title: Celsius

text: In the French language, the term "centigrade" also means one hundredth of a gradian, when used for angular measurement. The term "centesimal degree" was later introduced for temperatures but was also problematic, as it means gradian (one hundredth of a right angle) in the French and Spanish languages. The risk of confusion between temperature and angular measurement was eliminated in 1948 when the 9th meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures and the Comité International des Poids et Mesures (CIPM) formally adopted "degree Celsius" for temperature.


title: Celsius

text: While "Celsius" is the term commonly used in scientific work, "centigrade" remains in common use in English-speaking countries, especially in informal contexts.


title: Celsius

text: While in Australia from 1 September 1972, only Celsius measurements were given for temperature in weather reports/forecasts, it was not until February 1985 that the weather forecasts issued by the BBC switched from "centigrade" to "Celsius".


title: Celsius

text: Some key temperatures relating the Celsius scale to other temperature scales are shown in the table below.


title: Celsius

text: The "degree Celsius" has been the only SI unit whose full unit name contains an uppercase letter since 1967, when the SI base unit for temperature became the kelvin, replacing the capitalized term "degrees Kelvin". The plural form is "degrees Celsius".


title: Celsius

text: The general rule of the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) is that the numerical value always precedes the unit, and a space is always used to separate the unit from the number, (not "" or ""). The only exceptions to this rule are for the unit symbols for degree, minute, and second for plane angle (°, ′, and ″, respectively), for which no space is left between the numerical value and the unit symbol. Other languages, and various publishing houses, may follow different typographical rules.


title: Celsius

text: Unicode provides the Celsius symbol at code point . However, this is a compatibility character provided for roundtrip compatibility with legacy encodings. It easily allows correct rendering for vertically written East Asian scripts, such as Chinese. The Unicode standard explicitly discourages the use of this character: "In normal use, it is better to represent degrees Celsius "°C" with a sequence of + , rather than . For searching, treat these two sequences as identical."


title: Celsius

text: The degree Celsius is subject to the same rules as the kelvin with regard to the use of its unit name and symbol. Thus, besides expressing specific temperatures along its scale (e.g. "Gallium melts at 29.7646 °C" and "The temperature outside is 23 degrees Celsius"), the degree Celsius is also suitable for expressing temperature "intervals": differences between temperatures or their uncertainties (e.g. "The output of the heat exchanger is hotter by 40 degrees Celsius", and "Our standard uncertainty is ±3 °C"). Because of this dual usage, one must not rely upon the unit name or its symbol to denote that a quantity is a temperature interval; it must be unambiguous through context or explicit statement that the quantity is an interval. This is sometimes solved by using the symbol °C (pronounced "degrees Celsius") for a temperature, and C° (pronounced "Celsius degrees") for a temperature interval, although this usage is non-standard. Another way to express the same is , which can be commonly found in literature.


title: Celsius

text: Celsius measurement follows an interval system but not a ratio system; and it follows a relative scale not an absolute scale. For example, an object at 20 °C does not have twice the energy of when it is 10 °C; and 0 °C is not the lowest Celsius value. Thus, degrees Celsius is a useful interval measurement but does not possess the characteristics of ratio measures like weight or distance.


title: Celsius

text: In science and in engineering, the Celsius scale and the Kelvin scale are often used in combination in close contexts, e.g. "a measured value was 0.01023 °C with an uncertainty of 70 μK". This practice is permissible because the magnitude of the degree Celsius is equal to that of the kelvin. Notwithstanding the official endorsement provided by decision no. 3 of Resolution 3 of the 13th CGPM, which stated "a temperature interval may also be expressed in degrees Celsius", the practice of simultaneously using both °C and K remains widespread throughout the scientific world as the use of SI-prefixed forms of the degree Celsius (such as "μ°C" or "microdegrees Celsius") to express a temperature interval has not been well adopted.


title: Celsius

text: The melting and boiling points of water are no longer part of the definition of the Celsius scale. In 1948, the definition was changed to use the triple point of water. In 2005 the definition was further refined to use water with precisely defined isotopic composition (VSMOW) for the triple point. In 2019, the definition was changed to use the Boltzmann constant, completely decoupling the definition of the kelvin from the properties of water. Each of these formal definitions left the numerical values of the Celsius scale identical to the prior definition to within the limits of accuracy of the metrology of the time.


title: Celsius

text: When the melting and boiling points of water ceased being part of the definition, they became measured quantities instead. This is also true of the triple point.


title: Celsius

text: In 1948 when the 9th General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) in Resolution 3 first considered using the triple point of water as a defining point, the triple point was so close to being 0.01 °C greater than water's known melting point, it was simply defined as precisely 0.01 °C. However, later measurements showed that the difference between the triple and melting points of VSMOW is actually very slightly (< 0.001 °C) greater than 0.01 °C. Thus, the actual melting point of ice is very slightly (less than a thousandth of a degree) below 0 °C. Also, defining water's triple point at 273.16 K precisely defined the magnitude of each 1 °C increment in terms of the absolute thermodynamic temperature scale (referencing absolute zero). Now decoupled from the actual boiling point of water, the value "100 °C" is hotter than 0 °C – in absolute terms – by a factor of "exactly" (approximately 36.61% thermodynamically hotter). When adhering "strictly" to the two-point definition for calibration, the boiling point of VSMOW under one standard atmosphere of pressure was actually 373.1339 K (99.9839 °C). When calibrated to ITS-90 (a calibration standard comprising many definition points and commonly used for high-precision instrumentation), the boiling point of VSMOW was slightly less, about 99.974 °C.


title: Celsius

text: This boiling-point difference of 16.1 millikelvins between the Celsius scale's original definition and the previous one (based on absolute zero and the triple point) has little practical meaning in common daily applications because water's boiling point is very sensitive to variations in barometric pressure. For example, an altitude change of only 28 cm (11 in) causes the boiling point to change by one millikelvin.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Nicholas Daniel Latifi (born 29 June 1995) is a Canadian racing driver who last raced for Williams Racing under the Canadian flag in the 2022 Formula One World Championship. Latifi made his Formula One debut at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix and has served as a test and reserve driver for Renault, Force India and Williams. He finished runner-up in the 2019 Formula 2 Championship with DAMS. Latifi left Williams at the end of the 2022 season.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Born in Montreal, Latifi grew up in North York, Toronto. He is the son of Michael Latifi, an Iranian-Canadian businessman who is the CEO of Sofina Foods, Inc. and also owns the British Virgin Islands company Nidala. His mother, Marilena Latifi (née Russo), an Italian-Canadian with Sicilian parents, was born into the Saputo family which founded the dairy company Saputo Inc. Latifi has three siblings; Soph, Michael and Matthew.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi began his karting career in 2009, at the relatively late age of 13. In 2010, he finished as the runner-up in the Rotax Junior class of the Canadian National Karting Championship. Latifi continued competing in Canadian and American karting series until 2012, when he won the Florida Winter Tour championship in the Rotax DD2 class. He later made an appearance in the Shifter ROK class of the Florida Winter Tour in 2015, competing against former Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Nelson Piquet Jr.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi's single-seater debut came in the 2012 Italian Formula Three Championship with BVM. He finished the season in 7th place, having taken one win at the Vallelunga Circuit and three further podium finishes. At the start of the following year, Latifi raced in the 2013 Toyota Racing Series, finishing 9th in the championship with a best finish of 6th at Timaru and scoring points in every race. Latifi then took part in a full season of the FIA Formula 3 European Championship, driving for Carlin. He ended the season in 15th place, his best finishes being two 5th places at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring. During his European Formula 3 campaign, Latifi also raced in the British Formula 3 International Series, finishing 5th and taking two pole positions along with a podium finish at Brands Hatch. Additionally, he competed in the 2013 Masters of Formula 3 race at Zandvoort, qualifying 8th and finishing 7th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi continued racing in European Formula 3 in 2014, moving to Prema Powerteam alongside future Formula One competitor Esteban Ocon. Latifi finished 10th in the championship after missing the final round to compete in Formula Renault 3.5, with his best finish being 2nd place at Silverstone. In November 2014 he made his only appearance at the Macau Grand Prix. He qualified 9th, finishing 7th in the qualifying race and then taking 5th place in the main race.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi competed in the final three rounds of the 2014 Formula Renault 3.5 Series for Tech 1 Racing, taking 2nd place in the final race at Jerez and placing 20th in the standings. He then moved to Arden Motorsport and competed in a full season in 2015. He finished the season in 11th place, taking one fastest lap. His best finishes were two 4th places at Spa-Francorchamps and at the Red Bull Ring, to place 11th overall, behind teammate Egor Orudzhev.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi competed in the 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for Rehagen Racing, driving a Ford Mustang GT. In 2014, he made an appearance in the Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain driving for Redline Racing at Rockingham. He retired from the first round but scored a 4th-place finish in the second round. He had a longer campaign in 2015, competing in four of the eight rounds and taking 2nd place in the first race at Oulton Park. He finished 11th in the standings.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi made his debut in the GP2 Series at the 2014 Yas Marina round where he replaced Daniel Abt at Hilmer Motorsport. He finished the races in 22nd and 17th, placing 32nd in the championship.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In 2015, Latifi competed in four selected rounds with MP Motorsport, taking over Oliver Rowland's seat. Unfortunately, Latifi could not score any points and had a best finish of 11th during the Bahrain sprint race.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In 2016, he secured a full-time seat in the series at DAMS alongside Alex Lynn. He started his season in good fashion, taking second place at the first race in Barcelona, which would be his only podium of the year. He then went on to finish seventh in the sprint race. Despite this strong start, he could manage only two more points finishes during the season. He had a double retirement in Monaco, and a difficult weekend in Baku. His next points would come with tenth place at the first race of the Spielberg round. He came close to points in the Silverstone round, finishing 11th and tenth. In Spa-Francorchamps, Latifi was once again near point, finishing ninth during the sprint race. His next and last points finish of the season would come at the final round in Abu Dhabi, where he finished ninth in the feature race before dropping to 12th in the sprint. Overall, Latifi ended the season in 16th place in the championship with 23 points, ten places and 101 points behind teammate Lynn. DAMS finished fifth in the championship. At the end of the year, Latifi took part in post-season testing remaining with DAMS, and set the fastest lap time.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: The GP2 Series was re-branded as the Formula 2 Championship for 2017, and Latifi retained his seat at DAMS, now alongside Oliver Rowland. 2017 proved to be a far more successful year for Latifi. In the first round at Bahrain, Latifi scored points in the sprint race with fourth, having missed out on it during the feature race. In Barcelona, Latifi started ninth and finished sixth in the feature race. A good start saw him take the lead of the sprint race on lap 1 and led for much of the race. On lap 22, Latifi made a mistake, running wide through the gravel and allowing Nobuharu Matsushita and teammate Rowland to pass him. Nevertheless, he took his first podium of the year by finishing third and recording the fastest lap. Latifi had an unlucky weekend, retiring with an engine failure in the feature race while running eighth. It took a toll on his sprint race, as he could not rescue points in the sprint race and only finished 13th. Latifi qualified third in Baku, and finished in the same position. Latifi benefitted from collisions and retirements in the sprint race, to end third, capping off a highly successful weekend. Latifi achieved a second place finish in the feature race at the Red Bull Ring. He pitted the earliest of anyone which paid off, and finished only 1.3 seconds behind winner Charles Leclerc. Latifi finished eighth in the sprint race.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In Silverstone, Latifi finished the feature race in eighth. Starting third in the sprint, he drove a commanding race to take victory, marking his first race win in any racing series since 2012. In Budapest, Latifi finished second in the feature race, inheriting a place after Artem Markelov crashed near the end. In the sprint race, he


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: finished sixth. Latifi had an unfortunate weekend in Spa-Francorchamps. He was set to second for the feature race, but an engine failure saw the Canadian unable to take the start. From 18th in the sprint race, Latifi pressed on to finish ninth. In Monza, Latifi started only 14th for the feature race but made a supreme charge, climbing places to claim third and another podium in wet conditions. During the sprint race, front wing damage, mistakes and tyre degradation saw him slip to 16th. In Jerez, Latifi finished fourth in the feature race. From fifth in the sprint, he dispatched rivals to move into second place, and stayed there until the end. At the final round in Abu Dhabi Latifi charged from 11th to fifth in the feature race, before ending the season with third place and the fastest lap in the sprint race. Overall, Latifi ended the season 5th place in the championship with 178 points, two places and 13 points behind teammate Rowland. DAMS ended third in the championship. In an article by Motorsport.com, Latifi was ranked 14th of 20 of top junior single-seater drivers of 2017.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: He continued with DAMS in 2018, now partnering future Formula One teammate Alexander Albon in a season that proved less successful than 2017. During the Bahrain opening round, Latifi failed to score points, finishing 11th in the feature race and tenth in the sprint, despite starting from the pit lane in the latter race. In Baku, an issue in qualifying saw Latifi start last in the feature race. Despite that, he carved his way through the field and finished fifth, scoring his first points of the season. Starting fourth in the sprint race, Latifi zoomed into the lead by the first corner. He would soon be passed by Sérgio Sette Câmara, Nyck de Vries and future Formula One teammate George Russell to finish fourth. However, a disqualification from Sette Câmara saw Latifi promoted to third, and score his maiden podium of the year. During the third round in Barcelona, Latifi qualified sixth. However, Latifi stalled at the start of the feature race and was two minutes down the leader by the time he got going. Latifi finished 14th and last in the race, one lap down. In the sprint race, he salvaged a point in eighth place.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi started 18th in Monaco due to an incident-packed qualifying. He battled his way to ninth in the feature race and finished eighth in the sprint race. Latifi started tenth in France in the feature race. He was hit from behind and fell to 17th. However, he put in a storming drive to climb to seventh and score points. Starting second in the sprint race, Latifi fell down the order and contact on the final lap with Lando Norris saw him drop to eighth in the end. At the Red Bull Ring round, Latifi started 19th and finished 11th in the feature race. In the sprint race, Latifi secured a point with eighth place. In Silverstone, Latifi qualified 16th, tyre wear and contact hindered either of his races and he finished 16th and 17th. Latifi had another poor weekend in Hungary, qualifying 14th. He made his way into the top 10 of the feature race, before a broken alternator saw him retire with just a few laps to go. In the sprint race, Latifi soared to 13th from 19th on the opening lap, before contact with the retiring Maximilian Günther saw Latifi make a pit stop and finish 16th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In Spa-Francorchamps, Latifi started 12th in the feature race and pushed his way to eighth, taking reverse pole for the sprint race. From there, he won the sprint race by ten seconds, taking his only win of the year. Latifi qualified a decent fifth in Monza and finished in the same position in the feature race. He finished one place higher in the sprint race, having started in the same position. In Sochi, Latifi qualified fourth. He made a comeback after his pit stop, and finished second to round out a DAMS 1–2 finish. He later took 2nd place at the feature race in Sochi. In the sprint race, Latifi sprung from seventh to second by Turn 4, only for Alessio Lorandi to spin him into the wall at the next corner. Latifi had his best qualifying of the year in Yas Marina, qualifying third. However, Latifi stalled on the grid and was collected by Arjun Maini, both their cars massively destroyed. Fortunately, both drivers escaped unhurt. Latifi's car was repaired before the sprint race, only for him to stall again. He finished nearly a lap down in 15th place. Latifi ended the season in ninth place with 91 points, six places and 121 points behind teammate Albon. He scored a total of three podiums, including one win.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi remained at DAMS for the fourth consecutive season in 2019, alongside Sérgio Sette Câmara. During the opening Bahrain round, Latifi qualified fourth for the feature race. He moved to third at the start and by lap 9, took the lead of the race. A slow pit stop saw Latifi back down to fourth, but managed to re-pass them back and win his first F2 feature race by nine seconds. In the sprint race, a strong start saw him up to third on the opening lap, and was soon second when Luca Ghiotto pitted. But Ghiotto passed him later in the race and Latifi would finish third. His strong start saw him second in the championship. For the second round in Baku, Latifi qualified in seventh position. In an action-packed race, Latifi finished fourth, having lost out to Jordan King in the final laps. In the sprint race, Latifi quickly worked his way into the lead, taking it from Sean Gelael on lap 6 and never looked back to take victory and the championship lead. In Barcelona, Latifi secured the front row in qualifying. He passed Ghiotto at the start but eventually lost into turn 1 to Guanyu Zhou. With seven laps to go, Latifi reclaimed the lead from Zhou and took his third victory in five races. In the sprint race, Latifi ended sixth. After the first three rounds, Latifi led the championship, 30 points clear of 3rd-placed and eventual title rival Nyck de Vries.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: However, Latifi had a poor showing in the fourth round in Monaco, during which Latifi qualified eighth, compunded with a grid penalty. Latifi finished his feature race in 12th, following an incident with Sean Gelael. In the sprint race, Latifi ended tenth, in a track where overtaking was notoriously difficult. He also did set the fastest lap and gained two points. However, De Vries closed the gap to just one point. In France, Latifi secured fifth, after a slow pit stop in the feature race. Latifi finished sixth in the sprint race, having had a slow start. With De Vries winning the feature race, Latifi moved down to second in the championship, trailing by 12 points. In Austria, Latifi qualified in sixth position. During the feature race, on his 24th birthday, Latifi was comfortably running in the points before teammate Sette Câmara spun him round and fell to 19th. Latifi made a stirring recovery drive to finish ninth. Latifi mastered to sixth in the sprint race.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In Silverstone, Latifi started fourth in the feature race, and passed Sette Câmara on the first lap. He then duelled with Ghiotto mid-race after the pit stops, in which Latifi led for a few laps. However, Latifi settled for second after unable to find a way past Ghiotto. It was Latifi's first podium since the third round. In the sprint race, Latifi worked his way to fifth. By this point, De Vries had extended his championship lead to 21 points. In Hungary, Latifi qualified third, his first top 3 start of the season. He moved up to first place within the first few corners, passing Ghiotto and polesitter De Vries. He proceeded to take a dominant victory, which would be his final of the year. In the sprint race, Latifi secured seventh place. For the Spa-Francorchamps round, Latifi would have been set to start in 11th, with De Vries on pole. However, event was cancelled after lap 2 of the feature race, as a tragic accident claimed the life of Anthoine Hubert.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: In Monza, Latifi qualified sixth. He battled for the podium places in the beginning but on lap 13 made contact with Guanyu Zhou, damaging Latifi's front wing. In the sprint race, Latifi had no pace capping off his point-less weekend in tenth. At this point with two rounds to go, Latifi was still in second place in the championship trailing De Vries by 59 points, and ahead of third-placed Ghiotto by just nine points. Latifi then stated that he would "focus on consolidating second in the championship". In Russia, Latifi had his best qualifying of the year, securing second alongside De Vries. He drove a clean feature race and finished second to De Vries, who had clinched the title with enough of a points gap. In the sprint race, Latifi drove a solid race and finished fifth. In the Yas Marina season finale, Latifi started seventh in the feature race, and finished in the same position. In the sprint race, Ghiotto passed him at the start. But Latifi was back in second after he passed Giuliano Alesi. He went on to finish second in his final F2 race. Latifi ended the season with 214 points and as the championship runner-up to De Vries. He ended two places and 10 points ahead of teammate Sette Câmara, and helped DAMS claimed the teams' title. Latifi also achieved four wins, four other podium finishes and four fastest laps


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi was signed as Renault's new test driver for the 2016 season. He drove a Formula One car for the first time in a test in May of that year, completing 140 laps at Silverstone in the Renault-powered Lotus E20. His first test in an in-use Formula One car came on one year later at the post-race test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, driving the Renault R.S.17 and completing 141 laps. He later tested again for the team at the Hungaroring.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi was announced as a Force India test and reserve driver for the 2018 season. He first tested the Force India VJM11 after the Spanish Grand Prix, and racked up a total of 107 laps. He made his Grand Prix weekend debut with the team during the first practice session (FP1) of his home race in Canada, where he clocked a time of 1.17.145, which was 19th fastest. Latifi had another F1 test, after the Hungarian Grand Prix. Latifi added four more practice sessions at the German, Russian, Mexican and Brazilian Grands Prix.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: For the 2019 season Latifi joined Williams as a test and reserve driver. He made his testing debut with Williams at the Bahrain International Circuit, and there was more testing to follow at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He participated in six FP1 sessions that year, at the Canadian, French, Belgian, Mexican, United States and Brazilian Grands Prix. Latifi also took part in the 2019 post-season testing at the Yas Marina Circuit.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi joined Williams as a race driver for the season, replacing Robert Kubica and partnering former Formula 2 competitor George Russell. Latifi raced under an American license in 2020 after Canada's national sporting authority resigned its mandate from the FIA. However, Latifi is still officially recognised as Canadian on race weekends. Latifi's race number is 6, chosen as a reference to a nickname of his home city, Toronto. It was also the same number he used on his DAMS F2 car.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi was due to make his Formula One debut at the season-opening . He was entered into the race, however, it was later cancelled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His debut instead came at the where it did not go so smoothly at first. He crashed in Free practice 3 (FP3) but his car was able to be fixed in time for qualifying, and secured last on the grid in 20th. However, Latifi finished the race in 11th place after nine other cars retired during the race. For the , Latifi qualified 18th and would finish last in 17th during the race. He qualified 15th for the , the first and only time in 2020 that he would reach the second qualifying session. He made a good start in the race and ran as high as tenth before his pit stop. However, he was released into the path of Carlos Sainz Jr. after his pit stop and suffered a puncture on his rear-left tyre. Latifi had a spin on lap 43 later in the race, and eventually finished the race five laps behind the leaders.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi qualified 20th at the , having spun on his flying lap. He finished the race in 15th, and following the race, stated that he made his "first legit overtake in Formula 1", doing so on Kimi Räikkönen. Latifi had quiet races at the 70th Anniversary and the , in which he finished 19th and 18th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi qualified 19th. He made a two-stop during the race to finish 16th, ahead of Kevin Magnussen and only 2.8 seconds behind Charles Leclerc's Ferrari. The following race at the , Latifi qualified last, sharing the same row with teammate Russell. In the race, Latifi pitted just before Magnussen stopped on track, and gained numerous positions as the pit entry was closed during a safety car period. A red flag saw Latifi line up in ninth position before the race restart. He lost places to both Renaults at the start and Daniil Kvyat would follow suit. In the final few laps, Latifi overtook Räikkönen on worn tyres to finish 11th, matching his joint-best result. Latifi also finished ahead of five other cars including teammate Russell. At the Latifi qualified 19th and he was eliminated in a multi-car accident at the safety car restart. This marked his first Formula One retirement.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi qualified 19th again at the , having crashed in first practice. However, an engine saw him demoted to the back of the grid. He went on to finish 16th in the race, beating Russell. Latifi had poor weekends at the Eifel Grand Prix and the , he lacked pace and finished 14th and 18th respectively. At the , Latifi started 19th and ran as high as seventh before making his pit stop. After a late safety car, Latifi recorded another 11th place finish, finishing less than a second behind Antonio Giovinazzi.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi qualified 19th, having beached his car in the gravel at the end of Q1. He spun on the first lap having started from the pits and struggled for pace in the race. His race ended when he collided with Romain Grosjean, who was trying to unlap him. At the , Latifi qualified last, but demonstrated solid pace in the race to secure 14th, finishing ahead of both Alfa Romeo cars. For the , Latifi qualified 17th. He also outqualified a Formula 1 teammate for the first time, beating Jack Aitken, who was substituting for Russell. While running in 13th place ahead of both Alfa Romeo and Haas cars, an oil leak capped saw his race came to a premature end. The final round at Abu Dhabi saw Latifi qualify last, having spun whilst preparing for his flying lap. He finished his race in 17th, ahead of both Haas drivers. Latifi ended his debut season 21st in the drivers' championship, the lowest of all full-time drivers. Additionally, both him and the Williams team failed to score points.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Williams retained Latifi alongside George Russell for the season. During the season-opening , Latifi qualified 17th and retired in the race with a turbocharger issue. At the following race, the , Latifi advanced to Q2 and achieved his career-best qualifying position with 14th place. He did not finish the race after spinning on lap 1, and moments later collided with Nikita Mazepin. On the incident, Latifi only realised Mazepin had tagged him through the TV replay. At the , Latifi's highlight of the weekend being Mick Schumacher passing him late in the race. At the , Latifi had a lonely race, started 19th to finish in 16th place, just ahead of Fernando Alonso's Alpine and nearly crashed on the final lap.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: For his first ever , Latifi sported a one-off helmet in Williams' 750th race. Having started 18th, he finished the race in 15th place whilst "dehydrated" and "[forgetting] to connecting drinks tube". At the , Latifi qualified 16th in an incident-packed session. He finished the race in 13th place, but was given a 30-second penalty for not going through the pit lane despite being instructed to do so. He was re-classified 16th. At the , Latifi qualified 16th again, missing out on Q2 by 2 thousandths of a second. In a race with zero retirements, Latifi struggled to 18th place only ahead of both Haas drivers. At the Styrian Grand Prix, Latifi qualified 16th for the third race in a row, missing out by 33 thousandths of a second. He was hit by Pierre Gasly at the start, which caused a rear-right puncture in Latifi's tyre. Having to cope with blue flags, Latifi finished 17th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi had an uneventful weekend; starting 18th and finished 15th, before being demoted to 16th due to failing to slow during yellow flags. At the , Latifi had an uneventful weekend, he finished in 14th place. At the , Latifi qualified only 18th. Latifi capitalised on a first-lap incident saw him as high as third, after the race restart. He would eventually be overtaken by faster cars but eventually finish eighth, just ahead of teammate Russell. However, Latifi was promoted to seventh after Sebastian Vettel was disqualified over a fuel issue, scoring his first F1 points and describing his feelings as "super happy".


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the Belgian Grand Prix, Latifi followed his success from Hungary with a 12th place in qualifying. He was promoted to tenth following penalties for Valtteri Bottas and Lando Norris but started ninth after Sergio Pérez crashed on his reconnaissance lap. With the race run entirely behind the safety car, Latifi was classified ninth, whilst teammate Russell finished second meaning Williams scored a double points finish for the second consecutive race. This race would be Latifi's final points finish of the season. At the , Latifi progressed to Q2 for the second race in a row. However during a flying lap, Latifi lost control of his car and shunted into the wall, qualifying 14th. However, Latifi would be relegated to start from the pit lane due to change car components overnight. During the race, Latifi finished 17th, after struggling with tyres in the end.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi finished 14th in the sprint, having qualified 16th. In the race, Latifi was running in tenth place after the safety car restart but lost out to Esteban Ocon, finishing 11th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the Russian Grand Prix, Latifi qualified 14th but started 18th due to an engine penalty. He got stuck behind Nikita Mazepin for a while and retired on lap 47 with accident damage after colliding with the wall.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi had incident-packed and uncompetitive races at the Turkish, United States and Mexico City Grands Prix, finishing 17th, 15th and 17th respectively. At the , Latifi qualified 16th and Russell 17th, the first time Latifi has outqualified Russell in a qualifying session. He finished the sprint and the race in the same position.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Starting 17th at the , Latifi had a quiet race until lap 51, where his front-left tyre suffered a puncture and he was forced to retire. At the , Latifi qualified 17th, he avoided all the crashes during the race to finish 12th.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Latifi was running 16th and last whilst battling with Mick Schumacher when he crashed out of the race on lap 53, causing the safety car to be deployed. A controversial decision taken during the safety car period by race director Michael Masi allowed Max Verstappen, who was running in second place before the crash, to overtake leader Lewis Hamilton and win both the race and the World Drivers' Championship. Latifi subsequently apologized for the incident, for which he was the target of threats and hate messages from fans on social media. On 21 December, he released a statement on his website addressing the online abuse he received, which he described as "shocking – and something I am calling out."


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi stayed with Williams for the 2022 season, alongside a new teammate, former Red Bull driver Alex Albon.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi qualified last, in 20th for the first race in the new era. He lacked pace and finished 16th, only ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. At the , his weekend was "disappointing", as he crashed on his own during both qualifying and the race. At the , Latifi was involved in another crash in qualifying, this time colliding with Lance Stroll. Stroll was given a penalty for the incident. He finished 16th in the race, struggling for pace. At the , Latifi finished 16th in the race. By this point Latifi had yet to finish higher than 16th place while teammate Albon had scored a point. This saw Williams team boss Jost Capito to "rebuilt [his] confidence".


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi secured his highest finish up till that point, 14th in an incident-packed race. The saw him finish 16th, the first time he finished ahead of Albon as teammates. Latifi crashed on the formation lap of the Monaco Grand Prix, but managed to start the race, which he finished in 15th. After the race, Carlos Sainz accused Latifi of costing him the victory by holding him up under blue flags. At his first home , Latifi crossed the line in 16th place. Due to poor performances, Latifi was rumoured to be replaced by 2021 F2 champion Oscar Piastri following the Canadian Grand Prix, but Capito declined that statement.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi reached the third qualifying session (Q3) for the first time at the British Grand Prix, qualifying tenth. He improved to eighth at the start, but suffered floor damage later and eventually finished 12th. At the , Latifi once again suffered floor damage and retired on lap 48 to conserve engine wear. At the , Latifi retired after colliding with Kevin Magnussen on lap 38. At the Hungarian Grand Prix, Latifi topped the final practice session in wet conditions. However, he set the 20th fastest (and slowest) time of qualifying having made a mistake at the final corner of the Hungaroring on his final attempt in Q1 despite being fastest through the first sector. Front wing damage compromised the start of his race, and he finished just behind Albon in 18th place.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the , Latifi qualified in 17th place but started 11th due to grid penalties. On lap 2 of the race, Latifi spun and tagged Valtteri Bottas which knocked the Alfa Romeo driver out of the race. Latifi pitted for repairs and finished the race a lap down, in 18th place. Soon after that, before the , he revealed the criteria to secure his seat for the 2023 F1 season, which was to "deliver [Williams] some consistent performances."


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: At the Italian Grand Prix, teammate Albon was forced to withdraw from the weekend following FP2 due to appendicitis. This meant that Latifi's teammate for the qualifying session and Grand Prix was Nyck de Vries, who beat him to the F2 title in 2019. De Vries reached Q2 in the qualifying session, whilst Latifi didn't get out of Q1, missing a chicane on his final run. In the race, De Vries scored points, finishing ninth, whilst Latifi finished 15th. This meant that De Vries went ahead of Latifi in the Drivers' Championship. At the Singapore Grand Prix, Latifi started last and his race ended on lap 7 when he collided with Zhou Guanyu, which caused a puncture for Latifi and ultimately his retirement from the race. Additionally, Latifi was given a five-place grid drop for next race at the .


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Having qualified last in Japan, Latifi pitted for intermediate tyres at the end of a safety car restart, and narrowly beat Sebastian Vettel in the pit stops. It would be the right gamble, exiting in eighth. He held off Lando Norris to claim ninth place, and his first points of the season whilst describing it as a "nice reward". His result lifted him from 21st to 20th in the drivers' championship. Latifi finished last at the , as an early spin saw him ruin his pit strategy and was also compounded with a five-second penalty for forcing Mick Schumacher off track.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: Latifi left Williams at the end of the 2022 season after spending three seasons with the team. Despite the announcement, Latifi "[understood] the decision" made by Williams.


title: Nicholas Latifi

text: <nowiki>**</nowiki> Latifi was entered as third driver, but this was reversed ahead of the session.<br>


title: 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round

text: The second round of the qualification tournament for the 2022 FIFA World Cup from UEFA (also known as the UEFA play-offs) was contested by twelve teams from the UEFA segment of qualifying. The play-offs determined the final three European teams that joined the group winners at the World Cup in Qatar. The ten runners-up from the UEFA first round groups participated in the play-offs, along with two group winners from the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League. The teams were divided into three paths, each containing four teams, with each play-off path featuring two single-leg semi-finals, and one single-leg final. The matches took place in March and June 2022.


text: The qualification format was confirmed by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting in Nyon, Switzerland on 4 December 2019. The play-offs depended, in part, on results from the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League, although to a lesser degree than play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying tournament.


text: Unlike previous editions, the play-offs were not contested in two-legged ties. Instead, the twelve teams were split into three play-off paths, each containing four teams. Each play-off path was planned to feature two single-leg semi-finals on 24 March, and one single-leg final on 29 March 2022. The winners of the final in each play-off path qualified for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The semi-finals were hosted by the six best-ranked runners-up of the qualifying group stage, while the host of the final was determined by a draw.


text: The play-offs were played in single-leg knockout matches. If scores were level at the end of normal time, 30 minutes of extra time would be played, where each team was allowed to make a sixth substitution. If the scores remained tied, a penalty shoot-out would be used to determine the winner. Following approval from the UEFA Executive Committee in December 2019, the use of the video assistant referee system was approved for the entire World Cup qualification tournament.


text: Twelve teams advanced to the play-offs. Unlike previous editions, all participants were not decided solely on the results of the first round. Two of the twelve spots were allocated to group winners of the 2020–21 edition of the UEFA Nations League.


text: The ten runners-up from the UEFA first round advanced to the play-offs. Based on the results from the qualifying group stage, the six best-ranked teams were seeded, while the bottom four were unseeded in the semi-final draw.


text: Based on the 2020–21 UEFA Nations League overall ranking, the best two Nations League group winners that finished outside the top two of their qualifying group advanced to the play-offs and were unseeded in the semi-final draw.


text: Following the completion of the UEFA first round, the twelve teams that advanced to the play-offs were drawn into three paths of four teams on 26 November 2021, 17:00 CET, in Zürich, Switzerland. The following procedure was applied in the draw:


text: For political reasons related to the Russo-Ukrainian War, Russia and Ukraine could not be drawn into the same play-off path.


text: The six runners-up with the best group stage performance were seeded in the semi-final draw, while the remaining four runners-up and two teams advancing via the Nations League were unseeded. The seedings were as follows:


text: Paths A and B were affected by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February, a month before the semi-finals.


text: FIFA suspended Russia on 28 February, and announced on 8 March that their semi-final opponents Poland received a bye to the Path B final; a request by the Russian Football Union for a temporary lift of the ban was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on 18 March. An initial decision by FIFA on 27 February had ruled that Russia had to compete under the name "Football Union of Russia" (RFU) and without its flag or anthem, and play its home matches on neutral ground without spectators. By that point, the football associations of the other three teams in the Path (Czech Republic, Poland and Sweden) had refused to play any matches against Russia, regardless of location, a stance to which they remained committed following FIFA's initial decision.


text: In Path A, following a request by the Ukrainian Association of Football, on 8 March FIFA postponed the semi-final between Scotland and Ukraine until June 2022, along with the path final. In the interest of preventing further fixture congestion, the other semi-final match between Wales and Austria would go ahead as scheduled in March.


text: Four of the semi-final matches took place on 24 March, and two of the final matches on 29 March 2022. In Path A, one semi-final and the final were postponed to 1 and 5 June 2022, respectively, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The kick-off times were confirmed on 26 November 2021 following the draw. As part of UEFA's scheduling, the losing semi-finalists of each path played a friendly match against each other on the day of the play-off finals.


text: On 17 January 2022, following a UEFA request, FIFA announced the expiration of yellow cards received during the qualifying group stage, thus preventing suspensions in the play-off finals due to yellow cards received in the semi-finals. However, yellow card suspensions accumulated at the end of the qualifying group stage were still carried forward to the play-offs.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Dave Gahan (; born David Callcott; 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the electronic band Depeche Mode since their debut in 1980. "Q" magazine ranked Gahan No. 73 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers" and No. 27 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Frontmen". Gahan is known for his "commanding presence on stage" and his "huge, deep baritone voice". In 2020, Gahan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Depeche Mode.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Although his bandmate Martin Gore continues to be the main songwriter for Depeche Mode, Gahan has contributed a number of songs to the albums "Playing the Angel" (2005), "Sounds of the Universe" (2009), "Delta Machine" (2013), and "Spirit" (2017). Four of these songs were released as singles, including "Suffer Well" in 2005, "Hole to Feed" in 2009, "Should Be Higher" in 2013, and "Cover Me" in 2017.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan's albums as a solo artist are "Paper Monsters" (released 2003) and "Hourglass" (2007). He also contributed lyrics and sang lead vocals on the Soulsavers albums "The Light the Dead See" (2012), "Angels & Ghosts" (2015), and "Imposter" (2021).


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan was born as David Callcott into a working-class family, to parents Len Callcott (a bus driver of Malaysian British ancestry) and his wife Sylvia (a conductress or "clippy" on London buses), Dave was only six months old when his father left the family. Sylvia and Len divorced two years later and his mother moved Dave and sister Sue (born 1960) to Basildon, Essex, after Sylvia met and married her second husband Jack Gahan (an administrator with Shell Oil). The Gahan family continued to grow with the birth of two more half-brothers Peter (born 1966) and Phil (born 1968). Dave and Sue were raised under the impression that their mother's second husband, Jack, was their natural father.


title: Dave Gahan

text: When Gahan was nine years old, his stepfather died. His father showed up again when he was 10. "I'll never forget that day. When I came home from school, there was this stranger in my mum's house. My mother introduced him to me as my real dad. I remember I said, that was impossible because my father was dead. How was I supposed to know who that man was? From that day on, Len often visited the house, until one year later he disappeared again, forever this time."


title: Dave Gahan

text: While attending Barstable School on Timberlog Close in Basildon, Gahan started playing truant, got into trouble with the police, was suspended from school and ended up in juvenile court three times for offences ranging from joyriding and graffiti to criminal damage and theft. He enjoyed the thrill of stealing cars, driving them around, and setting them alight. Gahan tells of the time: "I was pretty wild. I loved the excitement of nicking a motor, screeching off and being chased by the police. Hiding behind the wall with your heart beating gives you a real kick – 'will they get you?.


title: Dave Gahan

text: In his final year at school, he applied for a job as an apprentice fitter with North Thames Gas. His probation officer told him to be honest with the interviewer, and as a result, he admitted his criminal record but claimed he was a "reformed character." As a result, he did not get the job which, he claimed, led to him trashing his probation officer's office. His punishment was spending Saturdays for several weeks at an attendance centre in Romford for one year. Gahan recalls: "You had to work. I remember doing boxing, stuff like that. You had to have your hair cut. It was every weekend, so you were deprived of your weekend and it seemed like forever. I was told very clearly that my next thing was detention centre. To be honest, music saved me."


title: Dave Gahan

text: In March 1980, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke formed the band Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals and guitar, Gore on keyboards and Fletcher on bass. Clarke and Fletcher soon switched to synthesizers. The same year, Gahan joined the band after Clarke heard him perform David Bowie's "Heroes." The band was soon renamed "Depeche Mode", a name suggested by Gahan after he had come across a fashion magazine called "Dépêche-mode". A new wave/synthpop pioneer of the early 1980s, Depeche Mode have released 14 studio albums, four greatest hits compilations and two remix albums. The band has achieved global sales in excess of 100 million records. Four of the band's singles have reached number one on "Billboard"'s Alternative Songs chart: "Enjoy the Silence" (1990), "Policy of Truth" (1990), "I Feel You" (1993), and "Walking in My Shoes" (1993).


title: Dave Gahan

text: In a 2003 interview, Gahan shared that "During the making of "Exciter", sometimes I felt a bit frustrated that there was a lack of experimentation." This led him, in 2004, to tell his bandmates that he wanted to write half of the songs on their next album, and there was "no way" he could be involved in the band without contributing as a songwriter. Eventually, there was a compromise, and three of Gahan's songs appeared on 2005's "Playing the Angel": "Suffer Well" (nominated for a Grammy award), "I Want It All" and "Nothing's Impossible." "Suffer Well" was released as a single in 2006, reaching No. 12 in the UK. Gahan also wrote the lyrics to the B-side "Oh Well", although the music was written by Martin Gore. It was their first writing collaboration.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan's persona onstage is influenced by Dave Vanian, frontman of The Damned. He has also credited David Bowie, James Brown, Elvis Presley and Prince as influences.


title: Dave Gahan

text: In 2003, Gahan released his first solo album, "Paper Monsters" (which he co-wrote with guitarist and friend Knox Chandler), followed by the "Paper Monsters Tour" (including a performance at 2003's Glastonbury Festival), singing both his new solo tracks and Depeche Mode fan favourites. The album was a moderate success. The first single "Dirty Sticky Floors" hit the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart. The album became a Top 10 hit on the European album chart and a Top 40 hit in the UK Albums Chart.


title: Dave Gahan

text: In 2007, Gahan announced he was working on a new album via a video greeting for Depeche Mode's official website recorded at the 2007 MusiCares Charity event on 11 May. The album, entitled "Hourglass", was accompanied working by Andrew Phillpott and Christian Eigner. The material was recorded at Gahan's 11th Floor Studios in New York City. According to Gahan, "Hourglass" is more electronic-sounding than "Paper Monsters". The album made the UK Top 50, the French Top 20 and narrowly missed going to No. 1 in Germany. The first single to be pulled from "Hourglass" was "Kingdom".


title: Dave Gahan

text: In July 2007, "Side-Line" magazine revealed that Gahan had been working with Thomas Anselmi on a project called Mirror, which was produced by Vincent Jones. Along with Jones, who played with Gahan's touring band and mixed the live DVD "Live Monsters", Mirror featured another Gahan collaborator, Knox Chandler (Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Psychedelic Furs), as well as piano by Bowie favourite Mike Garson, and a monologue by Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro. Gahan sang vocals on the track "Nostalgia". The song was released in October 2008, and the album released via download at the start of 2009. He also appeared in the accompanying video for the song.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan also contributed vocals to a track called "Visitors", after walking in while producer and ex-Clor guitarist Luke Smith was working on the song in his New York studio. The song was released under the artist name of frYars.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan is the lead singer and lyricist on Soulsavers' fourth studio album "The Light the Dead See". The album was released on 21 May 2012.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan sings and plays harmonica on "Low Guns", the first single from the 2014 album "The Morning After" by English band SixToes. The single was released on 18 November 2013. The SixToes remix of "Jezebel" was released on the special edition of "Sounds of the Universe" in 2009. Members of SixToes also collaborated with Soulsavers, on the album "The Light the Dead See".


title: Dave Gahan

text: In 2017, Gahan featured on "Null + Voids" song "Where I wait" from the album "Cryosleep" where the song features three times in different remixes.


title: Dave Gahan

text: In 2018, a remix of the Goldfrapp single "Ocean" featuring guest vocals from Gahan was released as a digital download on 21 May 2018. Regarding the collaboration, the Goldfrapp issued a statement: "Working with Dave Gahan on the new version of 'Ocean' had been a real honor for us as a band."


title: Dave Gahan

text: In 2021, Gahan contributed a cover of the Metallica song "Nothing Else Matters" to the charity tribute album "The Metallica Blacklist" and did guest vocals on a single from Jenny Lee Lindberg. On November 12, 2021, Gahan released an album of covers called "Imposter" with Soulsavers.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan has lived in New York City since 1997. He lives with his third wife, Jennifer Sklias Gahan, their daughter, and Jennifer’s son from a previous relationship, whom Gahan officially adopted in 2010. Gahan also has a biological son named Jack from his first marriage to Joanne Fox. Gahan's marriage to his second wife, Teresa Conroy, a former Depeche Mode publicist, lasted four years.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan is a convert to the Greek Orthodox Church. In a 2008 interview, he had explained his religious faith in the following words: "When it comes to religion, it’s very confusing and always has been for thousands of years and probably will be for thousands of years more. I don’t know what it is I believe in, but I know that I feel a sense of some kind of higher power, for lack of better words."


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan is a recovering heroin addict. He has survived four brushes with death, living up to the nickname "The Cat", which paramedics gave him during his roughest years in Los Angeles. In October 1993, Gahan suffered a minor drug-induced heart attack during a performance in New Orleans, leaving his bandmates to improvise an encore without him. In August 1995, he attempted suicide by slashing his wrists; Gahan later said it was a "cry for help", and had "made sure there were people who might find me".


title: Dave Gahan

text: On 28 May 1996, Gahan overdosed on a speedball at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles, which resulted in his heart stopping for two minutes until he was revived by paramedics. He said he had an out-of-body experience: "All I saw and all I felt at first was complete darkness. I've never been in a space that was blacker, and I remember feeling that whatever it was I was doing, it was really wrong. Then the next thing I remember was seeing myself on the floor, on the steps outside my hotel bathroom, and there was a lot of activity going on around me ... In some ways it was very liberating. Then I came to and a cop was handcuffing me. It certainly wasn't a place I'd like to visit again." Several months later, after facing drug charges, Gahan sought help at a rehabilitation center.


title: Dave Gahan

text: On 12 May 2009, shortly before Depeche Mode were due onstage in Athens, Greece, for a concert for their Tour of the Universe, Gahan fell ill in his dressing room. He was rushed to hospital where it was suspected he was suffering from a bout of gastroenteritis. An ultrasound revealed a malignant tumor in his bladder, which was removed. Several shows were postponed and Gahan underwent cancer treatments during the remaining three months of the tour.


title: Dave Gahan

text: Gahan suffered a torn calf muscle while performing in Bilbao, Spain, on 9 July 2009, resulting in two further cancellations. After a two-week break, he and Depeche Mode returned to the tour for their North American leg. While performing in Seattle on 10 August 2009, Gahan strained his vocal cords. Doctors ordered Gahan complete vocal rest, resulting in two more cancelled shows.


title: Dave Gahan

text: In May 2011, Gahan was honored at the seventh annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert in Los Angeles for more than 10 years of sobriety.


title: The Prince

text: The Prince ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of "The Prince" is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.


title: The Prince

text: From Machiavelli's correspondence, a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, "De Principatibus" ("Of Principalities"). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was carried out with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of "The Prince" in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings".


title: The Prince

text: Although "The Prince" was written as if it were a traditional work in the "mirrors for princes" style, it was generally agreed as being especially innovative. This is partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice that had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's "Divine Comedy" and other works of Renaissance literature.


title: The Prince

text: "The Prince" is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the "effectual" truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It is also notable for being in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time, particularly those concerning politics and ethics.


title: The Prince

text: Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli's works, and the one most responsible for bringing the word "Machiavellian" into usage as a pejorative. It even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "" and "" in Western countries. In subject matter, it overlaps with the much longer "Discourses on Livy", which was written a few years later. In its use of near-contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli to which "The Prince" has been compared is the "Life of Castruccio Castracani".


title: The Prince

text: Each part of "The Prince" has been extensively commented on over centuries. The work has a recognizable structure, for the most part indicated by the author himself. It can be summarized as:


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli prefaces his work with an introductory letter to Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, the recipient of his work.


title: The Prince

text: "The Prince" starts by describing the subject matter it will handle. In the first sentence, Machiavelli uses the word "state" (Italian "stato", which could also mean "status") to cover, in neutral terms, "all forms of organization of supreme political power, whether republican or princely." The way in which the word "state" came to acquire this modern type of meaning during the Renaissance has been the subject of much academic debate, with this sentence and similar ones in the works of Machiavelli being considered particularly important.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli says that "The Prince" would be about princedoms, mentioning that he has written about republics elsewhere (a reference to the "Discourses on Livy"), but in fact, he mixes discussion of republics into this work in many places, effectively treating republics as a type of princedom, also, and one with many strengths. More importantly, and less traditionally, he distinguishes new princedoms from hereditary established princedoms. He deals with hereditary princedoms quickly in Chapter 2, saying that they are much easier to rule. For such a prince, "unless extraordinary vices cause him to be hated, it is reasonable to expect that his subjects will be naturally well disposed towards him". , comparing this claim to traditional presentations of advice for princes, wrote that the novelty in chapters 1 and 2 is the "deliberate purpose of dealing with a new ruler who will need to establish himself in defiance of custom". Normally, these types of works were addressed only to hereditary princes. He thinks Machiavelli may have been influenced by Tacitus as well as his own experience.


title: The Prince

text: This categorization of regime types is also "un-Aristotelian" and apparently simpler than the traditional one found for example in Aristotle's "Politics", which divides regimes into those ruled by a single monarch, an oligarchy, or by the people, in a democracy. Machiavelli also ignores the classical distinctions between the good and corrupt forms, for example between monarchy and tyranny.


title: The Prince

text: Xenophon, though, made exactly the same distinction between types of rulers in the beginning of his "Education of Cyrus", where he says that, concerning the knowledge of how to rule human beings, Cyrus the Great, his exemplary prince, was very different "from all other kings, both those who have inherited their thrones from their fathers and those who have gained their crowns by their own efforts".


title: The Prince

text: New princedoms are either totally new, or they are "mixed", meaning that they are new parts of an older state, already belonging to that prince.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli generalizes that there were several virtuous Roman ways to hold a newly acquired province, using a republic as an example of how new princes can act:


title: The Prince

text: More generally, Machiavelli emphasizes that one should have regard not only for present problems, but also for the future ones. One should not "enjoy the benefit of time", but rather the benefit of one's virtue and prudence, because time can bring evil, as well as good.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli notes in this chapter on the "natural and ordinary desire to acquire" and as such, those who act on this desire can be "praised or blamed" depending on the success of their acquisitions. He then goes into detail about how the King of France failed in his conquest of Italy, even saying how he could have succeeded. Machiavelli views doing harm to enemies as a necessity, stating, "if an injury is to be done to a man, it should be so severe that the prince is not in fear of revenge".


title: The Prince

text: In some cases, the old king of the conquered kingdom depended on his lords; 16th-century France, or in other words France as it was at the time of writing of "The Prince", is given by Machiavelli as an example of such a kingdom. These are easy to enter, but difficult to hold.


title: The Prince

text: When the kingdom revolves around the king, with everyone else his servant, then it is difficult to enter, but easy to hold. The solution is to eliminate the old bloodline of the prince. Machiavelli used the Persian empire of Darius III, conquered by Alexander the Great, to illustrate this point, and then noted that the Medici, if they think about it, will find this historical example similar to the "kingdom of the Turk" (Ottoman Empire) in their time – making this a potentially easier conquest to hold than France would be.


title: The Prince

text: notes that this chapter is quite atypical of any previous books for princes. Gilbert supposed the need to discuss conquering free republics is linked to Machiavelli's project to unite Italy, which contained some free republics. As he also notes, the chapter in any case makes it clear that holding such a state is highly difficult for a prince. Machiavelli gives three options:


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli advises the ruler to go the first route, stating that if a prince does not destroy a city, he can expect "to be destroyed by it".


title: The Prince

text: Princes who rise to power through their own skill and resources (their "virtue") rather than luck tend to have a hard time rising to the top, but once they reach the top they are very secure in their position. This is because they effectively crush their opponents and earn great respect from everyone else. Because they are strong and more self-sufficient, they have to make fewer compromises with their allies.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli writes that reforming an existing order is one of the most dangerous and difficult things a prince can do. Part of the reason is that people are naturally resistant to change and reform. Those who benefited from the old order will resist change very fiercely. By contrast, those who can benefit from the new order will be less fierce in their support, because the new order is unfamiliar and they are not certain it will live up to its promises. Moreover, it is impossible for the prince to satisfy everybody's expectations. Inevitably, he will disappoint some of his followers. Therefore, a prince must have the means to force his supporters to keep supporting him even when they start having second thoughts, otherwise he will lose his power. Only armed prophets, like Moses, succeed in bringing lasting change. Machiavelli claims that Moses killed uncountable numbers of his own people in order to enforce his will.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli was not the first thinker to notice this pattern. Allan Gilbert wrote: "In wishing new laws and yet seeing danger in them Machiavelli was not himself an innovator," because this idea was traditional and could be found in Aristotle's writings. But Machiavelli went much further than any other author in his emphasis on this aim, and Gilbert associates Machiavelli's emphasis upon such drastic aims with the level of corruption to be found in Italy.


title: The Prince

text: According to Machiavelli, when a prince comes to power through luck or the blessings of powerful figures within the regime, he typically has an easy time gaining power but a hard time keeping it thereafter, because his power is dependent on his benefactors' goodwill. He does not command the loyalty of the armies and officials that maintain his authority, and these can be withdrawn from him at a whim. Having risen the easy way, it is not even certain such a prince has the skill and strength to stand on his own feet.


title: The Prince

text: This is not necessarily true in every case. Machiavelli cites Cesare Borgia as an example of a lucky prince who escaped this pattern. Through cunning political maneuvers, he managed to secure his power base. Cesare was made commander of the papal armies by his father, Pope Alexander VI, but was also heavily dependent on mercenary armies loyal to the Orsini brothers and the support of the French king. Borgia won over the allegiance of the Orsini brothers' followers with better pay and prestigious government posts. To pacify the Romagna, he sent in his henchman, Remirro de Orco, to commit acts of violence. When Remirro started to become hated for his actions, Borgia responded by ordering him to be "cut in two" to show the people that the cruelty was not from him, although it was. When some of his mercenary captains started to plot against him, he had them captured and executed. When it looked as though the king of France would abandon him, Borgia sought new alliances.


title: The Prince

text: Finally, Machiavelli makes a point that bringing new benefits to a conquered people will not be enough to cancel the memory of old injuries, an idea Allan Gilbert said can be found in Tacitus and Seneca the Younger.


title: The Prince

text: Conquests by "criminal virtue" are ones in which the new prince secures his power through cruel, immoral deeds, such as the elimination of political rivals.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli's offers two rulers to imitate, Agathocles of Syracuse and Oliverotto Euffreducci. After Agathocles became Praetor of Syracuse, he called a meeting of the city's elite. At his signal, his soldiers killed all the senators and the wealthiest citizens, completely destroying the old oligarchy. He declared himself ruler with no opposition. So secure was his power that he could afford to absent himself to go off on military campaigns in Africa.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli then states that the behavior of Agathocles is not simply virtue, as he says, "Yet one cannot call it virtue to kill one's citizens, betray one's friends, to be without faith, without mercy, without religion; these modes can enable one to acquire empire, but not glory. [...] Nonetheless, his savage cruelty and inhumanity, together with his infinite crimes, do not permit him to be celebrated among the most excellent men. Thus, one cannot attribute to fortune or virtue what he achieved without either."


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli then goes to his next example, Oliverotto de Fermo, an Italian "condottiero" who recently came to power by killing all his enemies, including his uncle Giovanni Fogliani, at a banquet. After he laid siege to the governing council and terrified the citizenry, he had then set up a government with himself as absolute ruler. However, in an ironic twist, Oliverotto was killed the same way his opponents were, as Cesare Borgia had him strangled after he invited Oliverotto and Vitellozzo Vitelli to a friendly setting.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli advises that a prince should carefully calculate all the wicked deeds he needs to do to secure his power, and then execute them all in one stroke. In this way, his subjects will slowly forget his cruel deeds and the prince can better align himself with his subjects. Princes who fail to do this, who hesitate in their ruthlessness, will have to "keep a knife by his side" and protect himself at all costs, as he can never trust himself amongst his subjects.


title: The Prince

text: A "civil principality" is one in which a citizen comes to power "not through crime or other intolerable violence", but by the support of his fellow citizens. This, he says, does not require extreme virtue or fortune, only "fortunate astuteness".


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli makes an important distinction between two groups that are present in every city, and have very different appetites driving them: the "great" and the "people". The "great" wish to oppress and rule the "people", while the "people" wish "not" to be ruled or oppressed. A principality is not the only outcome possible from these appetites, because it can also lead to either "liberty" or "license".


title: The Prince

text: A principality is put into place either by the "great" or the "people" when they have the opportunity to take power, but find resistance from the other side. They assign a leader who can be popular to the people while the great benefit, or a strong authority defending the people against the great.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli goes on to say that a prince who obtains power through the support of the nobles has a harder time staying in power than someone who is chosen by the common people; since the former finds himself surrounded by people who consider themselves his equals. He has to resort to malevolent measures to satisfy the nobles. One cannot by fair dealing, and without injury to others, satisfy the nobles, but you can satisfy the people, for their object is more righteous than that of the nobles, the latter wishing to oppress, while the former only desire not to be oppressed.Also a prince cannot afford to keep the common people hostile as they are larger in number while the nobles smaller.


title: The Prince

text: Therefore, the great should be made and unmade every day. Two types of great people might be encountered:


title: The Prince

text: The way to judge the strength of a princedom is to see whether it can defend itself, or whether it needs to depend on allies. This does not just mean that the cities should be prepared and the people trained; a prince who is hated is also exposed.


title: The Prince

text: This type of "princedom" refers for example explicitly to the Catholic church, which is of course not traditionally thought of as a princedom. According to Machiavelli, these are relatively easy to maintain, once founded. They do not need to defend themselves militarily, nor to govern their subjects.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli discusses the recent history of the Church as if it were a princedom that was in competition to conquer Italy against other princes. He points to factionalism as a historical weak point in the Church, and points to the recent example of the Borgia family as a better strategy which almost worked. He then explicitly proposes that the Medici are now in a position to try the same thing.


title: The Prince

text: Having discussed the various types of principalities, Machiavelli turns to the ways a state can attack other territories or defend itself. The two most essential foundations for any state, whether old or new, are sound laws and strong military forces.


title: The Prince

text: A self-sufficient prince is one who can meet any enemy on the battlefield. He should be "armed" with his own arms. However, a prince that relies solely on fortifications or on the help of others and stands on the defensive is not self-sufficient. If he cannot raise a formidable army, but must rely on defense, he must fortify his city. A well-fortified city is unlikely to be attacked, and if it is, most armies cannot endure an extended siege. However, during a siege a virtuous prince will keep the morale of his subjects high while removing all dissenters. Thus, as long as the city is properly defended and has enough supplies, a wise prince can withstand any siege.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli stands strongly against the use of mercenaries, and in this he was innovative, and he also had personal experience in Florence. He believes they are useless to a ruler because they are undisciplined, cowardly, and without any loyalty, being motivated only by money. Machiavelli attributes the Italian city states’ weakness to their reliance on mercenary armies.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli also warns against using auxiliary forces, troops borrowed from an ally, because if they win, the employer is under their favor and if they lose, he is ruined. Auxiliary forces are more dangerous than mercenary forces because they are united and controlled by capable leaders who may turn against the employer.


title: The Prince

text: The main concern for a prince should be war, or the preparation thereof, not books. Through war a hereditary prince maintains his power or a private citizen rises to power. Machiavelli advises that a prince must frequently hunt in order to keep his body fit and learn the landscape surrounding his kingdom. Through this, he can best learn how to protect his territory and advance upon others. For intellectual strength, he is advised to study great military men so he may imitate their successes and avoid their mistakes. A prince who is diligent in times of peace will be ready in times of adversity. Machiavelli writes, “thus, when fortune turns against him he will be prepared to resist it.”


title: The Prince

text: Each of the following chapters presents a discussion about a particular virtue or vice that a prince might have, and is therefore structured in a way which appears like traditional advice for a prince. However, the advice is far from traditional.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli believes that a prince's main focus should be on perfecting the art of war. He believes that by taking this profession an aspiring prince will be able to acquire a state, and will be able to maintain what he has gained. He claims that "being disarmed makes you despised." He believes that the only way to ensure loyalty from one's soldiers is to understand military matters.


title: The Prince

text: The two activities Machiavelli recommends practicing to prepare for war are physical and mental. Physically, he believes rulers should learn the landscape of their territories. Mentally, he encouraged the study of past military events. He also warns against idleness.


title: The Prince

text: Because, says Machiavelli, he wants to write something useful to those who understand, he thought it more fitting "to go directly to the effectual truth (""verità effettuale"") of the thing than to the imagination of it". This section is one where Machiavelli's pragmatic ideal can be seen most clearly. Machiavelli reasons that since princes come across men who are evil, he should learn how to be equally evil himself, and use this ability or not according to necessity. Concerning the behavior of a prince toward his subjects, Machiavelli announces that he will depart from what other writers say, and writes:


title: The Prince

text: Since there are many possible qualities that a prince can be said to possess, he must not be overly concerned about having all the good ones. Also, a prince may be perceived to be merciful, faithful, humane, frank, and religious, but most important is only to "seem" to have these qualities. A "prince" cannot truly have these qualities because at times it is "necessary" to act against them. Although a bad reputation should be avoided, it is sometimes necessary to have one. In fact, he must sometimes deliberately choose evil:


title: The Prince

text: If a prince is overly generous to his subjects, Machiavelli asserts he will not be appreciated, and will only cause greed for more. Additionally, being overly generous is not economical, because eventually all resources will be exhausted. This results in higher taxes, and will bring grief upon the prince. Then, if he decides to discontinue or limit his generosity, he will be labeled as a miser. Thus, Machiavelli summarizes that guarding against the people's hatred is more important than building up a reputation for generosity. A wise prince should be willing to be more reputed a miser than be hated for trying to be too generous.


title: The Prince

text: On the other hand: "of what is not yours or your subjects' one can be a bigger giver, as were Cyrus, Caesar, and Alexander, because spending what is someone else's does not take reputation from you but adds it to you; only spending your own hurts you".


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli begins this chapter by addressing how mercy can be misused which will harm the prince and his dominion. He ends by stating that a prince should not shrink from being cruel if it means that it will keep his subjects in line. After all, it will help him maintain his rule. He gives the example of Cesare Borgia, whose cruelty protected him from rebellions. He does not contrast this example with the leaders of Florence, who, through too much mercy, allowed disorders to plague their city.


title: The Prince

text: In addressing the question of whether it is better to be loved or feared, Machiavelli writes, "The answer is that one would like to be both the one and the other; but because it is difficult to combine them, it is far safer to be feared than loved if you cannot be both." As Machiavelli asserts, commitments made in peace are not always kept in adversity; however, commitments made in fear are kept out of fear. Yet, a prince must ensure that he is not feared to the point of hatred, which is very possible.


title: The Prince

text: This chapter is possibly the most well-known of the work, and it is important because of the reasoning behind Machiavelli's famous idea that it is better to be feared than loved. His justification is purely pragmatic; as he notes, "Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared." Fear is used as a means to ensure obedience from his subjects, and security for the prince. Above all, Machiavelli argues, a prince should not interfere with the property of their subjects or their women, and if they should try to kill someone, they should do it with a convenient justification.


title: The Prince

text: Regarding the troops of the prince, fear is absolutely necessary to keep a large garrison united and a prince should not mind the thought of cruelty in that regard. For a prince who leads his own army, it is imperative for him to observe cruelty because that is the only way he can command his soldiers' absolute respect. Machiavelli compares two great military leaders: Hannibal and Scipio Africanus. Although Hannibal's army consisted of men of various races, they were never rebellious because they feared their leader. Machiavelli says this required "inhuman cruelty" which he refers to as a virtue. Scipio's men, on the other hand, were known for their mutiny and dissension, due to Scipio's "excessive mercy" – which was, however, a source of glory because he lived in a republic.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli notes that a prince is praised for keeping his word. However, he also notes that in reality, the most cunning princes succeed politically. A prince, therefore, should only keep his word when it suits his purposes, but do his utmost to maintain the illusion that he does keep his word and that he is reliable in that regard. Machiavelli advises the ruler to become a "great liar and deceiver", and that men are so easy to deceive, that the ruler won't have an issue with lying to others. He justifies this by saying that men are wicked, and never keep their words, therefore the ruler doesn't have to keep his.


title: The Prince

text: As Machiavelli notes, "He should appear to be compassionate, faithful to his word, guileless, and devout. And indeed he should be so. But his disposition should be such that, if he needs to be the opposite, he knows how." As noted in chapter 15, the prince must appear to be virtuous in order to hide his actions, and he should be able to be otherwise when the time calls for it; that includes being able to lie, though however much he lies he should always keep the appearance of being truthful.


title: The Prince

text: In this chapter, Machiavelli uses "beasts" as a metaphor for unscrupulous behavior. He states that while lawful conduct is part of the nature of men, a prince should learn how to use the nature of both men and beasts wisely to ensure the stability of his regime. In this chapter however, his focus is solely on the "beastly" natures. In particular, he compares the use of force to the "lion", and the use of deception to the "fox", and advises the prince to study them both. In employing this metaphor, Machiavelli apparently references "De Officiis" by the Roman orator and statesman Cicero, and subverts its conclusion, arguing instead that dishonorable behavior is sometimes politically necessary.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli divides the fears which monarchs should have into internal (domestic) and external (foreign) fears. Internal fears exist inside his kingdom and focus on his subjects, Machiavelli warns to be suspicious of everyone when hostile attitudes emerge. Machiavelli observes that the majority of men are content as long as they are not deprived of their property and women, and only a minority of men are ambitious enough to be a concern. A prince should command respect through his conduct, because a prince who raises no contempt of the nobles and maintains the satisfaction of the people, Machiavelli assures, should have no fear of conspirators working with external powers. Conspiracy is very difficult and risky in such a situation.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli apparently seems to go back on his rule that a prince can evade hate, as he says that he will eventually be hated by someone, so he should seek to avoid being hated by the commonfolk.


title: The Prince

text: Roman emperors, on the other hand, had not only the majority and ambitious minority, but also a cruel and greedy military, who created extra problems as they demanded iniquity. While a prince should avoid being hated, he will eventually be hated by someone, so he must at least avoid the hatred of the most powerful, and for the Roman emperors this included the military who demanded iniquity against the people out of their own greed. He uses Septimius Severus as a model for new rulers to emulate, as he "embodied both the fox and the lion". Severus outwitted and killed his military rivals, and although he oppressed the people, Machiavelli says that he kept the common people "satisfied and stupified".


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli notes that in his time only the Turkish empire had the problem of the Romans, because in other lands the people had become more powerful than the military.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli mentions that placing fortresses in conquered territories, although it sometimes works, often fails. Using fortresses can be a good plan, but Machiavelli says he shall "blame anyone who, trusting in fortresses, thinks little of being hated by the people". He cited Caterina Sforza, who used a fortress to defend herself but was eventually betrayed by her people.


title: The Prince

text: A prince truly earns honour by completing great feats. King Ferdinand of Spain is cited by Machiavelli as an example of a monarch who gained esteem by showing his ability through great feats and who, in the name of religion, conquered many territories and kept his subjects occupied so that they had no chance to rebel.


title: The Prince

text: Regarding two warring states, Machiavelli asserts it is always wiser to choose a side, rather than to be neutral. Machiavelli then provides the following reasons why:


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli also notes that it is wise for a prince not to ally with a stronger force unless compelled to do so. In conclusion, the most important virtue is having the wisdom to discern what ventures will come with the most reward and then pursuing them courageously.


title: The Prince

text: The selection of good servants is reflected directly upon the prince's intelligence, so if they are loyal, the prince is considered wise; however, when they are otherwise, the prince is open to adverse criticism. Machiavelli asserts that there are three types of intelligence:


title: The Prince

text: If the prince does not have the first type of intelligence, he should at the very least have the second type. For, as Machiavelli states, “A prince needs to have the discernment to recognize the good or bad in what another says or does even though he has no acumen himself".


title: The Prince

text: This chapter displays a low opinion of flatterers; Machiavelli notes that "Men are so happily absorbed in their own affairs and indulge in such self-deception that it is difficult for them not to fall victim to this plague; and some efforts to protect oneself from flatterers involve the risk of becoming despised." Flatterers were seen as a great danger to a prince, because their flattery could cause him to avoid wise counsel in favor of rash action, but avoiding all advice, flattery or otherwise, was equally bad; a middle road had to be taken. A prudent prince should have a select group of wise counselors to advise him truthfully on matters all the time. All their opinions should be taken into account. Ultimately, the decision should be made by the prince and carried out absolutely. If a prince is given to changing his mind, his reputation will suffer. A prince must have the wisdom to recognize good advice from bad. Machiavelli gives a negative example in Emperor Maximilian I; Maximilian, who was secretive, never consulted others, but once he ordered his plans and met dissent, he immediately changed them.


title: The Prince

text: After first mentioning that a new prince can quickly become as respected as a hereditary one, Machiavelli says princes in Italy who had longstanding power and lost it cannot blame bad luck, but should blame their own indolence. One "should never fall in the belief that you can find someone to pick you up". They all showed a defect of arms (already discussed) and either had a hostile populace or did not know to secure themselves against the great.


title: The Prince

text: As pointed out by it was traditional in the genre of Mirrors of Princes to mention fortune, but "Fortune pervades The Prince as she does no other similar work". Machiavelli argues that fortune is only the judge of half of our actions and that we have control over the other half with "sweat", prudence and virtue. Even more unusual, rather than simply suggesting caution as a prudent way to try to avoid the worst of bad luck, Machiavelli holds that the greatest princes in history tend to be ones who take more risks, and rise to power through their own labour, virtue, prudence, and particularly by their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli even encourages risk taking as a reaction to risk. In a well-known metaphor, Machiavelli writes that "it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because fortune is a woman; and it is necessary, if one wants to hold her down, to beat her and strike her down." Gilbert (p. 217) points out that Machiavelli's friend the historian and diplomat Francesco Guicciardini expressed similar ideas about fortune.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli compares fortune to a torrential river that cannot be easily controlled during flooding season. In periods of calm, however, people can erect dams and levees in order to minimize its impact. Fortune, Machiavelli argues, seems to strike at the places where no resistance is offered, as had recently been the case in Italy. As points out that what Machiavelli actually says is that Italians in his time leave things not just to fortune, but to "fortune and God". Machiavelli is indicating in this passage, as in some others in his works, that Christianity itself was making Italians helpless and lazy concerning their own politics, as if they would leave dangerous rivers uncontrolled.


title: The Prince

text: Pope Leo X was pope at the time the book was written and a member of the de Medici family. This chapter directly appeals to the Medici to use what has been summarized in order to conquer Italy using Italian armies, following the advice in the book. showed that including such exhortation was not unusual in the genre of books full of advice for princes. But it is unusual that the Medici family's position of Papal power is openly named as something that should be used as a personal power base, as a tool of secular politics. Indeed, one example is the Borgia family's "recent" and controversial attempts to use church power in secular politics, often brutally executed. This continues a controversial theme throughout the book.


title: The Prince

text: As shown by his letter of dedication, Machiavelli's work eventually came to be dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, grandson of "Lorenzo the Magnificent", and a member of the ruling Florentine Medici family, whose uncle Giovanni became Pope Leo X in 1513. It is known from his personal correspondence that it was written during 1513, the year after the Medici regained control of Florence, and a few months after Machiavelli's arrest, torture, and banishment by the in-coming Medici regime. It was discussed for a long time with Francesco Vettori – a friend of Machiavelli – whom he wanted to pass it and commend it to the Medici. The book had originally been intended for Giuliano di Lorenzo de' Medici, young Lorenzo's uncle, who however died in 1516. It is not certain that the work was ever read by any of the Medici before it was printed. Machiavelli describes the contents as being an un-embellished summary of his knowledge about the nature of princes and "the actions of great men", based not only on reading but also, unusually, on real experience.


title: The Prince

text: The types of political behavior which are discussed with apparent approval by Machiavelli in "The Prince" were regarded as shocking by contemporaries, and its immorality is still a subject of serious discussion. Although the work advises princes how to tyrannize, Machiavelli is generally thought to have preferred some form of republican government. Some commentators justify his acceptance of immoral and criminal actions by leaders by arguing that he lived during a time of continuous political conflict and instability in Italy, and that his influence has increased the "pleasures, equality and freedom" of many people, loosening the grip of medieval Catholicism's "classical teleology", which "disregarded not only the needs of individuals and the wants of the common man, but stifled innovation, enterprise, and enquiry into cause and effect relationships that now allow us to control nature".


title: The Prince

text: On the other hand, notes that "even if we were forced to grant that Machiavelli was essentially a patriot or a scientist, we would not be forced to deny that he was a teacher of evil". Furthermore, Machiavelli "was too thoughtful not to know what he was doing and too generous not to admit it to his reasonable friends".


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli emphasized the need for looking at the "effectual truth" (verita effetuale), as opposed to relying on "imagined republics and principalities". He states the difference between honorable behavior and criminal behavior by using the metaphor of animals, saying that "there are two ways of contending, one in accordance with the laws, the other by force; the first of which is proper to men, the second to beast". In "The Prince" he does not explain what he thinks the best ethical or political goals are, except the control of one's own fortune, as opposed to waiting to see what chance brings. Machiavelli took it for granted that would-be leaders naturally aim at glory or honour. He associated these goals with a need for "virtue" and "prudence" in a leader, and saw such virtues as essential to good politics. That great men should develop and use their virtue and prudence was a traditional theme of advice to Christian princes. And that more virtue meant less reliance on chance was a classically influenced "humanist commonplace" in Machiavelli's time, as says, even if it was somewhat controversial. However, Machiavelli went far beyond other authors in his time, who in his opinion left things to fortune, and therefore to bad rulers, because of their Christian beliefs. He used the words "virtue" and "prudence" to refer to glory-seeking and spirited excellence of character, in strong contrast to the traditional Christian uses of those terms, but more keeping with the original pre-Christian Greek and Roman concepts from which they derived. He encouraged ambition and risk taking. So in another break with tradition, he treated not only stability, but also radical innovation, as possible aims of a prince in a political community. Managing major reforms can show off a Prince's virtue and give him glory. He clearly felt Italy needed major reform in his time, and this opinion of his time is widely shared.


title: The Prince

text: Machiavelli's descriptions encourage leaders to attempt to control their fortune gloriously, to the extreme extent that some situations may call for a fresh "founding" (or re-founding) of the "modes and orders" that define a community, despite the danger and necessary evil and lawlessness of such a project. Founding a wholly new state, or even a new religion, using injustice and immorality has even been called the chief theme of "The Prince". Machiavelli justifies this position by explaining how if "a prince did not win love he may escape hate" by personifying injustice and immorality; therefore, he will never loosen his grip since "fear is held by the apprehension of punishment" and never diminishes as time goes by. For a political theorist to do this in public was one of Machiavelli's clearest breaks not just with medieval scholasticism, but with the classical tradition of political philosophy, especially the favorite philosopher of Catholicism at the time, Aristotle. This is one of Machiavelli's most lasting influences upon modernity.


title: The Prince

text: Nevertheless, Machiavelli was heavily influenced by classical pre-Christian political philosophy. According to Machiavelli refers to Xenophon more than Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero put together. Xenophon wrote one of the classic mirrors of princes, the "Education of Cyrus". wrote: "The Cyrus of Xenophon was a hero to many a literary man of the sixteenth century, but for Machiavelli he lived". Xenophon also, as Strauss pointed out, wrote a dialogue, "Hiero" which showed a wise man dealing sympathetically with a tyrant, coming close to what Machiavelli would do in uprooting the ideal of "the imagined prince". Xenophon however, like Plato and Aristotle, was a follower of Socrates, and his works show approval of a "teleological argument", while Machiavelli rejected such arguments. On this matter, gives evidence that Machiavelli may have seen himself as having learned something from Democritus, Epicurus and classical materialism, which was however not associated with political realism, or even any interest in politics.


title: The Prince

text: On the topic of rhetoric Machiavelli, in his introduction, stated that "I have not embellished or crammed this book with rounded periods or big, impressive words, or with any blandishment or superfluous decoration of the kind which many are in the habit of using to describe or adorn what they have produced". This has been interpreted as showing a distancing from traditional rhetoric styles, but there are echoes of classical rhetoric in several areas. In Chapter 18, for example, he uses a metaphor of a lion and a fox, examples of force and cunning; according to , "the Roman author from whom Machiavelli in all likelihood drew the simile of the lion and the fox" was Cicero. The "Rhetorica ad Herennium", a work which was believed during Machiavelli's time to have been written by Cicero, was used widely to teach rhetoric, and it is likely that Machiavelli was familiar with it. Unlike Cicero's more widely accepted works however, according to , "Ad Herennium ... offers a model of an ethical system that not only condones the practice of force and deception but appears to regard them as habitual and indeed germane to political activity". This makes it an ideal text for Machiavelli to have used.