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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In Book 3, Section 25, what does Machiavelli repeat to be the most useful thing to establish in a Republic?
(a) Women's rights.
(b) Public mechanisms for delivering benefits.
(c) Universal suffrage.
(d) That its Citizens are to be kept poor.

2. What does Machiavelli identify as the three divisions of armies of his day?
(a) Battle Corps, Navy, and Ordinance.
(b) Cavalry, Vanguard, and Artillery.
(c) Vanguard, Battle Corps, and Rearguard.
(d) Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery.

3. What does Machiavelli write will prevent a bad Citizen from working evil in a Republic?
(a) General disregard for their reputation.
(b) The government taking steps to temporize the bad Citizen.
(c) The absence of corruption.
(d) Conspiracy against the bad Citizen.

4. What does Machiavelli identify as the difference between a Republic and the State (government) in how they can handle maladies?
(a) A Republic uses its freedom, but a state uses its laws.
(b) A Republic appoints a bureaucracy, but a state goes to war.
(c) A Republic counts on the wisdom of its Plebes, but a State uses the wealth of its Nobles.
(d) A Republic has time to correct maladies, but a State does not.

5. Why does Machiavelli claim that Princes should not complain of faults of People under their authority?
(a) Because such faults result either from their negligence or because they are stained by similar faults.
(b) Because the People will become indignant of the criticism.
(c) Because the insults will encourage conspiracy.
(d) Because doing so will blind the Prince to conspiracy.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Machiavelli praise of the ancient Roman battlefield tactics?

2. What does Machiavelli predict comes to those Republics that are changed violently.

3. What does Machiavelli claim to be the conduct of excellent and courageous men whether they experience good fortune or bad?

4. What does Machiavelli claim to be the cause of Princes losing inherited power?

5. What, according to Machiavelli, determines whether or not a Republic falls into tyranny.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Machiavelli consider negotiating peace treaties with insurrectionists to be the most harmful method of ending conflicts in a City?

2. What is the advice that Machiavelli gives to Princes who take possessions from another Prince?

3. Why does Machiavelli devote his longest section of "The Discourses" to discussing conspiracy?

4. When Machiavelli uses the word "esteemed" in reference to artillery and infantry, what does he mean?

5. What does Machiavelli recommend to Captains as an element of strategy to assure success in capturing a town?

6. Why doesn't Machiavelli expect promises made under force to be kept?

7. What does Machiavelli consider to be the purpose of expanding an Empire and why must a Prince be well organized in expanding it properly?

8. Why does Machiavelli warn Princes from using auxiliary soldiers from another Prince?

9. What are two points that you can take from Book Three, Section 13 to suggest that Machiavelli believes that it is better for a Prince to have a strong army badly captained rather than a bad army strongly captained?

10. What does Machiavelli advise those who seek to change a Republic?

(see the answer keys)

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