Discourses on Livy · Question
How does Discourses on Livy develop the theme of Necessity and Reason of State?
Answer
Discourses on Livy by Niccolò Machiavelli develops Necessity and Reason of State across the chapters the companion marks for this theme.
The book argues that when the safety of the country is at stake, no consideration of justice, mercy, or shame should intervene, and that rulers must sometimes employ harsh measures, including destroying rebellious cities, to secure lasting peace.
Cities are founded out of necessity (e.g., defense against enemies) or choice, and laws must enforce discipline to counteract the corrupting influence of ease.
The necessity of laws and institutions to compel good behavior when men are free to act on their evil inclinations.
Machiavelli emphasizes that human affairs cannot remain static and that necessity often forces a republic to expand, making the Roman model of accepting internal discord the more honorable and practical path.
Evidence in the book
- Chapter I: The Necessity of Renewal in Republics and Sects
Cities are founded out of necessity (e.g., defense against enemies) or choice, and laws must enforce discipline to counteract the corrupting influence of ease.
- III
The necessity of laws and institutions to compel good behavior when men are free to act on their evil inclinations.
- VI
Machiavelli emphasizes that human affairs cannot remain static and that necessity often forces a republic to expand, making the Roman model of accepting internal discord the more honorable and practical path.
- Why it is that changes from freedom to servitude, and from servitude to freedom, are sometimes made without bloodshed, but at other times reek with blood.
Machiavelli emphasizes the necessity of legal mechanisms to manage 'evil humours' and prevent the state from being overwhelmed by irregular violence or foreign intervention.
- VIII
The Romans' decisive use of a dictator to suppress calumny illustrates the necessity of strong legal measures to preserve order.
- IX
Machiavelli argues that extraordinary and violent actions are justified when necessary to found or reform a state for the common good.
- XI
Divine authority was necessary to introduce unusual laws; a state without religion must rely on a prince's short-lived qualities.
- XII
The Church's temporal policies, though self-serving, prevent Italian unification and necessitate foreign alliances.
