Machiavelli’s ideal prince and Dante’s morality In his book, The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli has explored in great detail the princely behaviors that noble rulers who govern principalities must manifest in order to be effective. Although Machiavelli emphasizes such traditional values as honesty, bravery and prudence in his presentation of the ideal prince, he greatly stresses the idea that preservation of both the state and the prince ought to take precedence above every other thing. Machiavelli goes ahead and outlines extremes that a prince ought to go to in order to ensure the preservation of the state and his position, thereby giving rise to profound moral concerns.