George

I AIN'T NO GOD DAMN SUNNUVA BITCH!!!!!!!!

Thu, 17 Jun 2004 05:26:10 GMT

Franz Ferdinad tonight. With: Lizalexmattchrissydianna. They were ok. They played really well, I also really like their music, I just like their Recorded music better. Talked to Lizz, it got me very excited for London. Stank-Ass bitch was infront of me at the concert. She kept putting her arms in the air, and I kept smelling her BO. Stupid bitch. If Chrissy wasn't so NICE she probablly wouldn't have even stood near us. THANKS CHRISSY! But seriously, thanks for driving and everything. In other news: I am now a member of the Ritz Carlton softball team. I'm going to be an All-Star. I'm going to give up and become a stunt car driver.

Today's Fun Hitler Fact:

Tue, 25 May 2004 08:34:18 GMT

On Hermann Goering (Hitler's close friend, right hand man, and implementor of the concentration camps)

"Contemptuous of the International Tribunal convened at Nuremberg to try him[Goering] and other Nazi leaders, he said he wished he could condense his defense to just three words, 'Lick my ass.' " -Fuchs, Pg 181-182

I've heard it said that brevity is the mark of intelligence...............

I'm NOT GAY!!!!!!(but watching me dance will make you gay!!!!!!)

Tue, 25 May 2004 08:23:56 GMT

I have red sox seeeeeeeeeezzun tix. That makes me better than everyone who doesn't have them. Suddenly I have tons of new 'friends' saying "HEY YOUR GOING TO TAKE ME TO A GAME, RIGHT!?!?!?" This coming from people I don't even know/talk to/like. Then there's kid's (Andy) that give me shit for not taking them, even though I only have one ticket anyways.

Today I woke up. Then I went to the Gym. Pumped Iron. Called Mike. Went to look at his new apartment with Him and Jimmy. There are currently 4 girls living there, three of which who actually pay rent. They all decided that they were leaving except for the girl who does not pay the rent. She was all being a bitch like "This place ISN'T up for rent! Oh my God! I can't believe you didn't even call before you came over!" She was a psychobitch. So dumb. The Place really fucking rules though. It kicks ass. There is a giant back porch, it could hold 40 people!!!!!!! Then we went to the Movies to see Coffee and Cigarettes. That movie seriously kicks ass. Tom Waits. Iggy Pop. Rza, Gza. Bill Murrey. I thought that Meg white was kind of cute until I saw this movie. That bitch is totally busted. Her face is like a pale, chubby threeyearold with fucked up teeth. Jack was kind of cute though. "he's so ugly he's kind of hot". I think thats what a girl told me about him in a recent conversation, though I don't remember who. Walking from Coolidge to Allston kind of sucked. We got rained on like It wern't nobody's business. I both like and dislike walking in the rain. I was damp the rest of the night. There were some black guys in front of a Liquor store yelling about cocaine and weed. We (Jimmy Pearse Mike I) chilled at GZ for a little bit, then I drove mike home(to his car really).

I met up with Steve, Andy, and Brian at Andy's house. They were in the basement drinking beer and shooting billiards. We played doubles. Brian and I won the first game, Steve and Andy won the next two. Andy's dad came home and told us to try some kind of Rice Liquor. The shit was potent. It smelled like Tequila. Steve was toast, Brian was still functional. I declined the Liquor. Andy didn't have any. Brian when on to beat Andy's dad in one round of pool. Then Andy's dad took charge and gave him a serious beating in the next game. THEN, we were kind of standing arround, and Andy turns to the dad and says "blahblahblahblahblahblah(chinese) middle blah blahblahblahblahblahblahblah(chinese) EX-boyfriend!" and points to me. At this point they both start laughing. Slightly confused at first, I laughed along. Andy's dad is a real cool guy. I expected him to be more LBS. I mean, His mother is tiny, and his dad is normal size. Where the fuck does this kid get all the beef?

Then I followed Steve to his house, Drove Brian home to Brighton, Drove Steve back to his house. Tonight I picked up a 7 inch by RN'R entitled: "the suicide file".

Mike was talking about his fascination with Hitler today. This is strange because I have started to kind of study Hitler. I have a stack of books about him, and about the third Reich. I also have Mein Kamph, which, by the way, makes little sense. I even went so far as to put Hitler as my buddy Icon. This didn't last long as it made me feel like a horrible, slimy, disgusting person. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all of this knowledge I'm accumulating on Hitler. I kind of want to do something creative, like write a fictional story. I don't have the details worked out yet. I have never written anything worth reading, so I don't know why I think I could write a story about Hitler, but maybe I can.

New Keyboard KICKS ASS!!!!!!!!!
You thought that the website that Eddie posted was funny!?!?!?!??! Go Here: http://www2.b3ta.com/spidermanwillmakeyougay/ That Website puts Eddie's brand of "intellectual" humor to SHAME!!!!!!!

Well.

Sun, 23 May 2004 07:22:25 GMT

I was at Jimmy's apartment tonight. It was a real big party. TONS of people. Not as many as one of the parties I attended earlier in the year, but it was prety big. Someone set one of the dumpsters across from Jimmy's house on fire. THAT was crazy. I thought that the house next to the dumpster was going to catch on fire. Luckily, It didn't.

All the stress this year has passed. This last semester has been one of the toughest that I had. Even thought it was tough, I handled it better than any other time in my life, and that makes me feel accomplished. Next year is going to be insane. I'm living in LONDON!!!!!!! It's going to be the most exciting year of my life. Every single one of my firends has an open invitation to visit me while i'm in London, even the LAMEST friends are invited (Liz, Cheung, Osama). Friday Tuesday Monday Friday Sunday TOAST IT!

I need a fucking job.

Today Started out good.

Tue, 04 May 2004 02:41:51 GMT

But Ended out bad. And I don't know why. I think tomorrow will be better. I have been trying to write. It's good for me.

What are these dysfunctional families you speak of?
Today in History of the American Family one of my peers gave a presentation on the Dysfunctional family and the "Mirical Drugs" that help them out. The Presentation SUCKED. Sucked a lot of ass infact. It sucked so bad that I felt more informed on the subject before the presentation than I did after it. Don't even get me started on the kid's "Research" paper.

Professor McHale Wants me to enter my essay in a contest. I will post it here for future reference(A.KA. In case I punch my computer and break the hard drive....again). Professor McHale likes my Ideas. He thinks that I need to learn how to organize them better thats all.

Sox Played a bad brand of baseball tonight. I went to the Library to wind out. Today was productive, but Tense.

1
Willy Loman as a Tragic Hero
The Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller opens with Willy Loman coming home worn out, tired, and unhappy. His son, Biff, has just returned from seven years of wandering around America. Through a series of flashbacks the reader of the play learns more about the personalities and relationships in the Loman family.
Willy Loman is unhappy because he is not as successful as he makes himself out to be. He has tried to live vicariously through his oldest son, Biff, who has been offered a football scholarship to the University of Virginia. When Biff finds Willy cheating on his mother in Boston their relationship is destroyed. Instead of going off to college, Biff leaves home to wander around America.
Between flashbacks, Biff, after returning home from a seven-year absence, goes out searching for a financial opportunity in the form of a loan with which him and Happy will attempt to start their own chain of sporting goods stores. After a failed attempt at receiving the loan, Biff meets Happy and Willy at a restaurant. Shortly after he arrives at the restaurant, Willy has and outburst, which triggers a flashback for Willy about the confrontation that occurred between him and Biff in Boston. After being embarrassed by their father’s outburst, the brothers meet up with two girls and abandon Willy at the restaurant.
When Biff and Happy come home late at night they are chastised by their mother for leaving Willy at the restaurant. Willy comes downstairs and Biff confronts him about the lifestyle and values he had taught him. Biff rejects these values, and Willy sees this as spite. A verbal fight ensues and the argument ends with an emotional scene between Biff and Willy where Biff tells Willy that he loves him. After the argument, everybody except Willy goes to sleep. Willy feels that he has failed in raising Biff and the only way that he can make up for it is to put some money on the table. Since he does not have a job, suicide is his only option. He then leaves the house in his car and crashes it to kill himself.
Death of a Salesman is one of America’s most debated plays. One topic that is often debated is weather or not the play meets the definition of a true tragedy. Critic Richard Foster says that the play is not a tragedy for two reasons. First, he says that the main character has no stature in society, so the audience, therefore, has no emotional investment in the outcome of the play. To put it in his words: “Willy Loman is a childish and stupid human being, and his societal role of salesman is one of only very minor consequence”(82-83).
Foster’s point is very weak. He takes his definition of tragedy from Aristotle’s, which is almost two thousand years old and needs to be updated as Miller has done in his essay “Tragedy and the Common Man”:
I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were. On the face of it this ought to be obvious in the light of
modern psychiatry… which apply to everyone in similar emotional situations. (38)
Foster’s definition of tragedy comes from a time where only the affluent were educated, and the divide between the classes was much greater than they are today. The plight of the common man was of no interest to the intellectuals of ancient civilization.
Judging from his comments on Willy Loman it seems as thought Foster has a personal vendetta against his character. The fact that Willy Loman is a family man and not a man of any great social standing makes the audience more sensitive to his dilemma. Anyone can relate to a man who is trying to provide for his family.
Foster’s other point is that fate does not play a part in the outcome of the story. Again, Foster has made a point without seriously considering the historical context of the play or the background the characters. Willy Loman grew up believing in the American dream. The greatest factor in his life is his obsession with financial success. It blinds him to certain aspects of his life and leads him to lie to himself and to his family about his finical success. Willy is fated to futilely pursue his dreams.
The reader can see Willy’s infatuation with the American dream in his fantasies about is brother Ben. In Willie’s flashbacks, he is always asking Ben how he achieved such great success. Ben’s answer is always the same: “When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And, by God, I was rich!”(Miller 1038). This vague answer is the essence of the American dream. The American dream has never been a clear-cut path, but the general idea is to get rich, quick in a capitalist economy. To Willy, his brother is the American dream personified. These
fantasies about his brother show just how obsessed Willy is with the American dream.
In another one of the flashbacks involving Ben, Willy recalls telling him how rugged Biff is. Ben decides to test this and starts a boxing match with Biff. Ben then trips Biff and pins him down with the tip of his umbrella. Ben then says “Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the jungle that way”(Miller 1036). This is the ugly side of the American dream, the side that Willy does not comprehend and is, therefore, fated to fail.
The Point is made again when Charley talks to Willy about why he was fired from his job:
Willy: That snotnose. Imagine that? I named him. I named him Howard.
Charley: Willy, when’re you gonna realize that them things don’t mean anything? You named him Howard, but you can’t sell that. The
only thing you got in this world is what you can sell. And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman, and you don’t know that.
Willy: I’ve always tried to think otherwise, I guess. I always felt that
if a man was impressive, and well liked, that nothing----
Charley: Why must everybody like you? (Miller 1064)
Willy is most concerned with being well liked by his customers. He thinks that if a salesman is merely well liked, wealth and success will follow. As Charley points out, no direct correlation can be made between being well liked and being a successful businessman. Willy cannot understand this and is thus fated to fail at his dream of wealth and success.
During the confrontation between Willy and Biff, Willy tells Biff that he thinks what Biff is saying is out of spite. At the end of the argument, Willy realizes that Biff Loves him:
Willy: Loves me. (Wonderingly.) Always loved me. Isn’t that a remarkable thing? Ben, he’ll worship me for it!
Ben (with promise): It’s dark there, but full of diamonds.
Willy: Can you imagine that magnificence with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket? (Miller 1088)

Once Willy realizes that Biff loves him, he decides that the only way to make up for all of the mistakes he made in raising Biff is by killing himself so Biff and the family can receive the insurance money. In the end, Willy’s fatherly love drives him to suicide, which makes him a tragic figure.
Even thought Richard Foster uses the classical definition of tragedy put fourth by Aristotle, his definition is outdated. Through consumerism, mass culture, and public education, people of all classes are now able to express themselves publicly and are able to reach a greater audience than has ever been possible. Tragedy in a modern drama cannot be limited to a certain class of individuals. To do so would be snobbery.
As critic Steven Centola puts it:
Willy must ultimately be appreciated for valuing so highly the family and his role as a father. Even though he has misconceptions about this role, his inspiring pursuit of his forever elusive identity as the perfect father makes him a tragic figure.
The story of Willy Loman’s demise includes the two most important aspects of a tragic figure. Because of his personality, which dictates how he deals with his customers, he is fated not to succeed at being a salesman. Fate is the first major ingredient for a tragic figure. The other aspect is the tragic flaw, a virtue gone too far. His fatherly love for Biff is his ultimate undoing. Not only does his tragic flaw allow him to lead his son astray, it gives him a reason to justify killing himself.

------------

7
Works Cited
Centola, Steven R. “Family Values In Death of a Salesman.” C.L.A. Journal 37.1 (1993): 29-41.
Foster, Richard. “Confusion and Tragedy.” Hurrel. 82-88.
Hurrel, John. Two Modern American Tragedies. New York: Scribners 1961.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: A Portable Anthology. Ed. Janet Gardener, et al. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 1012-1090.
---,---. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” Hurrel. 38-40.

I'm INSANE!!

Mon, 12 Apr 2004 17:21:41 GMT

I've been trying to get a Saturday off for a long time so that I can go to Amherst to see Amy and Phil. Every time I get someone to agree to cover my Saturday shift, they quit. This upcoming week is going to be the best/worst week of my life. I have tickets to 4 Redsox games. A Midterm test, and Two papers due on friday. AND is supposed to rain all week. Fuck that! Rain is for assholes. Anyhow. I've got all my shit done for England. I just have to pick up my Recommendation from LeSota then turn it in at the Center for International Education. yup. By the way...... My AIM name GCamia816 was suspended. My new screen name is redsoxseezuntix. My new screen name Points out why I am superior to everyone in the world, especially Pedro "my vagina hurts" Martinez. SUCKMAHASS!(wass sorry I couldn't be the lunchman today)........SUCKMAHASS!!!!!!!!!!!

I have so Many Red Sox tickets......

Sun, 04 Apr 2004 03:52:46 GMT

I WIPE MY ASS WITH THEM YOU STUPID FUCK!

adsf

Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:42:40 GMT

Yaaaa SUCK!

So.

Wed, 26 Nov 2003 21:12:56 GMT

Was it all Really worth all the Pain? Was it? Yes. I think it was.

Today I didn't go to class. It pisses me off too much. So Instead I packed for home and now nobody is here. Things have changed for me. I don't feel like the same person. I think thats a good thing. Now It's like I live 2 lives. My life in Quincy, wich is strange for me. Old friends. Old times. Old Memories. Old Life. Different life. Now I live, what seems like to me, a completly different life. I'm now at "home" with my parents in Quincy. But I don't feel at home, I feel like a stranger in my own house and with my old friends too. I mean, there's some friendships that are just timless, friends who are like brothers to me. But the others seem to be just drifting away. Going their own ways. Doing different things. Or doing the Same Old thing. I guess i'm just Different. I don't know how, but I am. I don't Look for happiness in other people. But I seem distant and uncaring to some. I don't look forward to getting fucked up. I guess there's no Negative side to that. I like reading and writing more than I did in the past. I appreciate Tom Waits, all of his songs even the "Weird" ones more than I ever did before. Ninjas are the Ultimate life form. I think I'll be a ninja. Duece and I got a lighting job that will end us up in Ireland. We will be up on some Riverdance shit. Quality.

Wow!

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 22:38:34 GMT

Last Night I had a Dream that was a Political Metaphor. It was really weird. Killin' babies and all that shit.

Tonight is free Pizza Night at the Mental Hospital

Mon, 17 Nov 2003 22:23:56 GMT

FUCK YEAH!!!! FREE PIZZA!!!!!!!

Um.

Sun, 17 Aug 2003 07:00:24 GMT

Today was my birthday. Danny and Michell were very nice to me. It was cool of them. I feel lame. It must be because i'm in Limbo. Limbo is so gay. Mom said she would get me A George W. Bush action Figure as soon as they came out. I can't wait. Me and GW are going to do everything together.

Stripers Coke Beers and Guitars!

Sun, 03 Aug 2003 07:40:57 GMT

Need I say more? Sorry edzo for not showing at your house. redsox lost anyways, I would have just ended up breaking somefin' anyways, you know me. good look on grabbing that camera the other night by the way. WOW!!!! I am WIDE AWAKE!!!!!!

Q: What's better than working with a bunch of Drug Addicts, Alchoholics, and Retards?

Tue, 08 Jul 2003 15:20:53 GMT

A: NOTHING

I was chillin' with the guy from the meat room the other day. He's fucked. He's on all kinds of drugs. I walked in and Handed him the COD order, and the dude set it on fire. Then he called me a pussy for not wanting to play "Cabin Boy" with him. I was like "Whatever". Then, we were having a smoke break later on, and he was like "I need Drugs" then he called "Out Patient Care" to try and refill his subscription. They put him on hold and he started singing: "Smoking Reefer, Drinking Beers, Beating the Shit out of Queers". This guy is the real deal. He's off the hook.

Salem Has a Pissah Music Scene.

Mon, 07 Jul 2003 04:39:41 GMT

But I'm not 21. So All I can do Is sit outside Bars and listen. I need an ID. Does anybody have any Ideas???????/ ANYBODY!?!?!?!?!?!?!? (eddie)

Fuck Nomar

Wed, 02 Jul 2003 03:12:38 GMT

Fuck Nomar.

Crosby's is out of Controll.

Tue, 01 Jul 2003 15:13:36 GMT

Today the ex-skinhead guy hucked a ball of plastic wrap at Juana and called her a stupid bitch. She ran out of the store. I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard. Then, one of the retarted guys was putting away an order that was on a rolling cart. So this other guy who works in grocery was hid behind the rolling cart pushing it too and fro. The retarted guy was so confused. That place is off the hook. So many people deserve to be fired from that place.

Who SUCKS?!?!?!?!

Tue, 01 Jul 2003 03:14:55 GMT

Guess!!!

Please join me in a Moment of silence

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 15:34:18 GMT

Man Wielding Sword Kills 2, Wounds 3 in Grocery

Police shot and killed a sword-wielding man after he slashed and killed two former co-workers and wounded three other people at a supermarket where he used to bag groceries.

As we mourn the loss of a true ninja.

Road

Sun, 29 Jun 2003 04:46:01 GMT

So there. I see it. A longandwindingtwistingroad leading into light or dark. But is it light? Or is it Dark? The light in here makes it so hard to tell. Haha. Double V. Double U. Double back. Back to the road. The road can change, but there is only one road. Sure there are tributraries and forks and turns, but none of the matters, there is only one road. Afganistan. It reaches many places. It reaches many minds, many deathsicklyillgrossdisgustingporkchopeatingBrain. Ha ha. You'd like that, wouldn't you. True, you can find it there. But will you find it if you look? You might! But will you keep it if you look? Will you smoke em' if you got em'? Will you go away?.... Please? Maybe not. Too much longing leads to too much dependence and too much dependence leads to a lack of independence and a lack of independence leads to violence. So what. "Violence is good" we say "Violence is accecptable" we say. And so it is, for if we say, it must be, because we must believe. If we don't believe, we don't exist and must be shotburriedkiddnapedstabbedanddestroyed. Being GAYGAYGAY. You LOVE to be gay. Yes. You LOVE it in the ass. Yes. You LOVE to lick carpet. Yes. You LOVE to play with dildo's. Yes. Love's the greatest thing. No. Masochism. It has been said. But it has not been believed. It must be seen to be believed. Of course. We would have it no other way. Not by many, but an apple in the mouth is an apple out the ass, you know how they say. By believed I mean truly believed. Not what you think believed, but believing that comes from actuall experience(Like FUCKING). The more you think, the more you don't think, the more you don't think, the more dote you become. Protect your neck, NIGGA! (Cracka!) It depends on the pigment.

HA HA!!!!!!

Sat, 28 Jun 2003 20:08:39 GMT

Amy Cheung Has WICKED gravity. That I am thankfull for.

Read THIS your ignorant FUCK!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA 6 hours ain't bad.

Tue, 17 Jun 2003 21:25:57 GMT

Niccolo Machiavelli
A brief Examination of His Life, Work, and Influences

By George Camia

Dedicated to Niccolo M.

The Life and Times of Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in the city-state of Florence on May 3rd, 1469. Though the Machiavelli family was a rich and prominent, Niccolo was born to one of the poorest members of that family. By no means did he live a life of poverty, but he was not able to advance much at all in wealth or in power while he lived.
The first-rate education at that time was in Latin & Greek. Because his father could not afford the most expensive lessons with the most expensive teachers, Niccolo had a second-rate education studying latin with less outstanding teachers. Niccolo only stuck with this education for a few years. Most of Niccolo’s learning came from the reading that he did in his own personal library. Even though Niccolo’s dad was fairly poor, the one luxury that he did indulge in, when he had the money, was books. This was much to Niccolo’s benefit because instead of paying for an expensive education, he could learn at his own pace from his father’s books. In some ways, this was a better way of learning because of the way that the first-rate taught it’s pupils. The first-rate education was training the youth of Italy to be humanists. So, by learning on his own, Niccolo was able to grow up with a more unbiased train of though.
At the age of 29, Niccolo was appointed his first government position. He was made head of the 2nd chancery. In this position, Niccolo acted as the secretary and advisor to the Head of Foreign Affairs. In 1500 Niccolo was sent on a mission as a diplomat to France. While he was in France, Niccolo was able to observe a nation under the command of one Leader for the first time.
When Niccolo returned to Florence, Florence was under the rule of Cesare Borgia. Cesare Borgia was a strong and ruthless leader, yet he was very effective. Cesare Borgia knew how to effectively conquer, annex, and rule city-states and principalities. This was the man who first showed Niccolo some of the methods that he outlines in “The Prince”. Unfortunately, for Niccolo, Cesare Borgia’s reign was very short and he died after a short reign. Niccolo was disappointed by this, but immediately rose to a place of power after his death.
After Cesare Borgia, Piero Soderini was elected chief magistrate of Florence and Niccolo immediately became Soderini’s right hand man. The first thing that Niccolo did as Soderini’s right hand man was to push for a new Florentine militia. Niccolo wanted a militia mad up of Residents of Florence, not a militia made out of mercenaries, which Niccolo deemed worthless and not trustworthy.
In 1507 Niccolo was sent to Germany so that he could assess the Holy Roman Empire and the threat it posed to the Republic of Florence. Niccolo spent a couple of years there, then returned in 1509 to Florence.
On his return, Niccolo found Florence about to go to war with a neighboring city, Pisa. Niccolo took advantage of this situation to use the new Militia that he had started to build. Though Florence had tried in the past to take over Pisa with mercenary armies and had no good results, when Niccolo and His Florentine militia joined the fight, Florence was able to capture the city and expand the city-state to what it used to be.
immediately after the victory in Pisa, Niccolo was sent off to France(which happened to be Florence’s Ally at the time) to try and persuade Louis XII not to go to war with the Pope (Julius II). Louis XII would not listen to the attempted persuasions of Niccolo. Unsuccessful, Niccolo returned to Florence to perform his chancery duties and to prepare for war. Shortly after this, Louis started a schism, where he proclaimed someone else as the real pope. So, Again in 1511 Niccolo was sent to ask Louis to stop the schism, but, again, Louis would not listen. In 1512, Niccolo went to go find the False-Pope and to end the Schism himself, but he was too late to stop anything. As soon as Niccolo left Florence, the Pope, Julius II send the Holy League to dispose of Piero Soderini and the made the Medici family the head of the city-state of Florence. When Niccolo returned he found that he had lost his position in the government and he was soon thrown into jail for conspiracy against the Medici family.
After a short stay in jail, he was released. After his release, Niccolo tried to befriend the Medici family, but he failed. Now that Niccolo had been ousted from the government, he had plenty of free time to do other productive things, like writing.
Niccolo’s first work was “il principe” (The Prince). His work can be described as such: “His study of classical authors was combined with his experience of modern affairs” 1 . His book was pretty much a recipe book for how to gain and maintain power in a principality.
Around 1520, the Medici that the Pope had placed in Florence died. This provided some opportunity for Niccolo who got his friend to introduce him to the new leader in no time. Shortly after his introduction, the new Medici had Niccolo running political errands.
Shortly after this time Niccolo started to write another one of his most famous works: “Dell’arte della guerra”. He dedicated this book to his friend who and introduced him to the new Medici.
After completing a few political errands, Niccolo was appointed the official historiographer for the Republic of Florence. He was also appointed by Pope Leo X to compose a report on the state and past states of the Florentine government.
In 1521 Pope leo X died. At this Point the Medici in power in Florence (Giulio) wanted to restore the Florentine government. Giulio went to Niccolo for help, and Niccolo happily complied. With the Death of the New Pope (Pope Adrian) two years later, Giulio was elected the new pope.
By 1525 Niccolo had completed 8 volumes on the history of Florence. He presented them to the Pope, who was very pleased with them. The Pope gave Niccolo a big bonus for his work and encouraged him to continue. On thing that made Niccolo’s writing of history so interesting was that he wrote history more from a politician’s point of view than from a historian’s point of view. This made his works more valuable to political leaders such as the Pope.
In 1526, Niccolo was elected secretary to a department that was formed to fortify the defenses of Italy against the encroaching Holy Roman Empire. Niccolo went off to Rome when the Holy Roman Empire attacked. After Rome fell, Niccolo came back to Florence, where he tried, unsuccessfully, to gain his old position as head of the 2nd chancery. Within the Nex year Niccolo became very ill and died June 21st, 1527.

Machiavellian Tenets
Taken from “The Prince”

Niccolo’s Machiavelli’s classic book “The Prince” is a how to do it book about gaining and maintaining power in a Principality. The book can be broken down into two sections. The first section of the book will tell the reader how to acquire and solidify the power of a principality. The second part of the book tells the reader how to hold the reigns of that power and how to have a successful reign.
The First thing that Niccolo talks about is hereditary principalities. “Hereditary States are more easily kept than new ones and once a Prince is deprived of a hereditary state, it is easy for him to regain it.”2 Niccolo also tells us how to conquer a hereditary state. “Anyone who conquers such territories and wishes to hold on to them must do tow things: the first is to extinguish the ruling family; the second is to not to alter neither the laws nor the taxes. Thus, in a short time, they(the people) will become one with the conqueror’s original possessions (other States he has conquered).”3 Niccolo means that by conquering a state and then leaving the people to live their lives as they had before, one will gain the favor of the people and the favor of the people is something that is very important for a prince to have.
“It is the nature of things that as soon as a powerful foreigner enters a province, all the weaker powers in it will become his allies through envy of those who have been ruling over them.”4 In this tenet, Niccolo is telling us that if we were to conquer a state in a new province, we should become the leader and defender of the weaker states in the area and try to weaken the more powerful of them.
“When ills are recognized in advance, they are quickly cured. But when they are allowed to increase until everyone may recognize them, then remedy is no longer possible.”5 What Niccolo means by this is that a prince must pay close attention to the things, both good and bad, going on in his state. If the prince waits until the problem is clearly evident before he fixes it, it is too late and the problem will take it’s toll regardless of what you do to fix it.
“Wars Cannot be avoided and can only be deferred to the advantage of others”6 This tenet is about the occurrence of war. If Niccolo was around today, he might compare war to cancer. Though it may be harmful to go after the cancer and destroy it, it is better to go after it before it can spread and grow stronger. This is what Machiavelli was saying about war.
“Men almost always walk in paths beaten by others and act by imitation.”7 In this quote Machiavelli is encouraging the prince to use the successes of other princes as a model to work off of in building his own successful principality.
“If a target(or objective) is too far off, aim still farther off, not to strike so distant a mark, but rather to strike the desired target through the more ambitious aim.”8 In this tenet, Machiavelli tell us that if a goal seems impossible, just try to do better than that goal, and the original goal will be met fairly quickly.
“Without an opportunity, one’s abilities are wasted, without abilities, the opportunity would have risen in vain.”9 Here, Niccolo is telling us that fortune will not carry a Prince to success and it will not compensate for a lack of ability.
“Injuries must be committed all at once so that, being savored less, they will arouse less resentment. Benefits, on the other hand, should be bestowed little by little so as to be more fully savored.”10 What Niccolo is saying is that if a prince has to do anything mean or cruel to the people so that he can solidify his power, he must have foresight and commit all those acts in quick succession, so that they can be over and the people can begin to forget about the short period of hardship they went through. On the other hand, if one wishes gain the good will of the people by bestowing favors upon them, it would be best for him to give these favors out little by little so that it seems to the people that he is constantly doing good deeds for them.
“Only the good will of the people is vital to a prince. Otherwise he will be helpless in times of adversity.”11 In this tenet, Niccolo is saying that a smart Prince will always keep the good will of the people on his side because the Aristocrats are few and are less dangerous than the masses of people living in a city.
“It is the nature of men to feel as much bound by the favors they do as by those they receive.”12 Here Niccolo is saying that it is just as effective to employ the small favors of people as is would be if the Prince were to do a favor for them. He is saying that if someone does a favor for the prince and he acs grateful for the favor, that person will feel good about the favor and he will count himself loyal to the prince.
“The two most essential foundations for any state, weather it be old or new, or both old and new, are sound laws and sound military forces.”13 These are the two man factors that Machiavelli must be strong in a state for it to survive and prosper.
“Wise Princes have though it better to lose with their own troops than to win with those of others, judging it no true victory to win with another’s arms.”14 The point that Machiavelli is making here is that if a prince wins a war, but with someone else’s army(either an ally or a Militia), the victory will not be his, it will be the victory of whoever fought and won the battle(s) and all the prince has done by bringing them into the conflict was to increase their power and might when he actually meant to increase his own power
“When princes have given more thought to fine living than to arms, they have lost their state.”15 Here Niccolo is saying that the responsibilities of a prince are so great that if he takes time off and neglects to be constantly attending to the matters of the state, the state’s matters will be attended to by someone else, and then the prince would have lost the control of the state.
“Every wise prince should never submit to idleness in time of peace, but rather endeavor to turn such time to advantage so as to profit from it in adversity.”16 What Niccolo means of this, is that if a prince has worked hard to set up a successful principality, he must not sit back and rest after everything is under control, he must go out and prepare for any foreseeable hardship that may approach in the future.
“It is better to have a name for miserliness, which breeds disgrace without hatred, than in pursuing a name for liberality, (which leads to a) resort to rapacity, which breeds both disgrace and hatred.”17 If you are too generous as a Prince and try to uphold that, people will expect more and more out of you until you are forced to take from them so that you may preserve the state. They will resist you when you try to take from them, and then you will be forced to use harsh methods to get from them what you need to run the state and at that point they will dislike you and try to resist you.
“Is it better to be loved than feared? The answer is that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved.”18 This tenet is best described in Machiavelli’s own words: “Since men love as they themselves determine, but fear as their ruler determines, a wise prince must rely upon what he and not others can control. he need only to strive to avoid being hated.”19 Here, Machiavelli is saying that in principalities there are only 2 means of maintaining power, either through love, or through fear, and since love cannot be controlled by the prince, he says that I wise prince will chose fear.
“Men judge by the eye rather than by the hand, for all men can see a thing, but few come close enough to touch it. All men will see what you seem to be; only a few will know what you are, and those few will not dare to oppose the many who have the majesty of the state on their side to defend them.”20 What Machiavelli is saying is that on many occasions, a prince must be deadly, cunning, and sometimes wicked if he wishes to survive and if he wishes to preserve the state. He says that if you don’t let many people know of the ‘evil’

side of you and if you only show the good qualities when you are out in public, the people will still love you and respect you regardless of what the few who really know you will say.
“A prince need take little account of conspiracies if the people are disposed in his favor if they are opposed and hate him, however, he must fear every incident and every individual.”21 In this tenet, Niccolo states that all that you need to quell the danger of conspiracies is the good will of the people, for if the people back you up, they will more easily see the factions that are against you and they are likely to point them out to you.
“Princes should delegate unpopular duties to others while dispensing all favors directly themselves.”22 Another saying that you could use for this tenet is: Let others do the dirty work for you so that you don’t seem responsible for the things that would make the people upset.
“By arming your subjects, you make their arms your own.”23 This tenet only applies to a new prince in his homeland state. What he is saying is that if a prince follows Mac-Daddy’s previous tenets, he will have the love or at lest the good will of the people. So if the prince arms the people, he will have not only the good will of the people, but the arms that he gave him to back him up in a time of strife.
“He (the Prince) must arrange matters in such a way that the arms of the entire state will be in the hands of the soldiers who are native to his original domain.”24 This tenet applies to princes who are taking possession of a new state. It simply states that you must not allow the residents of that state to bear arms until you can be sure that you have won over their good will.
“I approve of those who erect fortresses and of those who do not. But I condemn anyone who, putting his trust in fortresses, will think it no great matter f he is hated by the people”25 Here Niccolo is saying that the most important thing that a prince can do to fortify himself as the head of a state is to get the good will of the people.
“Good advice ultimately derives from the prudence of the prince, and the prudence of the prince does not derive from good advice.”26 This tenet states that a prince should use good advice, but he should first pick his advisors carefully, then he should only heed the advice given to him when he needs it, and he should not let another boss him around.

3-2=1 Machiavellian(s)

Alexander The Great

Alexander the great was perhaps one of the greatest conquerors of all time. He was able to conquer and successfully control vast civilizations in his relatively short lifetime. Machiavelli studied Alexander very closely and took many of Alexander’s strategies and turned them into principals.
We can see plenty of examples of Alexander as a Machiavellian, or perhaps even a pre-Machiavellian in the way that he conquered any of his territories. Now I will talk about how he conquered Greece (mainly Athens and Thebes) and see how he applied Machiavellian principals to attain success.
Alexander was a student of Aristotle, one of the great philosophers of the time. He thought Alexander through the socratic method, which encourages one to think for on his own and builds problem solving skills.
When Alexander conquered Greece, he wasn’t even the king of Macedonia. He was still just a prince under his father’s (Philip) rule. His farther was away attending to business in another part of the Macedonian empire, so he left Alexander the task on conquering greece.
Alexander entered greece with a fairly large army of Macedonian troops. Before he attacked either Athens or Thebes, Alexander tried to ally with one or the other of the Greek city-states. Having no luck with this, he went out into the field against both armies (which were allied together). After humiliating both armies in a crushing victory, Alexander made his move first to the city-state of Athens.
Alexander knew that Athens was not a particularly proud state, and he also knew that their military didn’t have a very capable leadership. So he entered Athens with a large escort of soldiers bearing the Athenian dead and carried in tow all the Athenian POW’s. He then proceed to hold a burial ceremony at the center of the city for the Athenian soldiers that had been lost in the recent battle. Then, after the ceremony he released all of the Athenian soldiers, but first made them swear their loyalty never to raise arms against the Macedonians again. After these two gestures, the Athenian people were so moved that they voted Alexander a citizen of Athens. At this point, Alexander had a meeting with the lead government officials in which he abolished the athenian government. He kept the laws the same, but he put some of his own magistrates in charge of the government instead of the Athenian council.
When Alexander went into Thebes, it was a whole different story. He knew that Thebians were a proud people. He also knew that their military was well organized with some very capable leaders. This time, instead of trying to win the city over with kindness, he treated it fairly harshly. He first abolished the Thebian military by selling the Thebian soldiers into slavery and executing the thebian commanders. Then he abolished the Thebian government.
The most important thing that Alexander did was that he absolutely humiliated the Athenian and the Thebian military in a total defeat. He did this with an army of Macedonians, which was also his nationality. Machiavelli states that one of the most important things for a prince to use offensively is an army made out of natives from the Prince’s original territory.
The first thing that Alexander did when he got to Athens was to win the good will of the people. He used an uncommon strategy, but he gauged the temperament of the Athenian people correctly and was able to win them over with a few simple gestures. One thing that Machiavelli advocates more than anything else is the good will of the people. A prince must attain the good will of the people, for it is the only thing that will save him in times of trouble and strife. Then he made the the Athenian soldiers swear allegiance to him, and then he set them free. Setting the Athenian army fee was not a bad Idea because both Alexander and the Athenians knew that Alexander’s forces were by far the more superior of the two forces. To rise again against Alexander in rebellion would be useless, especially since he was such a fair and kind ruler. He was able to leave the Athenian people armed because he had made them his own.
When Alexander arrived at Thebes, he knew that the Thebians would not fall under his influence so easily. So, from a Machiavellian point of view, abolishing the army was the correct thing to do. Machiavelli says that, when a prince is taking possession of a new state, he must “arrange matter in such a way that the arms of the entire state will be in the hands of the soldiers who are native to his original domain.”27 Alexander also used another one of Machiavelli’s principals in abolishing the military right away: “In seizing a state, one ought to consider all the injuries he will be obliged to inflict and then proceed to inflict them all at once so as to avoid a frequent repetition of such acts.”28
Another Machiavellian move made by Alexander in both Athens and thebes was that he abolished the governments without altering any of the laws or customs of the city-state. In doing this, Alexander complied to yet another one of Machiavelli’s tenets: “Anyone who conquers such territories and wishes to hold on to them must do two things: The first is to extinguish the ruling family(or government in this case); The second is to alter neither the laws nor the taxes.”29
Though Alexander did not follow Machiavelli’s tenets, because he was before Machiavelli’s time, he did comply to many of them. Machiavelli actually studied Alexander the Great in depth, and i’m sure he used some of Alexander’s actions as a basis for some of the principles he put fourth in “The Prince”.

Bibliography

1. Encyclopedia Britannic. Volume 11. William Benton, Chicago, 1973.

2. Mauriso Viroli. Niccolo’s Smile a Biography of Machiavelli. Hill and Wang, New York, 1998.

3. Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince. Bantam Dell, New York, 1966.

4. Partha Bose. Alexander The Great’s Art of Strategy. Penguin Group(USA), New York, April 2003.

Today

Mon, 16 Jun 2003 02:26:19 GMT

Today I worked. Then, after work I went home for farther's day to hang out on my dad. Then I met up with deshler. We chilled for an hour. I did a little creepin' on [Bad username: Alex Harris] also known as The Man with the Axe

Fri, 13 Jun 2003 03:17:48 GMT

"I don't know man, he's smarter than your average bear"

"He also likes pot more than your average bear"

I just called my old roommate, Casey.

Sat, 07 Jun 2003 04:05:20 GMT

He's the man. I Miss his fuckin' ass. He's comming down to Salem Next wee. I'm fucking Psyched for that shit. It's going to be just like the good old dayz back in the 723. Man. Casey is a cool shit. I can't wait untill he visits and shit. Me and him are going to get so fucked up that we can't walk, and it's going to be the coolest ever This is the life. I've been drinking since 6. Now I'm taking shots of rum. Life is good when your soo drunk that you just don't care. fuck yeah! I don't give a fuck. waaaaaaaaa. I'm fucked up. I'm loving this shit. Tom Waits and Nick Cave is the only guys to keep me from being dead when I'm feeling shitty. I love those guys. Goodnight bitches.