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Machiavelli Rhetorical Questions

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While Nicholas Machiavelli argues that fear gives a king more control, it is Thomas More who is more justified with his position that a king must prioritize the people over themselves, as they will be content with a benevolent ruler, prompting more stability. When discussing whether a powerless lower class is threatening to a king, More sarcastically questions “who quarrel more than beggars do? Who long for a change more earnestly than the dissatisfied?” (More). More utilizes rhetorical questions instead of blatantly stating the answers, because they denote an obvious solution to the question, forcing readers to adopt his train of thought. In this instance, he uses them to point out that even though a peasant class may look criminally defenseless in the face of royalty, their …show more content…
However, Machiavelli believes that the rulers who are loved, actually have a greater chance of being betrayed and attacked as “men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves [one] by a dread of punishment which never fails” (Machiavelli). In order to add basis to his argument, Machiavelli employs the use of logical syllogism, in which he realizes that all people are naturally selfish and will take advantage of anyone’s kindness, prompting him to dissuade benevolent rulers as they will be a massive target. But, in his analysis, Machiavelli unfairly assumes that the lower class is always looking for ways to usurp power, unbeknownst to him, they just want to sustain a basic living, meaning that competition for power under a More type society isn’t actually

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