancient ways, these sinister opinions have arisen which make the military hated and intercourse with those who train them avoided. And I, judging, by what I have seen and read, that it is not impossible to restore its ancient ways and return some form of past virtue to it, have decided not to let this leisure time of mine pass without doing something, to write what I know of the art of war, to the satisfaction of those who are lovers of the ancient deeds.And although it requires courage to treat of those matters of which others have made a profession, none the less, I do not believe that it is a mistake to occupy a position with words, which may, with greater presumption, have been occupied with deeds; for the errors which I should make in writing can be corrected without injury to anyone, but those which are made with deeds cannot be found out except by the ruin of the Commanders. You, Lorenzo, will therefore consider the quality of these efforts of mine, and will give in your judgement of them that censure or praise which will appear to you to be merited. I send you these, as much as to show myself grateful for all the benefits I have received from you, although I will not include in them the (review) of this work of mine, as well as also, because being accustomed to honor similar works of those who shine because of their nobility, wealth, genius, and liberality, I know you do not have many equals in wealth and nobility, few in ingenuity, and no one in liberality. FIRST BOOKAs I believe that it is possible for one to praise, without concern, any man after he is dead since every reason and supervision for adulation is lacking, I am not apprehensive in praising our own Cosimo Ruccelai, whose name is never remembered by me without tears, as I have recognized in him those parts which can be desired in a good friend among friends and in a citizen of his country. For I do not know what pertained to him more than to spend himself willingly, not excepting that courage of his, for his friends, and I do not know of any enterprise that dismayed him when he knew it was for the good of his country. And I confess freely not to http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 3 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM hat dism ayed him when he knew it was for the good of his country. And I confess freely not to have met among so many men whom I have known and worked with, a man in whom there was a mind more fired with great and magnificent things. Nor does one grieve with the friends of another of his death, except for his having been born to die young unhonored within his own home, without having been able to benefit anyone with that mind of his, for one would know that no one could speak of him, except (to say) that a good friend had died. It does not remain for us, however, or for anyone else who, like us, knew him, to be able because of this to keep the faith (since deeds do not seem to) to his laudable qualities.It is true however, that fortune was not so unfriendly to him that it did not leave some brief memory of the dexterity of his genius, as was demonstrated by some of his writings and compositions of amorous verses, in which (as he was not in love) he (employed as an) exercise in order not to u se his time uselessly in his juvenile years, in order that fortune might lead him to higher thoughts. Here, it can be clearly comprehended, that if his objective was exercise, how very happily he described his ideas, and how much he was honored in his poetry. Fortune, however, having deprived us of the use of so great a friend, it appears to me it is not possible to find any other better remedy than for us to seek to benefit from his memory, and recover from it any matter that was either keenly observed or wisely discussed.And as there is nothing of his more recent than the discussions which the Lord Fabrizio Colonna had with him in his gardens, where matters pertaining to war were discussed at length by that Lord, with (questions) keenly and prudently asked by Cosimo, it seemed proper to me having been present with other friends of ours, to recall him to memory, so that reading it, the friends of Cosimo who met there will renew in their minds the memory of his virtue, and another p art grieving for not having been there, will learn in part of many things discussed wisely by a most sagacious man useful not only to the military way of life, but to the civilian as well. I will relate, therefore, how Fabrizio Colonna, when he returned from Lombardy where he had fought a long time gloriously for the Catholic King, decided to pass through Florence to rest several days in that City in order to visit His Excellency the Duke, and see again several gentlemen with whom he had been familiar in the past.Whence it appeared proper to Cosimo to invite him to a banquet in his gardens, not so much to show his generosity as to have reason to talk to him at length, and to learn and understand several things from him, according as one can hope to from such a man, for it appeared to him to give him an opportunity to spend a day discussing such matters as would satisfy his mind. Fabrizio, therefore, came as planned, and was received by Cosimo together with several other loyal friend s of his, among whom were Zanobi Buondelmonti, Battista Della Palla, and Luigi Alamanni, young men most ardent in the same studies and loved by him, whose good qualities, because they were also praised daily by himself, we will omit. Fabrizio, therefore, was honored according to the times and the place, with all the highest honors they could give him.As soon as the convivial pleasures were past and the table cleared and every arrangement of feasting finished, which, in the presence of great men and those who have their minds turned to honorable thoughts is soon accomplished, and because the day was long and the heat intense, Cosimo, in order to satisfy their desire better, judged it would be well to take the opportunity to escape the heat by leading them to the more secret and shadowy part of his garden: when they arrived there and chairs brought out, some sat on the grass which was most fresh in the http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 4 of 106 Machiave lli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM hey arrived there and chairs brought out, some sat on the grass which was most fresh in the place, some sat on chairs placed in those parts under the shadow of very high trees; Fabrizio praised the place as most delightful, and looking especially at the trees, he did not recognize one of them, and looked puzzled. Cosimo, becoming aware of this said: Perhaps you have no knowledge of some of these trees, but do not wonder about them, because here are some which were more widely known by the ancients than are those commonly seen today. And giving him the name of some and telling him that Bernardo, his grandfather, had worked hard in their culture, Fabrizio replied: I was thinking that it was what you said I was, and this place and this study make me remember several Princes of the Kingdom, who delighted in their ancient culture and the shadow they cast.And stopping speaking of this, and somewhat upon himself as though in suspense, he added: If I did not thi nk I would offend you, I would give you my opinion: but I do not believe in talking and discussing things with friends in this manner that I insult them. How much better would they have done (it is said with peace to everyone) to seek to imitate the ancients in the strong and rugged things, not in the soft and delicate, and in the things they did under the sun, not in the shadows, to adopt the honest and perfect ways of antiquity, not the false and corrupt; for while these practices were pleasing to my Romans, my country (without them) was ruined. To which Cosimo replied (but to avoid the necessity of having to repeat so many times who is speaking, and what the other adds, only the names of those speaking will be noted, without repeating the others).Cosimo, therefore, said: You have opened the way for a discussion which I desired, and I pray you to speak without regard, for I will question you without regard; and if, in questioning or in replying, I accuse or excuse anyone, it will not be for accusing or excusing, but to understand the truth from you. FABRIZIO: And I will be much content to tell you what I know of all that you ask me; whether it be true or not, I will leave to your judgement. And I will be grateful if you ask me, for I am about to learn as much from what you ask me, as you will from me replying to you, because many times a wise questioner causes one to consider many things and understand many others which, without having been asked, would never have been understood.COSIMO: I want to return to what you first were saying, that my grandfather and those of yours had more wisely imitated the ancients in rugged things than in delicate ones, and I want to excuse my side because I will let you excuse the other (your side). I do not believe that in your time there was a man who disliked living as softly as he, and that he was so much a lover of that rugged life which you praise: none the less he recognized he could not practice it in his personal life, nor in that of his sons, having been born in so corrupted an age, where anyone who wanted to depart from the common usage would be deformed and despised by everyone. For if anyone in a naked state should thrash upon the sand under the highest sun, or upon the snow in the most icy months of winter, as did Diogenes, he would be considered mad.If anyone (like the Spartan) should raise his children on a farm, make them sleep in the open, go with head and feet bare, bathe in cold water in order to harden them to endure vicissitudes, so that they then might love life less and fear death less, he would be praised by few and followed by none. So that dismayed at these ways of living, he presently leaves the ways of the ancients, and in imitating antiquity, does only that which he can with little wonderment. http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 5 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM ancients, and in imitating antiquity, does only that which he can with li ttle wonderment. FABRIZIO: You have excused him strongly in this part, and certainly you speak the truth: but I did not speak so much of these rugged ays of living, as of those other more human ways which have a greater conformity to the ways of living today, which I do not believe should have been difficult to introduce by one who is numbered among the Princes of a City. I will never forego my examples of my Romans. If their way of living should be examined, and the institutions in their Republic, there will be observed in her many things not impossible to introduce in a Society where there yet might be something of good. COSIMO: What are those things similar to the ancients that you would introduce? FABRIZIO: To honor and reward virtu, not to have contempt for poverty, to esteem the modes and orders of military discipline, to constrain citizens to love one another, to live without factions, to esteem less the private than the public good, and other such things which could easily b e added in these times.It is not difficult to persuade (people) to these ways, when one considers these at length and approaches them in the usual manner, for the truth will appear in such (examinations) that every common talent is capable of undertaking them. Anyone can arrange these things; (for example), one plants trees under the shadow of which he lives more happily and merrily than if he had not (planted them). COSIMO: I do not want to reply to anything of what you have spoken, but I do want leave to give a judgment on these, which can be easily judged, and I shall address myself to you who accuse those who in serious and important actions are not imitators of the ancients, thinking that in this way I can more easily carry out my intentions.I should want, therefore, to know from you whence it arises that, on the one hand you condemn those who do not imitate the ancients in their actions, on the other hand, in matters of war which is your profession and in which you are judged to be excellent, it is not observed that you have employed any of the ancient methods, or those which have some similarity. FABRIZIO: You have come to the point where I expected you to, for what I said did not merit any other question, nor did I wish for any other. And although I am able to save myself with a simple excuse, none the less I want, for your greater satisfaction and mine, since the season (weather) allows it, to enter into a much longer discussion. Men who want to do something, ought first to prepare themselves with all industry, in order [when the opportunity is seen] to be prepared to achieve that which they have proposed. And whenever the preparations are undertaken cautiously, unknown to anyone, no none can be ccused of negligence unless he is first discovered by the occasion; in which if it is not then successful, it is seen that either he has not sufficiently prepared himself, or that he has not in some part given thought to it. And as the opportunity has not come to me to be able to show the preparations I would make to bring the military to your ancient organization, and it I have not done so, I cannot be blamed either by you or by others. I believe this excuse is enough to respond to your accusation. COSIMO: It would be enough if I was certain that the opportunity did not present itself. http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 6 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AMFABRIZIO: But because I know you could doubt whether this opportunity had come about or not, I want to discuss at length [if you will listen to me with patience] which preparations are necessary to be made first, what occasion needs to arise, what difficulty impedes the preparations from becoming beneficial and the occasion from arriving, and that this is [which appears a paradox] most difficult and most easy to do. COSIMO: You cannot do anything more pleasing for me and for the others than this. But if it is not painful for you to speak, it will never be painful for us to listen. But at this discussion may be long, I want help from these, my friends, and with your permission, and they and I pray you one thing, that you do not become annoyed if we sometimes interrupt you with some opportune question.FABRIZIO: I am most content that you, Cosimo, with these other young people here, should question me, for I believe that young men will become more familiar with military matters, and will more easily understand what I have to say. The others, whose hair (head) is white and whose blood is icy, in part are enemies of war and in part incorrigible, as those who believe that the times and not the evil ways constrain men to live in such a fashion. So ask anything of me, with assurance and without regard; I desire this, as much because it will afford me a little rest, as because it will give me pleasure not to leave any doubts in your minds. I want to begin from your words, where you said to me that in war [which is my profession] I h ave not employed any of the ancient methods.Upon this I say, that this being a profession by which men of every time were not able to live honestly, it cannot be employed as a profession except by a Republic or a Kingdom; and both of these, if well established, will never allow any of their citizens or subjects to employ it as a profession: for he who practices it will never be judged to be good, as to gain some usefulness from it at any time he must be rapacious, deceitful, violent, and have many qualities, which of necessity, do not make him good: nor can men who employ this as a profession, the great as well as the least, be made otherwise, for this profession does not provide for them in peace.Whence they are obliged, either to hope that there will be no peace or to gain so much for themselves in times of war, that they can provide for themselves in times of peace. And wherever one of these two thoughts exists, it does not occur in a good man; for, from the desire to provide for oneself in every circumstance, robberies, violence and assassinations result, which such soldiers do to friends as well as to enemies: and from not desiring peace, there arises those deceptions which Captains perpetrate upon those whom they lead, because war hardens them: and even if peace occurs frequently, it happens that the leaders, being deprived of their stipends and of their licentious mode of living, raise a flag of piracy, and without any mercy sack a province.Do you not have within the memory of events of your time, many soldiers in Italy, finding themselves without employment because of the termination of wars, gathered themselves into very troublesome gangs, calling themselves companies, and went about levying tribute on the towns and sacking the country, without there being any remedy able to be applied? Have you not read how the Carthaginian soldiers, when the first war they engaged in with the Romans under Matus and Spendius was ended, tumultuously chose two leaders, and waged a more dangerous war against the Carthaginians than that which they had just concluded with the http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 7 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM Romans?And in the time of our fathers, Francesco Sforza, in order to be able to live honorably (comfortably) in times of peace, not only deceived the Milanese, in whose pay he was, but took away their liberty and became their Prince. All the other soldiers of Italy, who have employed the military as their particular profession, have been like this man; and if, through their malignity, they have not become Dukes of Milan, so much more do they merit to be censured; for without such a return [if their lives were to be examined], they all have the same cares. Sforza, father of Francesco, constrained Queen Giovanna to throw herself into the arms of the King of Aragon, having abandoned her suddenly, and left her disarmed amid her enemies, only in order to satisfy his ambiti on of either levying tribute or taking the Kingdom.Braccio, with the same industry, sought to occupy the Kingdom of Naples, and would have succeeded, had he not been routed and killed at Aquilla. Such evils do not result from anything else other than the existence of men who employ the practice of soldiering as their own profession. Do you not have a proverb which strengthens my argument, which says: War makes robbers, and peace hangs them? For those who do not know how to live by another practice, and not finding any one who will support them in that, and not having so much virtu that they know how to come and live together honorably, are forced by necessity to roam the streets, and justice is forced to extinguish them.COSIMO: You have made me turn this profession (art) of soldiering back almost to nothing, and I had supposed it to be the most excellent and most honorable of any: so that if you do not clarify this better, I will not be satisfied; for if it is as you say, I do not k now whence arises the glory of Caesar, Pompey, Scipio, Marcellus, and of so many Roman Captains who are celebrated for their fame as the Gods. FABRIZIO: I have not yet finished discussing all that I proposed, which included two things: the one, that a good man was not able to undertake this practice because of his profession: the other, that a well established Republic or Kingdom would never permit its subjects or citizens to employ it for their profession. Concerning the first, I have spoken as much as has occurred to e: it remains for me to talk of the second, where I shall reply to this last question of yours, and I say that Pompey and Caesar, and almost all those Captains who were in Rome after the last Carthaginian war, acquired fame as valiant men, not as good men: but those who had lived before them acquired glory as valiant and good men: which results from the fact that these latter did not take up the practice of war as their profession; and those whom I named first as thos e who employed it as their profession. And while the Republic lived immaculately, no great citizen ever presumed by means of such a practice to enrich himself during (periods of) peace by breaking laws, despoiling the provinces, usurping and tyrannizing the country, and imposing himself in every way; nor did anyone of the lowest fortune think of violating the sacred agreement, adhere himself to any private individual, not fearing the Senate, or to perform any disgraceful act of tyranny in order to live at all times by the profession of war.But those who were Captains, being content with the triumph, returned with a desire for the private life; and those who were members (of the army) returned with a desire to lay down the arms they had taken up; and everyone returned to the art (trade or profession) by which they ordinarily lived; nor was there ever anyone who hoped to provide for himself by plunder and by means of these arts. A clear and evident example of this as it applies to gre at citizens can be found in the http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 8 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM arts. A clear and evident example of this as it applies to great citizens can be found in the Regent Attilio, who, when he was captain of the Roman armies in Africa, and having almost defeated the Carthaginians, asked the Senate for permission to return to his house to look after his farms which were being spoiled by his laborers.Whence it is clearer than the sun, that if that man had practiced war as his profession, and by means of it thought to obtain some advantage for himself, having so many provinces which (he could) plunder, he would not have asked permission to return to take care of his fields, as each day he could have obtained more than the value of all his possessions. But as these good men, who do not practice war as their profession, do not expect to gain anything from it except hard work, danger, and glory, as soon as they are sufficiently glorious, desire to return to their homes and live from the practice of their own profession. As to men of lower status and gregarious soldiers, it is also true that every one voluntarily withdrew from such a practice, for when he was not fighting would have desired to fight, but when he was fighting wanted to be dismissed.Which illustrates the many ways, and especially in seeing that it was among the first privileges, that the Roman people gave to one of its Citizens, that he should not be constrained unwillingly to fight. Rome, therefore, while she was well organized [which it was up to the time of the Gracchi] did not have one soldier who had to take up this practice as a profession, and therefore had few bad ones, and these were severely punished. A well ordered City, therefore, ought to desire that this training for war ought to be employed in times of peace as an exercise, and in times of war as a necessity and for glory, and allow the public only to use it as a p rofession, as Rome did.And any citizen who has other aims in (using) such exercises is not good, and any City which governs itself otherwise, is not well ordered. COSIMO: I am very much content and satisfied with what you have said up to now, and this conclusion which you have made pleases me greatly: and I believe it will be true when expected from a Republic, but as to Kings, I do not yet know why I should believe that a King would not want particularly to have around him those who take up such a practice as their profession. FABRIZIO: A well ordered Kingdom ought so much the more avoid such artifices, for these only are the things which corrupt the King and all the Ministers in a Tyranny.And do not, on the other side, tell me of some present Kingdom, for I will not admit them to be all well ordered Kingdoms; for Kingdoms that are well ordered do not give absolute (power to) Rule to their Kings, except in the armies, for only there is a quick decision necessary, and, therefore, he who (rules) there must have this unique power: in other matters, he cannot do anything without counsel, and those who counsel him have to fear those whom he may have near him who, in times of peace, desire war because they are unable to live without it. But I want to dwell a little longer on this subject, and look for a Kingdom totally good, but similar to those that exist today, where those who take up the profession of war for themselves still ought to be feared by the King, for the sinews of armies without any doubt are the infantry.So that if a King does not organize himself in such a way that his infantry in time of peace are content to return to their homes and live from the practice of their own professions, it must happen of necessity that he will be ruined; for there is not to be found a more dangerous infantry than that which is composed of those who make the waging of war their profession; for you are http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 9 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM that which is composed of those who make the waging of war their profession; for you are forced to make war always, or pay them always, or to risk the danger that they take away the Kingdom from you. To make war always is not possible: (and) one cannot pay always; and, hence, that danger is run of losing the State.My Romans [as I have said], as long as they were wise and good, never permitted that their citizens should take up this practice as their profession, notwithstanding that they were able to raise them at all times, for they made war at all times: but in order to avoid the harm which this continuous practice of theirs could do to them, since the times did not change, they changed the men, and kept turning men over in their legions so that every fifteen years they always completely re-manned them: and thus they desired men in the flower of their age, which is from eighteen to thirty five years, during which time their legs, their hand s, and their eyes, worked together, nor did they expect that their strength should decrease in them, or that malice should grow in them, as they did in corrupt times. Ottavianus first, and then Tiberius, thinking more of their own power than the public usefulness, in order to rule over the Roman people more easily, begun to disarm them and to keep the same armies continually at the frontiers of the Empire.And because they did not think it sufficient to hold the Roman People and the Senate in check, they instituted an army called the Praetorian (Guard), which was kept near the walls of Rome in a fort adjacent to that City. And as they now begun freely to permit men assigned to the army to practice military matters as their profession, there soon resulted that these men became insolent, and they became formidable to the Senate and damaging to the Emperor. Whence there resulted that many men were killed because of their insolence, for they gave the Empire and took it away from anyone t hey wished, and it often occurred that at one time there were many Emperors created by the several armies. From which state of affairs proceeded first the division of the Empire and finally its ruin.Kings ought, therefore, if they want to live securely, have their infantry composed of men, who, when it is necessary for him to wage war, will willingly go forth to it for love of him, and afterwards when peace comes, more willingly return to their homes; which will always happen if he selects men who know how to live by a profession other than this. And thus he ought to desire, with the coming of peace, that his Princes return to governing their people, gentlemen to the cultivation of their possessions, and the infantry to their particular arts (trades or professions); and everyone of these will willingly make war in order to have peace, and will not seek to disturb the peace to have war. COSIMO: Truly, this reasoning of yours appears to me well considered: none the less, as it is almo st contrary to what I have thought up to now, my mind is not yet purged of every doubt.For I see many Lords and Gentlemen who provide for themselves in times of peace through the training for war, as do your equals who obtain provisions from Princes and the Community. I also see almost all the men at arms remaining in the garrisons of the city and of the fortresses. So that it appears to me that there is a long time of peace for everyone. FABRIZIO: I do not believe that you believe this, that everyone has a place in time of peace; for other reasons can be cited for their being stationed there, and the small number of people who remain in the places mentioned by you will answer your question. What is the proportion http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 10 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM of infantry needed to be employed in time of war to that in peace? or while the fortresses and the city are garrisoned in times of peace, they are much more gar risoned in times of war; to this should be added the soldiers kept in the field who are a great number, but all of whom are released in time of peace. And concerning the garrisons of States, who are a small number, Pope Julius and you have shown how much they are to be feared who do not know any other profession than war, as you have taken them out of your garrisons because of their insolence, and placed the Swiss there, who are born and raised under the laws and are chosen by the community in an honest election; so do not say further that in peace there is a place for every man.As to the men at arms continued in their enlistment in peace time, the answer appears more difficult. None the less, whoever considers everything well, will easily find the answer, for this thing of keeping on the men at arms is a corrupt thing and not good. The reason is this; as there are men who do not have any art (trade or profession), a thousand evils will arise every day in those States where they exi st, and especially so if they were to be joined by a great number of companions: but as they are few, and unable by themselves to constitute an army, they therefore, cannot do any serious damage. None the less, they have done so many times, as I said of Francesco and of Sforza, his father, and of Braccio of Perugia.So I do not approve of this custom of keeping men at arms, both because it is corrupt and because it can cause great evils. COSIMO: Would you do without them? , or if you keep them, how would you do so? FABRIZIO: By means of an ordinance, not like those of the King of France, because they are as dangerous and insolent as ours, but like those of the ancients, who created horsemen (cavalry) from their subjects, and in times of peace sent them back to their homes to live from the practice of their own profession, as I shall discuss at length before I finish this discussion. So, if this part of the army can now live by such a practice even when there is peace, it stems from a corrupt order.As to the provisions that are reserved for me and the other leaders, I say to you that this likewise is a most corrupt order, for a wise Republic ought not to give them to anyone, rather it ought to employ its citizens as leaders in war, and in time of peace desire that they return to their professions. Thus also, a wise King ought not to give (provisions) to them, or if he does give them, the reasons ought to be either as a reward for some excellent act, or in order to avail himself of such a man in peace as well as in war. And because you have mentioned me, I want the example to include me, and I say I have never practiced war as a profession, for my profession is to govern my subjects, and defend them, and in order to defend them, I must love peace but know how to make war; and my King does not reward and esteem me so much for what I know of war, as because I know also how to counsel him in peace.Any King ought not, therefore, to want to have next to him anyone who is not thusly constituted, if he is wise and wants to govern prudently; for if he has around him either too many lovers of peace or too many lovers of war, they will cause him to err. I cannot, in this first discussion of mine and according to my suggestion, say otherwise, and if this is not enough for you, you must seek one which satisfies you better. You can begin to recognize how much difficulty there is in bringing the ancient methods into modem wars, and what preparations a wise man must make, and what opportunities he can hope for to put them into execution. But little by little you will know these things better if the discussion on bringing any http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 11 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM execution.But little by little you will know these things better if the discussion on bringing any part of the ancient institutions to the present order of things does not weary you. COSIMO: If we first desired to hear your discussion of these matters, truly what you have said up to now redoubles that desire. We thank you, therefore, for what we have had and ask you for the rest. FABRIZIO: Since this is your pleasure, I want to begin to treat of this matter from the beginning being able in that way to demonstrate it more fully, so that it may be better understood. The aim of those who want to make war is to be able to combat in the field with every (kind) of enemy, and to be able to win the engagement. To want to do this, they must raise an army.In raising an army, it is necessary to find men, arm them, organize them, train them in small and large (battle) orders, lodge them, and expose them to the enemy afterwards, either at a standstill or while marching. All the industry of war in the field is placed in these things, which are the more necessary and honored (in the waging of war). And if one does well in offering battle to the enemy, all the other errors he may make in the conduct of the war are su pportable: but if he lacks this organization, even though he be valiant in other particulars, he will never carry on a war to victory (and honor). For, as one engagement that you win cancels out every other bad action of yours, so likewise, when you lose one, all the things you have done well before become useless.Since it is necessary, therefore, first to find men, you must come to the Deletto (Draft) of them, as thus the ancients called it, and which we call Scelta (Selection): but in order to call it by a more honored name, I want us to preserve the name of Deletto. Those who have drawn up regulations for war want men to be chosen from temperate countries as they have spirit and are prudent; for warm countries give rise to men who are prudent but not spirited, and cold (countries) to men who are spirited but not prudent. This regulation is drawn up well for one who is the Prince of all the world, and is therefore permitted to draw men from those places that appear best to him: bu t wanting to draw up a regulation that anyone can use, one must say that every Republic and every Kingdom ought to take soldiers from their own country, whether it is hot, cold, or temperate.For, from ancient examples, it is seen that in every country, good soldiers are made by training; because where nature is lacking, industry supplies it, which, in this case, is worth more than nature: And selecting them from another place cannot be called Deletto, because Deletto means to say to take the best of a province, and to have the power to select as well those who do not want to fight as those who do want to. This Deletto therefore, cannot be made unless the places are subject to you; for you cannot take whoever you want in the countries that are not yours, but you need to take those who want to come. COSIMO: And of those who want to come, it can even be said, that they turn and leave you, and because of this, it can then be called a Deletto. FABRIZIO: In a certain way, you say what is true: but consider the defects that such as Deletto has in itself, for often it happens that it is not a Deletto.The first thing (to consider), is that those who are not your subjects and do not willingly want to fight, are not of the best, rather they are of the worst of a province; for if nay are troublesome, idle, without restraint, without religion, subject to the rule of the father, blasphemous, gamblers, and in every way http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 12 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM without religion, subject to the rule of the father, blasphemous, gamblers, and in every way badly brought up, they are those who want to fight, (and) these habits cannot be more contrary to a true and good military life.When there are so many of such men offered to you that they exceed the number you had designated, you can select them; but if the material is bad, it is impossible for the Deletto to be good: but many times it happens that they are not so many as (are needed) to fill the number you require: so that being forced to take them all, it results that it can no longer be called the making of a Deletto, but in enlisting of infantry. The armies of Italy and other places are raised today with these evils, except in Germany, where no one is enlisted by command of the Prince, but according to the wishes of those who want to fight. Think, therefore, what methods of those ancients can now be introduced in an army of men put together by similar means. COSIMO: What means should be taken therefore? FABRIZIO: What I have just said: select them from your own subjects, and with the authority of the Prince. COSIMO: Would you introduce any ancient form in those thus selected?FABRIZIO: You know well it would be so; if it is a Principality, he who should command should be their Prince or an ordinary Lord; or if it is a Republic, a citizen who for the time should be Captain: otherwise it is difficult to do the thing well. COSIMO: Why? FABRIZIO: I will tell you in time: for now, I want this to suffice for you, that it cannot be done well in any other way. COSIMO: If you have, therefore, to make ibis Deletto in your country, whence do you judge it better to draw them, from the City or the Countryside? FABRIZIO: Those who have written of this all agree that it is better to select them from the Countryside, as they are men accustomed to discomfort, brought up on hard work, accustomed to be in the sun and avoid the shade, know how to handle the sword, dig a ditch, carry a load, and are without cunning or malice.But on this subject, my opinion would be, that as soldiers are of two kinds, afoot and on horseback, that those afoot be selected from the Countryside, and those on horseback from the City. COSIMO: Of what age would you draw them? FABRIZIO: If I had to raise an (entirely) new army, I would draw them from seventeen to forty years of age; if the army already exists and I had to replenish it, at seventeen years o f age always. COSIMO: I do not understand this distinction well. FABRIZIO: I will tell you: if I should have to organize an army where there is none, it would be necessary to select all those men who were more capable, as long as they were of military http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 13 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM e necessary to select all those men who were more capable, as long as they were of military age, in order to instruct them as I would tell them: but if I should have to make the Deletto in places where the army was (already) organized, in order to supplement it, I would take those of seventeen years of age, because the others having been taken for some time would have been selected and instructed. COSIMO: Therefore you would want to make an ordinance similar to that which exists in our countries. FABRIZIO: You say well: it is true that I would arm them, captain them, train them, and organize them, in a way which I do not kno w whether or not you have organized them similarly. COSIMO: Therefore you praise the ordinance? FABRIZIO: Why would you want me to condemn it? COSIMO: Because many wise men have censured it.FABRIZIO: You say something contrary, when you say a wise man censured the ordinance: for he can be held a wise man and to have censured them wrongly. COSIMO: The wrong conclusion that he has made will always cause us to have such a opinion. FABRIZIO: Watch out that the defect is not yours, but his: as that which you recognized before this discussion furnishes proof. COSIMO: You do a most gracious thing. But I want to tell you that you should be able to justify yourself better in that of which those men are accused. These men say thusly: either that it is useless and our trusting in it will cause us to lose the State: or it is of virtue, and he who governs through it can easily deprive her of it.They cite the Romans, who by their own arms lost their liberty: They cite the Venetians and the King o f France, of whom they say that the former, in order not to obey one of its Citizens employed the arms of others, and the King disarmed his People so as to be able to command them more easily. But they fear the uselessness of this much more; for which uselessness they cite two principal reasons: the one, because they are inexpert; the other, for having to fight by force: because they say that they never learn anything from great men, and nothing good is ever done by force. FABRIZIO: All the reasons that you mention are from men who are not far sighted, as I shall clearly show. And first, as to the uselessness, I say to you that no army is of more use than your own, nor can an army of your own be organized except in this way.And as there is no debating over this, which all the examples of ancient history does for us, I do not want to lose time over it. And because they cite inexperience and force, I say [as it is true] that inept experience gives rise to little spirit (enthusiasm) an d force makes for discontent: but experience and enthusiasm gains for themselves the means for arming, training, and organizing them, as you will see in the first part of this discussion. But as to force, you must understand that as men are brought to the army by commandment of the Prince, they have to come, whether it is http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 14 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM en are brought to the army by commandment of the Prince, they have to come, whether it is entirely by force or entirely voluntarily: for if it were entirely from desire, there would not be a Deletto as only a few of them would go; so also, the (going) entirely by force would produce bad results; therefore, a middle way ought to be taken where neither the entirely forced or entirely voluntarily (means are used), but they should come, drawn by the regard they have for the Prince, where they are more afraid of of his anger then the immediate punishment: and it will always happen that there will be a compulsion mixed with willingness, from which that discontent cannot arise which causes bad effects. Yet I do not claim that an army thus constituted cannot be defeated; for many times the Roman armies were overcome, and the army of Hannibal was defeated: so that it can be seen that no army can be so organized that a promise can be given that it cannot be routed. These wise men of yours, therefore, ought not measure this uselessness from having lost one time, but to believe that just as they can lose, so too they can win and remedy the cause of the defeat.And if they should look into this, they will find that it would not have happened because of a defect in the means, but of the organization which was not sufficiently perfect. And, as I have said, they ought to provide for you, not by censuring the organization, but by correcting it: as to how this ought to be done, you will come to know little by little. As to being apprehensive that suc h organization will not deprive you of the State by one who makes himself a leader, I reply, that the arms carried by his citizens or subjects, given to them by laws and ordinances, never do him harm, but rather are always of some usefulness, and preserve the City uncorrupted for a longer time by means of these (arms), than without (them).Rome remained free four hundred years while armed: Sparta eight hundred: Many other Cities have been dis-armed, and have been free less than forty years; for Cities have need of arms, and if they do not have arms of their own, they hire them from foreigners, and the arms of foreigners more readily do harm to the public good than their own; for they are easier to corrupt, and a citizen who becomes powerful can more readily avail himself, and can also manage the people more readily as he has to oppress men who are disarmed. In addition to this, a City ought to fear two enemies more than one. One which avails itself of foreigners immediately has to fe ar not only its citizens, but the foreigners that it enlists; and, remembering what I told you a short while ago of Francesco Sforza, (you will see that) that fear ought to exist. One which employs its own arms, has not other fear except of its own Citizens.But of all the reasons which can be given, I want this one to serve me, that no one ever established any Republic or Kingdom who did not think that it should be defended by those who lived there with arms: and if the Venetians had been as wise in this as in their other institutions, they would have created a new world Kingdom; but who so much more merit censure, because they had been the first who were armed by their founders. And not having dominion on land, they armed themselves on the sea, where they waged war with virtu, and with arms in hand enlarged their country. But when the time came when they had to wage war on land to defend Venice and where they ought to have sent their own citizens to fight (on land), they enlisted a s their captain (a foreigner), the Marquis of Mantua. This was the sinister course which prevented them from rising to the skies and expanding.And they did this in the belief that, as they knew how to wage war at sea, they should not trust themselves in waging it on land; which was an unwise belief (distrust), because a Sea captain, who is accustomed to http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 15 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM on land; which was an unwise belief (distrust), because a Sea captain, who is accustomed to combat with winds, water, and men, could more easily become a Captain on land where the combat is with men only, than a land Captain become a sea one. And my Romans, knowing how to combat on land and not on the sea, when the war broke out with the Carthaginians who were powerful on the sea, did not enlist Greeks or Spaniards experienced at sea, but imposed that change on those citizens they sent (to fight) on land, and they won.If t hey did this in order that one of their citizens should not become Tyrant, it was a fear that was given little consideration; for, in addition to the other reasons mentioned a short while ago concerning such a proposal, if a citizen (skilled) in (the use of) arms at sea had never been made a Tyrant in a City situated in the sea, so much less would he be able to do this if he were (skilled) in (the use of arms) on land. And, because of this, they ought to have seen that arms in the hands of their own citizens could not create Tyrants, but the evil institutions of a Government are those which cause a City to be tyrannized; and, as they had a good Government, did not have to fear arms of their own citizens. They took an imprudent course, therefore, which was the cause of their being deprived of much glory and happiness. As to the error which the King of France makes in not having his eople disciplined to war, from what has been cited from examples previously mentioned, there is no one [devoid of some particular passion of theirs] who does not judge this defect to be in the Republic, and that this negligence alone is what makes it weak. But I have made too great a digression and have gotten away from my subject: yet I have done this to answer you and to show you, that no reliance can be had on arms other than ones own, and ones own arms cannot be established otherwise than by way of an ordinance, nor can forms of armies be introduced in any place, nor military discipline instituted. If you have read the arrangements which the first Kings made in Rome, and most especially of Servius Tullus, you will find that the institution of classes is none other than an arrangement to be able quickly to put together an army for the defense of that City.But turning to our Deletto, I say again, that having to replenish an established (old) organization, I would take the seventeen year olds, but having to create a new one, I would take them of every age between seventeen and forty in order to avail myself of them quickly. COSIMO: Would you make a difference of what profession (art) you would choose them from? FABRIZIO: These writers do so, for they do not want that bird hunters, fishermen, cooks, procurers, and anyone who makes amusement his calling should be taken, but they want that, in addition to tillers of the soil, smiths and blacksmiths, carpenters, butchers, hunters, and such like, should be taken.But I would make little difference in conjecturing from his calling how good the man may be, but how much I can use him with the greatest usefulness. And for this reason, the peasants, who are accustomed to working the land, are more useful than anyone else, for of all the professions (arts), this one is used more than any other in the army: After this, are the forgers (smiths), carpenters, blacksmiths, shoemakers; of whom it is useful to have many, for their skills succeed in many things, as they are a very good thing for a soldier to have, from whom you d raw double service. COSIMO: How are those who are or are not suitable to fight chosen? http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 16 of 106Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM FABRIZIO: I want to talk of the manner of selecting a new organization in order to make it after wards into an army; which yet also apply in the discussion of the selection that should be made in re-manning an old (established) organization. I say, therefore, that how good the man is that you have to select as a soldier is recognized either from his experience, shown by some excellent deeds of his, or by conjecture. The proof of virtu cannot be found in men who are newly selected, and who never before have been selected; and of the former, few or none are found in an organization which is newly established.It is necessary, therefore, lacking experience to have recourse to conjecture, which is derived from their age, profession, and physical appearance. The first two have been discussed: it remains to talk of the third. And yet I say that some have wanted that the soldier be big, among whom was Pyrrhus: Some others have chosen them only from the strength of the body, as Caesar did: which strength of body is conjectured from the composition of the members and the gracefulness of aspect. And yet some of those who write say that he should have lively and merry eyes, a nervy neck, a large breast, muscular arms, long fingers, a small stomach, round hips, sleek legs and feet: which parts usually render a man strong and agile, which are the two things sought above everything else in a soldier.He ought, above all, to have regard for his habits and that there should be in him a (sense of) honesty and shame, otherwise there will be selected only an instrument of trouble and a beginning of corruption; for there is no one who believes that in a dishonest education and in a brutish mind, there can exist some virtu which in some part may be praiseworthy. Nor does it appear to me superfluous, rather I believe it necessary, in order for you to understand better the importance of this selection, to tell you the method that the Roman Consuls at the start of their Magistracy observed in selecting the Roman legions. In which Deletto, because those who had to be selected were to be a mixture of new and veteran men [because of the continuing wars], they proceeded from experience with regard to the old (veteran) men, and from conjecture with regard to the new. And this ought to be noted, that these Deletti are made, either for immediate training and use, or for future employment.I have talked, and will talk, of those that are made for future employment, because my intention is to show you how an army can be organized in countries where there is no military (organization), in which countries I cannot have Deletti in order to make use of them. But in countries where it is the custom to call out armies, and by means of the Prince, these (Deletti) exist, as was observed at Rome and is today observed among the Swiss. For in these Deletti, if they are for the (selection of) new men, there are so many others accustomed to being under military orders, that the old (veteran) and new, being mixed together, make a good and united body.Notwithstanding this, the Emperors, when they began to hold fixed the (term of service of the) soldiers, placed new men in charge over the soldiers, whom they called Tironi, as teachers to train them, as is seen in the life of the Emperor Maximus: which thing, while Rome was free, was instituted, not in the army, but within the City: and as the military exercises where the young men were trained were in the City, there resulted that those then chosen to go to war, being accustomed in the method of mock warfare, could easily adapt themselves to real war. But afterwards, when these Emperors discontinued these exercises, it was necessary to employ the methods I have described to you.Arriving, therefore, at the methods of the R oman Selection, I say that, as soon as the Roman Consuls, on whom was imposed the carrying on of the war, had assumed the Magistracy, in wanting to organize their armies [as it http://oll. libertyfund. org/Home3/EBook. php? recordID=0523 Page 17 of 106 Machiavelli_0523 09/15/2005 09:27 AM carrying on of the war, had assumed the Magistracy, in wanting to organize their armies [as it was the custom that each of them had two legions of Roman men, who were the nerve (center) of their armies], created twenty four military Tribunes, proposing six for each legion, who filled that office which today is done by those whom we call Constables. After they had assembled all the Roman men adept at carrying arms, and placed the Tribunes f each legion apart from each of the others. Afterwards, by lot they drew the Tribes, from which the first Selection was to be made, and of that Tribe they selected four of their best men, from whom one was selected by the Tribunes of the first legion, and of the o ther three, one was selected by the Tribunes of the second legion; of the other two, one was selected by the Tribunes of the third, and that last belonged to the fourth legion. After these four, four others were selected, of whom the first man was selected by the Tribunes of the second legion, the second by those of the third, the third by those of the fourth, the fourth remained to the first.After, another four were chosen: the first man was selected by the (Tribunes of the) third (legion), the second by the fourth, the third by the first, the fourth remained to the second. And thus this method of selection changed successively, so that the selection came to be equal, and the legions equalized. And as we said above, this was done where the men were to be used immediately: and as it was formed of men of whom a good part were experienced in real warfare, and everyone in mock battles, this Deletto was able to be based on conjecture and experience. But when a new army was to be organiz ed and the selection made for future employment, this Deletto cannot be based except on conjecture, which is done by age and physical appearance.COSIMO: I believe what you have said is entirely true: but before you pass on to other discussion, I want to ask about one thing which you have made me remember, when you said that the Deletto which should be made where these men are not accustomed to fighting should be done by conjecture: for I have heard our organization censured in many of its parts, and especially as to number; for many say that a lesser number ought to be taken, of whom those that are drawn would be better and the selection better, as there would not be as much hardship imposed on the men, and some reward given them, by means of which they would be more content and could be better commanded. Whence I would like to know your opinion on this part, and if you preferred a greater rather than a smaller number, and what methods you would use in selecting both numbers. FABRIZ IO: Without doubt the greater number is more desirable and more necessary than the smaller: rather, to say better, where a great number are not available, a perfect organization cannot be made, and I will easily refute all the reasons cited in favor of this. I say, therefore, first, that where there are many people, as there are for example inTuscany, does not cause you to have better ones, or that the Deletto is more selective; for desiring in the selection of men to judge them on the basis of experience, only a very few would probably be found in that country who would have had this experience, as much because few have been in a war, as because of those few who have been, very few have ever been put to the test, so that because of this they merit to be chosen before the others: so that whoever is in a similar situation should select them, must leave experience to one side and take them by conjecture: and if I were brought to such a necessity, I would want to see, if twenty young m en of good physical appearance should come before me, with what rule rule I ought to take some or reject some: h

Dbq Analysis

* ————————————————- Madison Markey * ————————————————- AP US History, P. 2 * ————————————————- 30 September 2012 * ————————————————- DBQ Homework #1 * ————————————————- * ————————————————- Question Analysis: The question is asking to explain how the French and Indian War affected the three main principles that were important during the time frame of 1740-1766.The writer could include both positive and negative sides of the war through each of the three categories. They could also list the causes and effects of the war. The question is also asking to highlight/paraphrase the provided documents as well as outside facts to support the well developed thesis. The question is telling the writer to describe the outcome of the relationship between Britain and it’s American colonies through the political, economic, and ideological relations. A potential problem could be forgetting to include the outcome of the war while strictly focusing on the issues and battles during the war.Another problem could be discluding the events preceding the war which is extremely vital, not only for support of thesis, but also to lay down an array of background information in the intro paragraph, in order to create the funnel affect. * ———————————à ¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã¢â‚¬â€- * ————————————————- Intro: Before the French and Indian War, four other colonial wars were fought between French and British forces during the time period of 1689 and 1763.However, the French and Indian War, later known as the Seven Year’s War was the most pivotal because it ultimately destroyed the relationship between Britain and the American colonies. The main conflict aroused during the 1600’s and early 1700’s when the British began their pursuit of Salutary Neglect which provided each of Britain’s American colonies with an overabundance of freedom. Later, Britain tried to regulate the colonists lifestyle and trade routine with the Navigation Law yet, they never truly administered any of the correlating rules.The colonists enjoyed the lack of limitation midst the Salutary Neglect and when Britain bega n imposing laws and taxes, it infuriated them. From 1740-1766, amid the French & Indian War, Britain’s greed for land, control, and restriction against the American colonies eventually caused major debt in England, harsh treatment toward their own British soldiers, and a negative aftermath of political, economic, and ideological crisis involving the American colonists * ————————————————- * ————————————————-Essay #1: The first sample essay completely deserves their score. The introduction paragraph supplies a nice background and setting. The thesis is very strong and clear. It provides a specific example of each of the three categories from the prompt. There is nothing that I would not include in this essay because everything is relevant to the topic. For t he intro, they organized it by utilizing the funnel method. In the first sentence of each body paragraph, she refers back to a piece of her thesis. The anonymous states the opinion of both sides: Britain and the American colonies.She provides each of their perspectives while including her own opinion. She includes the documents by lightly referencing them and not incorporating too much of the source or not enough. While effectively utilizing the documents, anonymous fully supports the detail with her own information. Other information involving the church and state relationship could have been included because as the war progressed, the Great Awakening occurred and because of political and religious leaders, the separation of church and state was desired in many of the colonies.The anonymous restated the reference that they already used and they made the simple mistake of writing document C when it was actually a different document. Besides that, there is not much more I would have included because the essay was close to perfect and the anon completely nailed the prompt right down to a nice conclusion. Hence, the writer deserves the score of a 9. * ————————————————- * ————————————————-Essay#2: In the opening sentence, anonymous wrote that there were exactly three wars fought between the British and their rival French forces yet, there were actually a total of four wars fought. The introduction paragraph does not provide a well-developed thesis. It is very vague and unclear however, it does address the prompt. The parenthesis that they use within the first body paragraph do not fit well and they appear awkward but they do not interfere with comprehension of the essay. They provide a decent setting but not enough detail about specific events that precede the war in order to spark the war.Next, anonymous squeezes three different documents into one small paragraph with about five sentences. They should have spaced out the sources and actually explained the documents to show their understanding of the point of view and the significance. They did attempt to organize it by specifically talking about the economic aspect and how it affected the political and ideological aspects together. They begin a sentence by using a reference which I would not have included because it sounded like the paragraph was being written around the document.I would have started with a topic sentence to build up to the reference. They include a lot of minor and superficial events which are irrelevant therefore, unnecessary to include. However they do attempt to mention that of the three categories, ideological relations were the least important which is a nice way to include the category. Overall, I believe the essay deserves a little under a seven. * ————————————————- * ————————————————- Essay#3 The intro in the third essay does not include much background preceding the thesis.It strictly states that â€Å"the war had great effects† on each of the three categories it does not say whether they were positive or negative effects. The thesis is limited and poorly written and only restates the question without any other specific facts or examples. I would not have included so many [sic] symbols in my prompt because they interrupt the flow of the essay. The essay resembles a standard english essay because it is organized with an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Each body paragraph is about one of the three categories from the thesis.In the political paragraph anonymous states very br oad information and fails to cite the information about Braddock or any information at all. She contains little understanding of the documents and merely tells what events happened in each of the paragraphs but does not describe them with appropriate outside information. She also fails to include a time frame and dates for the events. In the economy paragraph she talked about unity yet failed to mention the severe debt that britain faced which was a huge economic crisis. Anonymous should have thought of the questions such as why and how while she was writing.They could have arranged their essay a little differently instead of organizing it so that with each new category comes a different time period they should have just put the events in chronological order and wrote about how it affected each of the three categories during and after the was. Anonymous also had a few conventional errors such as commas. They also use first person point of view in the third to last sentence of the th ird paragraph. The third paragraph is confusing and presents a lack of understanding of history because it just lists vague facts.It does not include a lead-in or transition to the conclusion. The anonymous nearly ignored the documents and failed to include 50/50 ratio. The conclusion simply restates the thesis and ends with an unspecific sentence of how the war caused change but they never argued whether it was for the worse or the better. Nor did they summarize their essay or show the reader they know that there is additional significance. In my opinion, the errors in the third essay seriously detract from the quality of the prompt ergo, the essay does deserves less than a five. ————————————————- * ————————————————- By reading the essays, I learned that mistake s are easily made when writing in a constricted time period so it is important to utilize the given time wisely. I found that some of the documents are probably tough to use but it is important to have a 50%-50% ratio of information because that is what truly proves your knowledge of history and sometimes the documents will help you recall information. Also, one should always cite the document because it looks and sounds horrible if otherwise.I learned that all information must go toward improving the case or it should not be included. Lastly, I found that developing a thesis is not that hard especially if you take a moment to analyze the question but it could ruin your entire essay if you get on the wrong track and it is extremely vital in determining the score that you end up with. I now understand that by following the strategies in the book and practicing more often, writing a DBQ will begin to come natural. * ————————†”———————- * ————————————————- * ————————————————-

Humans, Technology, Nature, and Spirituality Essay

Humans, Technology, Nature, and Spirituality - Essay Example The main element of religion was compounded in explaining phenomena that confound human to his or her spiritual ability. In most cases, science often attempts to explain natural processes in line with numerous universal laws while applying scientific methods. In most cases, these scientific explanations have since created dire conflicts with numerous religious beliefs. The film BARAKA has also compounded its theme in numerous cultures that are tied to one specific thing, nature. Nature provides humanity to the full understanding and acknowledgement of their mighty creator. Through spiritual belief of different religions, different people connect to their creator by appreciating nature. The same is not true with technology that often tends to provide explanation and pieces evidences on why certain things are usually the way they are. In other words, technology only provides a platform of explaining nature but do not brings connectivity or binding factors between humans and a given ele ment.The film also brings the element of interconnectivity without explanation, that is, human beings can connect to nature without anyone providing convincing explanations to the necessity to such connectivity. This kind of connectivity is only brought forth by spirituality. However, the recording that the same can be appreciated by human being is facilitated by technology. The emergence of technology only tried to expound on the existence of such relationship, but it has never replaced the binding factor, which is the spirituality.

Company report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Company report - Assignment Example The early years of business were focused on serving military and designing and manufacturing aircraft engines, built-in engines and railway vehicle brakes. After ruins of WWII the company had tough time reviving its production plant and it was by 1947 that the company started production of two-wheeler. After rejecting Daimler’s takeover move the company emerged as a strong entity which specialized in manufacturing highest quality motor vehicles. The company has three luxurious brands BMW, Rolls Royce and Mini that remain strong and popular amongst those who wish to experience innovative luxury available across BMW global network (BMW AG). The company has a strong financial position as reported in its annual report 2008 the company has generated revenues of â‚ ¬44,143mn and net income of â‚ ¬384mn in 2008. The company has a healthy dividend payout of 61% which may imply higher shareholders’ confidence in the company’s financial position and its ability to generate cash flow in the future. The company’s total assets are worth â‚ ¬23,316mn in 2008 whereas its current liabilities and long term obligations were â‚ ¬7,974mn and â‚ ¬9,933mn. The company’s equity is â‚ ¬5,338mn and EPS of â‚ ¬0.49 (BMW AG). Despite of the recession in the global economy the company has been able to generate healthy earnings and its share prices have been on the rise in the last 9 months period currently trading at â‚ ¬35.94 on Xetra Exchange after closing at low of close to â‚ ¬18 in Feb 2009 (BMW AG). Group Management Report identified current financial crisis and slowdown in consumer spending as one of the major reasons of company’s financial deteriorating financial performance. The falling revenues within different business segments lead to lower dividend payout than previous year. The company had to pull back its capital expenditures on different upcoming automobile models in

Global View of Modern History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 13

Global View of Modern History - Essay Example The transatlantic slave trade is a well-documented event that represents the rise of European economic power. It occurred between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries in West Africa. Commercial interest drew Europeans to West Africa as trade networks expanded to and within the region. Europeans tapped the commercial value of slave trade which led to a huge migration of West African slaves across the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean basin (Bentley  and Ziegler, 559). The labour these slaves provided played a vital role in the enhancement of European agriculture, technology, and trade thereby allowing it an advantage over other civilizations (Pomeranz, 266). The Industrial Revolution was an important event that characterizes Europe’s step towards greater sophistication and technological advantage, which was critical in driving European power. Before the revolution, Europe’s backwardness lied in agriculture, means of production, land management, and inefficient use of fuelwood (Pomeranz, 32). The Industrial Revolution provided Europe with a technological lead over the rest of the world which was possible through Europe’s interaction with other civilizations. Further, it allowed the European society to transform into an industrial society characterized by mass production, paving the way for capitalism (Bentley  and Ziegler, 659). World War I is another significant event in world history, also known as the Great War, which represents a European conflict of large scale. World War I mainly involved European powers and their colonies, including the Allies and the Associated Powers and the Central Powers. The conflict which erupted as an Austro-Serbian dispute grew to involve Europe’s powerful empires. Again, the World War I represents the rise of European power because, with the defeat of the Central Powers, the European Colonialists were able to exercise power that created current conflicts such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

MINI Cooper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MINI Cooper - Essay Example ive Britain but never really caught fire abroad, has been hot ever since its reintroduction in 2001 in Europe and 2002 in the United States and Japan. Demand in the United States, especially, has taken off, thanks to a marketing strategy designed to build mystique through stealth advertising and limited distribution†.( Micheline Maynard- Can the Mini stay up to speed?) From the toggle switches for the windows and fog lights to the rocker buttons for the fan-speed controls, every switch and dial in the Mini feels of a piece with Mini and only the Mini. In truth, some of the components are gently massaged BMW parts, but thats not really obvious. And besides, BMW is a prestigious brand, so its not as if youre getting second hand Daewoo stuff in your Mini.( Michael Frank- Test Drives 2004 Mini Cooper) Minis hatch layout is actually quite well thought out, with a low well for groceries and with seat uprights that flip forward 50/50. That makes the Mini Cooper much more useful than other cheap sports cars. As far as safety is concerned Mini cooper went miles ahead from its competitors.. Mini Cooper gets excellent marks across the board in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration crash tests. The Mini comes standard with six airbags (front, side, headliner), while its competitors only has standard front airbags. And for $500 more, you can get a Mini Cooper with stability control that will help keep the car on track in an emergency manoeuvre. Besides, Mini Cooper is a much more capable car, which means it will be safer in most circumstances that require the driver to avoid an accident in the first place. Mini Cooper top five markets are Britain, with around 45,000 cars sold in 2005; the United States, with 41,000; Germany, 29,000; Italy, 22,000; and Japan, with 13,000. No other automobile companies have enjoyed such a huge success in the above countries. When we analyze the reasons for such a brand success we can see that apart from the brand value of the

Integrated academic report-the innovation and change of BP(British Essay

Integrated academic report-the innovation and change of BP(British Petroleum - Essay Example The project presents the experience of the organisation through the process of innovation and change and benefits that it has been able to gain through the process. The main area that the project tries to explore is the organisation’s present innovative position in the industry. This includes the changes that it has incorporated since the last five years. It also explores the company’s future vision and strategies towards innovation and the components contained in the vision. The next part of the project aims to identify the various competencies and cultures that organisations must to enhance and remain innovative in its operations. Following this, the project identifies the different avenues of learning existing in British Petroleum. Finally, the entire process of change management has been explored which includes the role of change agents, the different barriers and enablers and the internal and the external communications. Part 1: The organization’s need for i nnovation The new age of 21st century also demands a fresh understanding of the nature of its society and its responsibilities. A shared responsibility should be taken by all the citizens of the world in order to have a sustainable development for its own future. Adaptation efforts are going on and it must be expanded also, but these adaptation techniques are very costly and less effective with the growing magnitude of the climate change. The global climatic change has been recognized as the most intractable and most dangerous of all the environmental impacts of the energy. Another problem adding to it is the macroeconomic vulnerability which is arising due to the oil dependencies overall. It’s high time to innovate new processes now to cope with the situation. On an average worldwide, 12 warmest years out of the last 150 years have occurred since 1990. The warmest 50 years were the last 50 in 6000 years. Over the last few years it is also seen that sea ice shrinking, places like Greenland, Antarctic ice is melting. Wildfires, heat waves, storms and flood damages have also get increased in the last few years. On the other hand Oil dependencies are also rising for different countries. According to reports in 2005 United States was dependent for about 65.4 % of its total oil required on imports. This was the highest amount of oil dependence percentage in imports in US history. The cost incurred for this oil imports in 2005 was around $231 billion which accounts to 30% of the U.S net trade deficit on the same year (Holdren, 2006, p.7-10). One of the major motivations for innovation in British Petroleum is the need to retain or increase its profitability which will provide incentives for innovation to cut costs provide new services and thus in turn improve their market share. With the new innovation strategies there is better quality services and also gaining trust with the shareholders. Over the last 10 years BP has radically changed its strategies in ever y aspects of the company. After the tragic events of 2010 there is a severe impact on the BP trust. In order to gain trust again from the people and gain market share BP is developing and then implementing comprehensive processes to strengthen more safety

Ethcis of Stem Cell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethcis of Stem Cell - Research Paper Example Anderson looks at the ethics and religious points of view on the subject. He describes how different religions have different views as to when life begins. Some Hindus for instance take the stance that life begins at 3 months after conception. Other individuals would differentiate between an embryo concieved in a human relationship and this laboratory act of creation. Ideas have altered over time. Thomas Aquinus for instance held the view, put forward earlier by Aristotle, that life began 40 days after conception.. Anderson goes on to point out that there are a number of different ideas involved. First , purely biological life which begins at conception. Secondly animation, i.e the point at which an embryo begins to move independently. Thirdly what he describes as ‘ensoulment’ i.e. the theological point at which an embryo can considered to have a soul. He also discusses such things as value - does an adult invalid have more ‘value’ than a few cells in a pert rie dish? Anderson points out the Roman Catholic Church’s stance which is that government’s have an obligation to protect the vulnerable. Surely this obligation should extend to the severely ill as well as those groups of laboratory bred cells? Duffy, D., ( 2002) Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research, Congressional Research Service, Almanac of Policy Issues, Duffy claims that human embryonic stem cells (HESC) from embryos in their earliest stage of development are believed to be capable to transform themselves into differing body cell types than any adult stem cells. Research has therefore centered upon the potential that these cells have for the treatment to treat or mitigate the effects of various diseases as well as generating tissues which could be used to replace faulty cells or even organs. Duffy describes various sources for such cells. These are one week old blastocysts created via in vitrio fertilization; embryos of from 5 to 9 weeks obtained through elective abortion processes; embryos created in vitro purely for research purposes; embryos created by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) i.e. cloning; and finally adult stem cells such as those from bone marrow ore the umbilical cord.. Because the harvesting of such ‘master ‘cells involves the destruction of human embryos it has met much opposition by those who feel i t is unjustified slaughter of potential human beings. It must however be pointed out that these are embryos bred in a laboratory and which whould never have come into existance otherwise, so this is very different from an abortion done perhaps only for reasons of social convenience. In 2002 , according to Duffy, the American Government announced that, with a number of restrictions, federal funds would be made available for stem cell research, but this would be with established strains.

Why impacts of HRM are important on company growth Essay

Why impacts of HRM are important on company growth - Essay Example It includes activities related to staffing, training and development, performance review and evaluation as well as compensation,† (Jackson et al 2001:242). It can be noted that people are the most important resource in the production of goods and services and are capable of setting pace of company growth or otherwise. The human resource approach is more ideal as far as company growth is concerned. This is a twofold approach through which the organisation benefits in two ways where it seeks to increase its effectiveness as well as increasing the satisfaction of the workers. This approach posits that, rather than addressing organisational goals and employee needs as separate and exclusive, these are mutual and compatible: one set need not be gained at the expense of the other (Carell et al 1995). As noted already, the human resource is the major driver of the organisation and its development hence measures should be put in place that are meant to ensure that the need for the organisation to achieve its goals as well as satisfying the needs of the employees are balanced which can be a long term guarantee of organisational growth. Against this background, the study seeks to investigate why impacts of HRM are important on company growth. To a greater degree, the effectiveness of an organisation depends on the effectiveness of its employees. Thus, the main objective of this study is to investigate why the HRM function is pivotal in the effectiveness of the organisation. The hypothesis is meant to test the assertion that HRM is important on company growth. This will further investigate how company growth can be directly influenced by the performance of the human resource. Recruitment can be loosely defined as a process used by companies to select appropriate job candidates to fill vacant positions (Pfeffer 1989). Thus, recruitment efforts seek to fulfill the needs of both the applicant as well as those of the

John Steinbeck Essay Example for Free

John Steinbeck Essay Comparison between the portrayal of women in The Ostler by Wilkie Collins and in Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck In both the stories The Ostler by Wilkie Collins and Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck the authors have used the females, who are Rebecca in The Ostler and Curleys wife in Of Mice and Men to play important roles in developing the plot. Both of them considerably shape and alter the lives of those other characters around them. In The Ostler Rebecca is a young lady who meets Isaac and later marries him. She totally changes his life. However she has a darker side and later plots to kill him leaving Isaac living in fear for his life. Similarly in Of Mice and Men Curleys wife ends up causing the death of one of the principal characters, Lennie. So we can see that in both stories the women either threaten or cause the death of a main character. Both the stories were written some time ago, the Ostler being the older of the two, written in 1855. So the Ostler was set in the Victorian age. We know that in the Victorian age there were little opportunities for unmarried women. Rebecca is a good example of this. Before she met Isaac she was dependant on drugs. This is suggested on page 11 when Isaac meets Rebecca in the Chemists whilst he is buying medicine for his mother. The chemist said Its my opinion theres something wrong with her. Shes been asking for Laudanum to put on a bad tooth Its a case of suicide, sir, if ever there was one yet. Of Mice and Men was set in the great depression in America. Still there was little opportunity for women and most were unfairly treated. Curleys wife is portrayed as a lonely, isolated character who longs to be free from the tight reigns of her husband Curley. She spends much of her time flirting with the other men on the ranch, hungry for conversation. So in both stories the writers have portrayed the women as unfairly treated. Whether it was one of their aims to make their readers aware of the situation or whether the suggestion is just through their realistic reflection on the society they lived in we cannot tell. Although I wouldnt say that a strong emphasis is placed on the treatment of women and therefore I would argue that it was not their target but just one consequence of the story line. Rebecca is first introduced to us in the fourth paragraph on the first page, although we dont know who she is at that point. A detailed description is given of her, but she is not named. Light grey eyes and a droop in the left eyelid Flaxen hair with a gold streak in it Fair, white arms with a down in the little ladys hands, with a reddish look under the fingernails However after this description which Isaac is telling us in his sleep, then has a narrative signpost suggesting that this women is trouble. and the knife always the cursed knife first on one side, then on the other. It is suggested that there will be murder in the story and conveys a horror genre, a style very popular at that time. Similarly, In Of Mice and Men Curleys wife looks are portrayed as dangerous. Although we haer a description of Rebecca, it is only a feature of Isaacs nightmare. The same decription of Rebecca is then repeated when Isaac returns home to his mother and tells her of his dream. His mother writes the details down so that she doesnt forget them. His mother seems to be a suspicious women who believes the dream had a deeper significance and that it was a prophecy that Isaac would one day be killed by the women of the dream. It isnt until some time later, when his mother falls ill and he goes to the chemist, that he meets a lady who we find is called Rebecca, although Isaac doesnt recognize her from his dream. He thinks she will commit suicide so in an attempt to prevent her taking her life and also because he is strangely attracted to her, he plans to marry her. When he introduces Rebecca his mother recognizes her to be the women of the dream and tries to call off the marriage. However the marriage goes ahead. So you can see what a big part her looks played. It was her looks that first caused conflict in the marriage. Rebecca, who is upset that Isaacs mother, Mrs. Scatchard, does not like her, tries to be friendly towards his mother. However the relationship between Isaac and Rebecca deteriorates and when Isaac discovers Rebecca has bought a new knife, one like that of the dream and demands that he keeps the knife. This further upsets Rebecca and they get into a fight and she leaves. Isaac lived in fear wondering if she return and try to kill him like in the dream. He takes precautions to protect himself. Then one day she returns and tries to kill him. So he leaves. From that day forward he lived in fear.

Platos Analogy of the Cave Essay Example for Free

Platos Analogy of the Cave Essay Plato was a Greek Philosopher, who was a student of Socrates. The Analogy of the Cave in Plato’s Republic was written as a dialogue between Socrates and Plato’s brother Glaucon. In the Analogy of the Cave, Plato describes the prisoners who lived an isolated life in the confined space of a cave. Plato’s Analogy explains a philosopher’s journey to knowledge and the difficulty that he faces along the way and the prisoners in the cave who have not embarked on the journey to true knowledge and are living their lives, only seeing what is on the surface, and what they want to see. The Analogy relates to Plato’s Theory of Forms, which explains how the forms possess the ultimate reality. The World of Forms is the unseen world in which everything is constantly evolving and changing. The Analogy however, is the attempt to enlighten the prisoners and explain the philosophers place in society. He uses the story to explain the need to question everything like a philosopher does in order to distinguish between the unreal, physical world and the real spiritual world lit by the sun. The sun is the ultimate good and Plato gives the name of good the demiurge. The cave is a symbol of the world; it represents the World of Appearances based on what people see by their senses. It is an illusionary physical world in which people are trapped by ignorance and false truths. It is a world where people ignore the truth and are unenlightened. The prisoners are in this illusionary world where they think that what they are seeing is reality however it is not reality at all. In the cave there are shadows of truth and echoes of reality. It is filled with illusions. It is a world of senses where the prisoners have gained empirical knowledge which is flawed. Plato thinks that the prisoners’ situations are no different from ours, as we do not see the forms clearly, only the physical world. Plato believed that everything exists in its true, perfect form outside of the cave in the world of the forms. The Cave; the physical world imprisons a person by stopping them seeing the forms. The cave represents a world where everything comes to an end and will eventually die, however in the world of forms nothing will die or end. Everything is transcendent and evolving. People who leave the cave gain true vision and see reality. The cave can also represent  the body in which our souls (the prisoners) are trapped. Our souls constantly yearn for the World of Forms in which nothing ever decays. The cave may also represent society and the prisoners cannot see the world for what it really is as they are trapped in the claws of society. The prisoners are humans who have a lack of knowledge and are oblivious to the truth and reality. They are in an illusionary world. The prisoners are mankind or at least human thought and existence. They are chained mentally by culture; trapped in society and physically around their necks and feet, which means they are not able to move around. This means that their minds cannot wander elsewhere and they remain fixed on the shadows/their reality. The chains also represent humanities inability to become enlightened and our consciousness. Their reality is the shadows of truth and the echoes of reality. They have never seen true good, true reality; the sun. They represent human beings like us as they are ignorant and oblivious to the truth and the world of forms. Their minds are full of ignorance and false impressions. They have beards which show that they have been there since childhood, and that the darkness is all they know. The prisoners sit facing the wall and have spent their lives watching the shadow play. For them the appearance seems real, as they have never seen anything else. We have sympathy for the prisoners as they have been misguided and are oblivious to the ultimate good; the demiurge. They are people who accept everything at face value and never question or try to understand. Their lives are empty and meaningless. The people who carried the statues helped to shape the prisoners’ views however they also were thought to share the same views as the prisoners. In the ‘Republic’, Plato criticized philosophers and politicians who lead the people but do not actually know the truth. The people carrying the statues are like the philosophers and politicians; oblivious to the World of Forms. The prisoners also represent our souls, which are yearning to get to a higher place. They are trapped inside the body, which is a physical form. The shadows are made from ‘all sorts of vessels and statues and figures of animals’, a mere shadow show orchestrated by the unseen men. They are the shadows which create the false images of distorted truth. They are the limits of reality. The prisoner’s senses are misguided by the shadows. The shadows are deceitful; they are the false way people see things. The shadows that the prisoners look upon represent the perceived truth; the prisoners did not have the knowledge to look beyond the superficial, and only had the capacity to believe in shadows. We are also told about the fire. It burnt behind and above the prisoners. In front of the fire there was a puppet stage for the men to carry the object behind, this would cast the shadows. The only noises the prisoners would hear were the echoes of reality, and the only things the prisoners would see were the shadows of truth. The puppeteers are ignorant for carrying on teaching the prisoners false knowledge. The fire in the cave represents the power of the sun. The fire has the ability to illuminate the false truths inside the cave; it magnifies what the prisoners can see, which shows them what to believe in. The fire represents false and incomplete knowledge and is also deceitful. It represents the illusions that keep us in the dark from truth. The journey out of the cave is the journey to truth and reality; it demands that you must challenge your pre-conceived ideas. The prisoner’s journey out of the cave, his ascent is faced with hardships and struggles; escaping the chains, past the fire and up the steps. The reason the prisoner is described as being ‘dragged out the cave’ is because the journey is distressing and he is being forced out. Plato said ‘The object of knowledge is what exists and its function to know about reality’. It explains how reality is the world of forms and the job of the philosopher is to get knowledge, this is what the prisoner does when he goes out of the cave. He is the one who breaks away and makes the journey out; he is the philosopher who wants to know what is really going on. He wants to see past the distorted truths. ‘And those who strive for reality and knowledge are philosophers’. The escaped prisoner could represent Socrates (Plato’s tutor). The journey out of the cave symbolizes the journey of an average person into the world of knowledge and wisdom through philosophy. This is achieved by looking into the depths of meaning and searching for answers. The journey is uncomfortable as it requires the prisoner to challenge his beliefs. When the prisoner first breaks free he is in tremendous amounts of pain as his muscles have been unused for so long, and he is able to look directly at the fire rather than  just at the shadows. The path outside the cave is rocky, steep and unstable as the things that the prisoners once knew as reality are all becoming unclear. Once the prisoner is out of the cave, he is faced with the sun. The sun represents complete knowledge, wisdom and enlightenment. It represents the World of Forms, which the soul yearns to reach. It represents the ultimate good, the ideas/forms; the demiurge. It reveals the world to the prisoner, and how things can be if you come out of the shadows. It represents truth, beauty and justice. When the prisoner see’s the sun, he becomes temporarily blind; this represents the enlightenment because he has discovered a world past the shadows. A world which is real. The sun lets him see the true beauty of things, not the shadows that he saw before. Plato suggests that in this world, the sun gives both life to being as without light, we and the plants and animals would not grow and flourish, and provides light by which these things can be seen. The sun is the source of truth and reason; it represents the perfection of realities. Through the sun we will see the truth, real beauty and real justice. He comes to see a deeper reality, a reality marked by reason. Once the prisoner has embraced his new found knowledge, he wants to maintain it and no longer live a life of confinement trapped inside a cave. Once he sees reality, he makes a painful readjustment back into the darkness of the cave. This journey back is also painful as once he has seen reality, he does not wish to reminisce in the deceit of the past. However he is a good man, who gains true knowledge and wishes to enlighten the others. He could represent Socrates going to enlighten Athenian Society. When he gets to the prisoners, he seems mad, as he describes a new strange reality. They laugh at him and mock him, and reject him to the point of threatening to kill him. Their disagree shows how previous philosophers such as Socrates were penalized and laughed at for their beliefs and ultimately killed. Plato’s Analogy of the Cave is a representation of the human condition, under the circumstances of our basic beliefs and behaviors in society. It represents the lack of human knowledge, and the difference between the two  worlds. It shows that in the World of Appearances, everything we see or experience are shadows of The World of Forms, they are impure. They show that we live in a world full of flux and decay and we are just matter. The World of Appearances is a Visible World and a Finite World whereas The World of Forms is an Unseen World, full of phenomenons, forms and ideals. The World of Forms is constantly evolving and changing; ‘You cannot step into the same river twice’. The World of Forms is outside the cave, and it is where everyone aims to go. The soul yearns for a higher place.