(Untitled)

[x_autnihil]

*what an interesting book someone has found in the library*

Do you think it is better for a ruler to be feared or to be loved?

(Sorry, fell asleep. Back!)

Comments

[sharpasfire]

A ruler should be what is necessary for the people.

You should know, the author wrote that while in exile. I doubt his account is without bias.

[x_autnihil]

I agree.

I met him once, although before he wrote this. His writing has bias in other respects as well.

[sharpasfire]

When has a historical account ever been without bias? I think that's part of that makes reading interesting.

[x_autnihil]

When has any account been without bias? Many of the texts I have found here are particularly slanted. His angle is more useful, if nothing else.

[sharpasfire]

I've found many of those "blog" accounts to be too inane to show any depth or slant, but I agree that no one is completely impartial.

Have you tried Sun Tzu yet?

[x_autnihil]

I have not. A personal favorite?

[sharpasfire]

He tempers his philosophizing with practical matters, such as actually engaging with the enemy. And I since he speaks from a position of authority and not exile, I am more willing to believe the success of his advice.

[x_autnihil]

I admit that part of my curiosity about Machavelli's work is purely personal. In some respects I feel that I can trust his word because of the closeness in time and place but the fact that I cannot as of now corroborate his statements makes it difficult for me to judge the accuracy of his theories. It would be interesting--perhaps more so--to read the advice of a commander instead of a diplomat. How long did Sun Tzu hold power?

[sharpasfire]

He was a general of Wu for half his life, and his advice was said to allow Qin Shihuangdi to unify China. Of course, there are conflicting reports as to his personal life, but the worthiness of such advice is apparent in the results.

[x_autnihil]

Of course. Biographers are interested in collecting only slander or miracles. Accounts of someone's private life need to be taken with a grain of salt.

[sharpasfire]

Better an official biographer than those playwrights.

[rolls her eyes] They get absolutely nothing right.

[x_autnihil]

Better a playwright than a gossip with a quill.

[sharpasfire]

As if they aren't one and the same. The gossip simply declines to call their work "art."

[x_autnihil]

It sounds like you have experience in this matter.

[sharpasfire]

Some of my exploits have made it to a smaller stage. Apparently the production was so bad that even my enemies were insulted by their inclusion.

[x_autnihil]

*short laugh* Ah, that's a pity. What were your real accomplishments?