Free Essays – Safer to be Feared than Loved in The

Emperor kept choosing bishops and Gregory excommunicated him a second time. The Emperor marched his army into Rome, appointed another pope and forced Gregory into exile, where he died. Gregory should not have forgiven the Emperor. It would be preferable to be feared than to die in exile.

Ferdinand and Isabella would also have agreed with Machiavelli. Their main accomplishment was to unify Spain, politically and religiously but, to do this, they used tactics of terror. Under previous Muslim rule, Spain had been tolerant of people of many different religions. Ferdinand and Isabella wanted to have only one religion in their country, so they forced Jews and Muslims to convert to Christianity or to leave. The inquisition, a church court that prosecuted those accused of heresy, was started under Ferdinand and Isabellas rule. The inquisitors would question converted people, accusing them of still believing in their old religions. The inquisition burned heretics at the stake. This intolerance made Spain a unified country and allowed its rulers to have total power while the people lived in fear.

Rulers that wanted absolute power, such as Louis XI, and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain,agreed with Machiavelli. However, some rulers, like Charlemange, had successful reigns without being feared. Pope Gregory VII was too forgiving, but later would have agreed with Machavelli.