s a general teaching that isbased on reasoning from experience andthat sets forth that reasoning. That teaching s partly theoretical (knowledgeof the nature of the princes) and partlypractical (knowledge of the rules withwhich the prince must comply)"(Strauss, Leo p. 55).Machiavelli never meant The Prince to be described as a scientific book. In The Discourses of Niccolo Machiavelli, published after his death, he refers to The Prince as a "treatise" (Strauss, Leo p. 55). Due to the principals that Machiavelli set forth of character, a treatise is a good definition of The Prince. In The Prince, Machiavelli used historical allusions, to make to illustrate his points. "The Romans, in the countries which they annexed, observed closely these measures; they sent colonies and maintained friendly relations with the minor powers.... (The Prince, p. 14)" Without these allusions to historical happenings, the examples that Machiavelli uses in The Prince wouldn't have any depth, nor would could the reader see the importance of them. Another example of history in The Prince, is the use of looking at past forms of governments to create new ideas for the future. When discussing the example of how to acquire and maintain a new state he starts with the way Alexander the Great took over Asia and then moves on to the more modern take acquisitions of the Turk and the French.The examples of [these] two governmentsin our time are the Turk and the Kingof France. The entire monarchy of theTurk is governed by one lord, the othersare his servants.... But the kingdom ofFrance is placed in the midst of an ancient body of lords, acknowledged by their own subjects and beloved by them;they have their own prerogatives, nor canthey take the king away from his peril. (The Prince p.22).Machiavelli uses historical allusions as a learning tool, and without them it would be nothing more than one man's ideas on how to run a state.Another case where Machiavelli alludes to a hi...
