Machiavelli in his classical style dedicates chapter eight to those who become.
Without much fuss over moral issues; he quickly sinks his teeth into the depth of the matter. Chapter eight is entitled "On Those Who Have Become Princes By Crime" and just as the title promises the next few pages are dedicated to this "sacred" task. In typical Machiavellian style I would like to set out a plan for this essay and will adhere to it without fancy rhetoric or superfluous words. First I shall summarize chapter eight, afterwards a critique will follow, In the critique I will discuss the validity of Machiavelli's argument and other various points that he makes.
Machiavelli starts chapter eight with a diagram of dichotomies, "But as there are two ways to rise from private citizen to prince- These two ways are through "some criminal or evil conduct" as Machiavelli puts it, or the rise to power "through the choice of his fellow citizens." This chapter moves on to deal in some detail with the first, the rise to power through evil deeds. Machiavelli chooses to provide the reader with two examples, one from antiquity and the other from his own era. The first example Machiavelli brings to us from the deeds of the ancients, is the story of how Agathocles the Sicilian became prince of Syracuse (361 - 298 B.C.E.). After joining the army he rose through the ranks to become the military governor of Syracuse, he convoked the full senate and upon a secret sign, his troops came in and wiped out the entire senate. After committing this atrocity, he proclaimed himself prince of Syracuse, and he held the city in his power this way, without public protest. Concerning the deeds of this man, Machiavelli stated that such actions "cannot be called "virtue"" and goes on further to say that " a man may get power by means like these, but not glory." Machiavelli also says that "luck" had little to play in his acquisition of power.
