The quote, derived from the thoughts of Machiavelli; “It is better to be feared than to be loved,” are upheld by Beowulf in Beowulf and by Hrothgar in Grendel through their actions. Leaders have many choices to make; one of the most important choices is whether he prefers to be loved or feared by his supporters. The main goal of being a leader is to lead your followers to victory, rule your subjects, and have a prosperous kingdom. Then the question appears; is it better to be loved or feared. According to Niccolo Machiavelli “if you have to make a choice, being feared is much safer than being loved” (225). Machiavelli was the first philosopher of the Renaissance and wrote The Prince which argued that rulers must do whatever is necessary to retain power. The main reason it's better to be afraid is because men are evil, rotten, and will only do things that benefit themselves. Men only think of themselves and that is why fear can control them and keep them loyal to a leader. Since loyalty through love can be easily broken because it involves no punishment, loyalty through fear is the better choice because it involves "fear of punishment, from which [subjects] can never escape » (Machiavelli 226). Machiavelli goes on to say that the great leader Hannibal took control of his huge army, because the soldiers viewed Hannibal as a fearsome and cruel person, thus making them loyal to him. Machiavelli further gives the example of a leader who chose not to be feared and cruel: “Scipio, a man remarkable not only among those of his time, but in all recorded history; Yet his armies revolted in Spain, for no other reason than his excessive leniency in granting his soldiers more freedom than military discipline would allow” (226). Failure to be cruel and frightening will cause the leader to lose control of his soldiers, which will cause his soldiers to revolt. Hannibal was the best leader; even though he was cruel, he was actually more merciful than Scipio because he allowed no disorder. Another leader who achieved success because he chose to be feared was Hrothgar from the novel Grendel. He organized his tribe and began to conquer and destroy any tribe that did not want to join him. Soon, Hrothgar became powerful and after showing the other tribes "the strength of his organization...instead of making war against them, he sent them men...with heavy chariots...to collect their tribute to his greatness" (Gardner 37).