My Favorite Niccolo Machiavelli's Quote, The Prince


“Whosoever desires constant success must change his conduct with the times.”
In Chapter XXV - What Fortune Can Effect In Human Affairs And How To Withstand Her of The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, he pointed out the importance of changing one’s course of actions when the time and affairs change. For him, it is very crucial to accord your action to be able to cope up with the changes so that you can still be successful. Machiavelli believes that if a man has been successful doing things in such a way for certain undertakings, then such a man is bound to be ruined when the matters change unless he is willing to change too. With that, he claims that constant success can be achieved if the Prince changes his conduct with the times. Such message was quoted from Machiavelli which has aided people of history and today to be successful and I personally agree with his belief hence it has become my favorite quotation from him among his several significant ideologies.

“But a man is not often found sufficiently circumspect to know how to accommodate himself to the change, both because he cannot deviate from what nature inclines him to do, and also because, having always prospered by acting in one way, he cannot be persuaded that it is well to leave it; and, therefore, the cautious man, when it is time to turn adventurous, does not know how to do it, hence he is ruined; but had he changed his conduct with the times fortune would not have changed”(142) Such notion is practically applicable to numerous situations that a man takes in his life. Machiavelli may have pertained it to governing people and the nature of administration and its leaders, but the lesson extends to other dealings such as business, personal development, and especially nation-building. As the title of the chapter stated, changes may have been and are indeed inevitable which greatly affect human affairs; thus knowing how to withstand it directs to the key of fortune. By fortune, it meant success in such affairs that men have long sought over time. It is noteworthy to notice that Machiavelli used ‘her’ to refer to success. He supported such reference in the latter part of the chapter where he explicitly compared them and convincingly enough, considering the nature of men and women, “[success] is, therefore, always, woman-like, a lover of young men, because they are less cautious, more violent, and with more audacity command her” (144).

What makes such quote impactful in my life is its significance in my personal endeavors and aspirations. I know for a fact that I cannot achieve my goals if I would not ever dare to become adventurous and by that I mean – to become a risk-taker, an explorer, and a survivor of my past ordeals. One of my greatest fears is to be stagnant in the sense that I lose control and let things as they are, knowing that I could have done something. If I desire constant success, I must learn to change my conduct with the flow of times as I know I will be ruined if I don’t. Successful people, in my personal definition, have proved that we must embrace change and try not to defy it for defying change is playing still and not accepting it. The only way to go through life is to play it well – life is not stagnant, it’s ever-changing. If I won’t move, then I stop living. Success is not earned doing the same thing over again; it is obtained doing everything you can just to keep it yours even it costs you to change your ways.


References:
The Prince (1532) by Niccolo Machiavelli

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Essay

SOC SCIE 2 (Social, Economic, and Political Thought)
1 December 2018


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