Niccolò Machiavelli
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Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machiavel ( , ; see below), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. He is best known for his political treatise ''
The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' (''Il Principe''), written in about 1513 but not published until 1532. He has often been called the father of modern
political philosophy Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...
and
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...
. For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is also important to historians and scholars of Italian correspondence. He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the
Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...
were out of power. After his death Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in his work, ''The Prince''. He claimed that his experience and reading of history showed him that politics have always been played with deception, treachery, and crime. He also notably said that a ruler who is establishing a kingdom or a republic, and is criticized for his deeds, including violence, should be excused when the intention and the result is beneficial to him. Machiavelli's ''Prince'' has been surrounded by controversy since its release. Some considered it to be a straightforward description of the evil means used by bad rulers; many read in it evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power. Even into recent times, some scholars, such as
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
, have restated the traditional opinion that Machiavelli was a "teacher of evil". The term ''Machiavellian'' often connotes political deceit, deviousness, and
realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...
. Even though Machiavelli has become most famous for his work on principalities, scholars also give attention to the exhortations in his other works of political philosophy. While much less well known than ''The Prince'', the '' Discourses on Livy'' (composed ) has been said to have paved the way of modern
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
. It has also significantly influenced authors who have attempted to revive
classical republicanism Classical republicanism, also known as civic republicanism or civic humanism, is a form of republicanism developed in the Renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity, especially such classical writers as Ar ...
, including Hannah Arendt.


Life

Machiavelli was born in
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy, the third child and first son of attorney
Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli (between 1426 and 1429 – 1500) was a citizen of Florence and father to Niccolò Machiavelli. Although he was a Doctor of Law (hence, his title of ''Messer''), debts inherited from his father and uncles limiting his ...
and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. The Machiavelli family is believed to be descended from the old marquesses of Tuscany and to have produced thirteen Florentine Gonfalonieres of Justice, one of the offices of a group of nine citizens selected by drawing lots every two months and who formed the government, or
Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...
; he was never, though, a full citizen of Florence because of the nature of Florentine citizenship in that time even under the republican regime. Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini in 1502. Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era. The Italian
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
s, and the families and individuals who ran them could rise and fall suddenly, as popes and the kings of France, Spain, and the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
waged acquisitive wars for regional influence and control. Political-military alliances continually changed, featuring
condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italy, Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other ...
(mercenary leaders), who changed sides without warning, and the rise and fall of many short-lived governments. Machiavelli was taught grammar, rhetoric, and Latin, by his teacher, Paolo da Ronciglione. It is unknown whether Machiavelli knew Greek even though Florence was at the time one of the centers of Greek scholarship in Europe. In 1494 Florence restored the republic, expelling the
Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Muge ...
family that had ruled Florence for some sixty years. Shortly after the execution of
Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction o ...
, Machiavelli was appointed to an office of the second chancery, a medieval writing office that put Machiavelli in charge of the production of official Florentine government documents. Shortly thereafter, he was also made the secretary of the ''Dieci di Libertà e Pace''. In the first decade of the sixteenth century, he carried out several diplomatic missions, most notably to the Papacy in Rome. Florence sent him to
Pistoia Pistoia (, is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about west and north of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typi ...
to pacify the leaders of two opposing factions which had broken into riots in 1501 and 1502; when this failed, the leaders were banished from the city, a strategy which Machiavelli had favored from the outset. From 1502 to 1503, he witnessed the brutal reality of the state-building methods of Cesare Borgia (1475–1507) and his father,
Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
, who were then engaged in the process of trying to bring a large part of Central Italy under their possession. The pretext of defending Church interests was used as a partial justification by the Borgias. Other excursions to the court of
Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...
and the Spanish court influenced his writings such as ''
The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
''. At the start of the 16th century, Machiavelli conceived of a militia for Florence, and he then began recruiting and creating it. He distrusted mercenaries (a distrust that he explained in his official reports and then later in his theoretical works for their unpatriotic and uninvested nature in the war that makes their allegiance fickle and often unreliable when most needed), and instead staffed his army with citizens, a policy that was to be repeatedly successful. By February 1506 he was able to have marching on parade four hundred farmers, suited (including iron breastplates), and armed with lances and small fire arms. Under his command, Florentine citizen-soldiers defeated Pisa in 1509. Machiavelli's success did not last. In August 1512, the Medici, backed by
Pope Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or th ...
, used Spanish troops to defeat the Florentines at Prato. In the wake of the siege, Soderini resigned as Florentine head of state and left in exile. The experience would, like Machiavelli's time in foreign courts and with the Borgia, heavily influence his political writings. The Florentine city-state and the republic were dissolved, and Machiavelli was deprived of office and banished from the city for a year. In 1513, the Medici accused him of conspiracy against them and had him imprisoned. Despite being subjected to torture (" with the rope", in which the prisoner is hanged from his bound wrists from the back, forcing the arms to bear the body's weight and dislocating the shoulders), he denied involvement and was released after three weeks. Machiavelli then retired to his farm estate at
Sant'Andrea in Percussina Sant'Andrea in Percussina is a ''frazione'' of San Casciano Val di Pesa in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy. This small, but long-established village is located between San Casciano Val di Pesa and Florence. Niccolò Machiavell ...
, near
San Casciano in Val di Pesa San Casciano in Val di Pesa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence. San Casciano in Val di Pesa borders the following municipalities; Greve in Chiant ...
, where he devoted himself to studying and writing his political treatises. He visited places in France, Germany, and Italy where he had represented the Florentine republic. Despairing of the opportunity to remain directly involved in political matters, after a time, he began to participate in intellectual groups in Florence and wrote several plays that (unlike his works on political theory) were both popular and widely known in his lifetime. Politics remained his main passion and, to satisfy this interest, he maintained a well-known correspondence with more politically connected friends, attempting to become involved once again in political life. In a letter to
Francesco Vettori Francesco Vettori (1474–1539) was an Italian diplomat, politician and writer from Florence. He served his city during both the republican and the de Medici regimes. He is remembered chiefly as one of the main personal correspondents of Niccolò ...
, he described his experience:
When evening comes, I go back home, and go to my study. On the threshold, I take off my work clothes, covered in mud and filth, and I put on the clothes an ambassador would wear. Decently dressed, I enter the ancient courts of rulers who have long since died. There, I am warmly welcomed, and I feed on the only food I find nourishing and was born to savour. I am not ashamed to talk to them and ask them to explain their actions and they, out of kindness, answer me. Four hours go by without my feeling any anxiety. I forget every worry. I am no longer afraid of poverty or frightened of death. I live entirely through them.
Machiavelli died on 21 June 1527 at the age of 58 after receiving his
last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...
. He was buried at the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. In 1789 George Nassau Clavering, and Pietro Leopoldo, Grand Duke of Tuscany, initiated the construction of a monument on Machiavelli's tomb. It was sculpted by
Innocenzo Spinazzi Innocenzo Spinazzi (1726–1798) was an Italian sculptor of the Rococo period active in Rome and Florence. Biography Born in Rome the son of a silversmith, he became the leading sculptor in Florence, where he died. He was trained by Giovanni Bat ...
, with an epitaph by Doctor Ferroni inscribed on it. The Latin legend reads: TANTO NOMINI NULLUM PAR ELOGIUM ("So great a name (has) no adequate praise" or "No
eulogy A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as ...
(would be) a match for such a great name" or "There is no praise equal to so great a name.")


Major works


''The Prince''

Machiavelli's best-known book ''Il Principe'' contains several maxims concerning politics. Instead of the more traditional target audience of a hereditary prince, it concentrates on the possibility of a "new prince". To retain power, the hereditary prince must carefully balance the interests of a variety of institutions to which the people are accustomed. By contrast, a new prince has the more difficult task in ruling: He must first stabilise his newfound power in order to build an enduring political structure. Machiavelli suggests that the social benefits of stability and security can be achieved in the face of moral corruption. Machiavelli believed that public and private morality had to be understood as two different things in order to rule well. As a result, a ruler must be concerned not only with reputation, but also must be positively willing to act unscrupulously at the right times. Machiavelli believed that, for a ruler, it was better to be widely feared than to be greatly loved; a loved ruler retains authority by obligation, while a feared leader rules by fear of punishment. As a political theorist, Machiavelli emphasized the "necessity" for the methodical exercise of brute force or deceit, including extermination of entire noble families, to head off any chance of a challenge to the prince's authority. Scholars often note that Machiavelli glorifies instrumentality in state building, an approach embodied by the saying, often attributed to interpretations of ''The Prince'', "
The ends justify the means In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a ...
". Fraud and deceit are held by Machiavelli as necessary for a prince to use. Violence may be necessary for the successful stabilization of power and introduction of new political institutions. Force may be used to eliminate political rivals, to destroy resistant populations, and to purge the community of other men strong enough of a character to rule, who will inevitably attempt to replace the ruler. Machiavelli has become infamous for such political advice, ensuring that he would be remembered in history through the adjective, "Machiavellian". Due to the treatise's controversial analysis on politics, the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
banned ''The Prince'', putting it on the '' Index Librorum Prohibitorum''.
Humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
also viewed the book negatively, including
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
of
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
. As a treatise, its primary intellectual contribution to the history of political thought is the fundamental break between political
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
and political
idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
, due to it being a manual on acquiring and keeping political power. In contrast with
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, Machiavelli insisted that an imaginary ideal society is not a model by which a prince should orient himself. Concerning the differences and similarities in Machiavelli's advice to ruthless and tyrannical princes in ''The Prince'' and his more republican exhortations in ''Discourses on Livy'', a few commentators assert that ''The Prince'', although written as advice for a monarchical prince, contains arguments for the superiority of republican regimes, similar to those found in the ''Discourses''. In the 18th century, the work was even called a
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
, for example by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
. Scholars such as
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
and
Harvey Mansfield Harvey Claflin Mansfield Jr. (born March 21, 1932) is an American political philosophy, political philosopher. He is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim F ...
have stated that sections of ''The Prince'' and his other works have deliberately esoteric statements throughout them. However, Mansfield states that this is the result of Machiavelli's seeing grave and serious things as humorous because they are "manipulable by men", and sees them as grave because they "answer human necessities". Another interpretation is that of Antonio Gramsci, who argued that Machiavelli's audience for this work was not even the ruling class, but the common people, because rulers already knew these methods through their education.


''Discourses on Livy''

The ''Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius'', written around 1517, published in 1531, often referred to simply as the ''Discourses'' or ''Discorsi'', is nominally a discussion regarding the classical history of early
Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
, although it strays very far from this subject matter and also uses contemporary political examples to illustrate points. Machiavelli presents it as a series of lessons on how a republic should be started and structured. It is a much larger work than ''The Prince'', and while it more openly explains the advantages of republics, it also contains many similar themes from his other works. For example, Machiavelli has noted that to save a republic from corruption, it is necessary to return it to a "kingly state" using violent means. He excuses Romulus for murdering his brother Remus and co-ruler
Titus Tatius According to the Roman foundation myth, Titus Tatius was the king of the Sabines from Cures and joint-ruler of the Kingdom of Rome for several years. During the reign of Romulus, the first king of Rome, Tatius declared war on Rome in resp ...
to gain absolute power for himself in that he established a "civil way of life". Commentators disagree about how much the two works agree with each other, as Machiavelli frequently refers to leaders of republics as "princes". Machiavelli even sometimes acts as an advisor to
tyrants A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to rep ...
. Other scholars have pointed out the aggrandizing and imperialistic features of Machiavelli's republic. Nevertheless, it became one of the central texts of modern
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
, and has often been argued to be a more comprehensive work than ''The Prince''.


Originality

Commentators have taken very different approaches to Machiavelli and not always agreed. Major discussion has tended to be about two issues: first, how unified and philosophical his work is, and second, concerning how innovative or traditional it is.


Coherence

There is some disagreement concerning how best to describe the unifying themes, if there are any, that can be found in Machiavelli's works, especially in the two major political works, ''The Prince'' and ''Discourses''. Some commentators have described him as inconsistent, and perhaps as not even putting a high priority in consistency. Others such as
Hans Baron Hans Baron (June 22, 1900 – November 26, 1988) was a German-American historian of political thought and literature. His main contribution to the historiography of the period was to introduce in 1928 the term ''civic humanism'' (denoting most if ...
have argued that his ideas must have changed dramatically over time. Some have argued that his conclusions are best understood as a product of his times, experiences and education. Others, such as
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
and
Harvey Mansfield Harvey Claflin Mansfield Jr. (born March 21, 1932) is an American political philosophy, political philosopher. He is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim F ...
, have argued strongly that there is a very strong and deliberate consistency and distinctness, even arguing that this extends to all of Machiavelli's works including his comedies and letters.


Influences

Commentators such as Leo Strauss have gone so far as to name Machiavelli as the deliberate originator of
modernity Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norm (social), norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the " ...
itself. Others have argued that Machiavelli is only a particularly interesting example of trends which were happening around him. In any case Machiavelli presented himself at various times as someone reminding Italians of the old virtues of the Romans and Greeks, and other times as someone promoting a completely new approach to politics. That Machiavelli had a wide range of influences is in itself not controversial. Their relative importance is however a subject of on-going discussion. It is possible to summarize some of the main influences emphasized by different commentators. I. The Mirror of Princes genre summarized the similarities between ''The Prince'' and the genre it obviously imitates, the so-called "
Mirror of Princes Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Renaissance. ...
" style. This was a classically influenced genre, with models at least as far back as
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
and Isocrates. While Gilbert emphasized the similarities, however, he agreed with all other commentators that Machiavelli was particularly novel in the way he used this genre, even when compared to his contemporaries such as
Baldassare Castiglione Baldassare Castiglione, Count of Casatico (; 6 December 1478 – 2 February 1529),Dates of birth and death, and cause of the latter, fro, ''Italica'', Rai International online. was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissanc ...
and
Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' wa ...
. One of the major innovations Gilbert noted was that Machiavelli focused upon the "deliberate purpose of dealing with a new ruler who will need to establish himself in defiance of custom". Normally, these types of works were addressed only to hereditary princes. (Xenophon is also an exception in this regard.) II. Classical republicanism Commentators such as Quentin Skinner and
J.G.A. Pocock John Greville Agard Pocock (; born 7 March 1924) is a historian of political thought from New Zealand. He is especially known for his studies of republicanism in the early modern period (mostly in Europe, Britain, and America), his work on th ...
, in the so-called "Cambridge School" of interpretation, have asserted that some of the republican themes in Machiavelli's political works, particularly the '' Discourses on Livy'', can be found in medieval Italian literature which was influenced by classical authors such as
Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...
. III. Classical political philosophy: Xenophon, Plato and Aristotle The Socratic school of classical political philosophy, especially
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...
, had become a major influence upon European political thinking in the late
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It existed both in the Catholicised form presented by
Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...
, and in the more controversial "
Averroist Averroism refers to a school of medieval philosophy based on the application of the works of 12th-century Andalusian philosopher Averroes, (known in his time in Arabic as ابن رشد, ibn Rushd, 1126–1198) a commentator on Aristotle, in 13th ...
" form of authors like
Marsilius of Padua Marsilius of Padua (Italian: ''Marsilio'' or ''Marsiglio da Padova''; born ''Marsilio dei Mainardini'' or ''Marsilio Mainardini''; c. 1270 – c. 1342) was an Italian scholar, trained in medicine, who practiced a variety of professions. He ...
. Machiavelli was critical of Catholic political thinking and may have been influenced by Averroism. But he rarely cites Plato and Aristotle, and most likely did not approve of them.
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
argued that the strong influence of
Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...
, a student of Socrates more known as an historian, rhetorician and soldier, was a major source of Socratic ideas for Machiavelli, sometimes not in line with Aristotle. While interest in
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
was increasing in Florence during Machiavelli's lifetime, Machiavelli does not show particular interest in him, but was indirectly influenced by his readings of authors such as
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
,
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
and
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
. The major difference between Machiavelli and the Socratics, according to Strauss, is Machiavelli's materialism, and therefore his rejection of both a teleological view of nature and of the view that philosophy is higher than politics. With their
teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
understanding of things, Socratics argued that by nature, everything that acts, acts towards some end, as if nature desired them, but Machiavelli claimed that such things happen by blind chance or human action. IV. Classical materialism Strauss argued that Machiavelli may have seen himself as influenced by some ideas from classical materialists such as
Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...
, Epicurus and
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ;  – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem ''De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into En ...
. Strauss however sees this also as a sign of major innovation in Machiavelli, because classical materialists did not share the Socratic regard for political life, while Machiavelli clearly did. V. Thucydides Some scholars note the similarity between Machiavelli and the Greek historian
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
, since both emphasized
power politics Power politics is a theory in international relations which contends that distributions of power and national interests, or changes to those distributions, are fundamental causes of war and of system stability. The concept of power politics pro ...
. Strauss argued that Machiavelli may indeed have been influenced by
pre-Socratic philosophers Pre-Socratic philosophy, also known as early Greek philosophy, is ancient Greek philosophy before Socrates. Pre-Socratic philosophers were mostly interested in cosmology, the beginning and the substance of the universe, but the inquiries of the ...
, but he felt it was a new combination:
...contemporary readers are reminded by Machiavelli's teaching of Thucydides; they find in both authors the same "realism," i.e., the same denial of the power of the gods or of justice and the same sensitivity to harsh necessity and elusive chance. Yet Thucydides never calls in question the intrinsic superiority of nobility to baseness, a superiority that shines forth particularly when the noble is destroyed by the base. Therefore Thucydides' History arouses in the reader a sadness which is never aroused by Machiavelli's books. In Machiavelli we find comedies, parodies, and satires but nothing reminding of tragedy. One half of humanity remains outside of his thought. There is no tragedy in Machiavelli because he has no sense of the sacredness of "the common." —


Beliefs

Amongst commentators, there are a few consistently made proposals concerning what was most new in Machiavelli's work.


Empiricism and realism versus idealism

Machiavelli is sometimes seen as the prototype of a modern empirical scientist, building generalizations from experience and historical facts, and emphasizing the uselessness of theorizing with the imagination. Machiavelli felt that his early schooling along the lines of a traditional classical education was essentially useless for the purpose of understanding politics. Nevertheless, he advocated intensive study of the past, particularly regarding the founding of a city, which he felt was a key to understanding its later development. Moreover, he studied the way people lived and aimed to inform leaders how they should rule and even how they themselves should live. Machiavelli denies the classical opinion that living virtuously always leads to happiness. For example, Machiavelli viewed misery as "one of the vices that enables a prince to rule." Machiavelli stated that "it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved." In much of Machiavelli's work, he often states that the ruler must adopt unsavory policies for the sake of the continuance of his regime. A related and more controversial proposal often made is that he described how to do things in politics in a way which seemed neutral concerning who used the advice—tyrants or good rulers. That Machiavelli strove for realism is not doubted, but for four centuries scholars have debated how best to describe his morality. ''The Prince'' made the word ''Machiavellian'' a byword for deceit, despotism, and political manipulation.
Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
declared himself inclined toward the traditional view that Machiavelli was self-consciously a "teacher of evil," since he counsels the princes to avoid the values of justice, mercy, temperance, wisdom, and love of their people in preference to the use of cruelty, violence, fear, and deception. Strauss takes up this opinion because he asserted that failure to accept the traditional opinion misses the "intrepidity of his thought" and "the graceful subtlety of his speech." Italian anti-fascist philosopher
Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce (; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician, who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography and aesthetics. In most regards, Croce was a lib ...
(1925) concludes Machiavelli is simply a "realist" or "pragmatist" who accurately states that moral values in reality do not greatly affect the decisions that political leaders make. German philosopher
Ernst Cassirer Ernst Alfred Cassirer ( , ; July 28, 1874 – April 13, 1945) was a German philosopher. Trained within the Neo-Kantian Marburg School, he initially followed his mentor Hermann Cohen in attempting to supply an idealistic philosophy of science. A ...
(1946) held that Machiavelli simply adopts the stance of a political scientist—a Galileo of politics—in distinguishing between the "facts" of political life and the "values" of moral judgment. On the other hand,
Walter Russell Mead Walter Russell Mead (born June 12, 1952) is an American academic. He is the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College and taught American foreign policy at Yale University. He was also the editor-at-large of ...
has argued that ''The Prince''s advice presupposes the importance of ideas like
legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...
in making changes to the political system.


Fortune

Machiavelli is generally seen as being critical of Christianity as it existed in his time, specifically its effect upon politics, and also everyday life. In his opinion, Christianity, along with the
teleological Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by deductive logic and an analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics. It covers the treatment of the socia ...
that the Church had come to accept, allowed practical decisions to be guided too much by imaginary ideals and encouraged people to lazily leave events up to
providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
or, as he would put it, chance, luck or fortune. While Christianity sees modesty as a virtue and pride as sinful, Machiavelli took a more classical position, seeing ambition, spiritedness, and the pursuit of glory as good and natural things, and part of the virtue and prudence that good princes should have. Therefore, while it was traditional to say that leaders should have virtues, especially prudence, Machiavelli's use of the words ''virtù'' and ''prudenza'' was unusual for his time, implying a spirited and immodest ambition. Mansfield describes his usage of ''virtu'' as a "compromise with evil". Famously, Machiavelli argued that virtue and prudence can help a man control more of his future, in the place of allowing fortune to do so. has argued that this same approach can be found in Machiavelli's approach to love and desire, as seen in his comedies and correspondence. Najemy shows how Machiavelli's friend Vettori argued against Machiavelli and cited a more traditional understanding of fortune. On the other hand,
humanism Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...
in Machiavelli's time meant that classical pre-Christian ideas about virtue and prudence, including the possibility of trying to control one's future, were not unique to him. But humanists did not go so far as to promote the extra glory of deliberately aiming to establish a new state, in defiance of traditions and laws. While Machiavelli's approach had classical precedents, it has been argued that it did more than just bring back old ideas and that Machiavelli was not a typical humanist. argues that the way Machiavelli combines classical ideas is new. While Xenophon and Plato also described realistic politics and were closer to Machiavelli than Aristotle was, they, like Aristotle, also saw philosophy as something higher than politics. Machiavelli was apparently a materialist who objected to explanations involving formal and final causation, or
teleology Teleology (from and )Partridge, Eric. 1977''Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English'' London: Routledge, p. 4187. or finalityDubray, Charles. 2020 912Teleology" In ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' 14. New York: Robert Appleton ...
. Machiavelli's promotion of ambition among leaders while denying any higher standard meant that he encouraged risk-taking, and innovation, most famously the founding of new modes and orders. His advice to princes was therefore certainly not limited to discussing how to maintain a state. It has been argued that Machiavelli's promotion of innovation led directly to the argument for
progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...
as an aim of
politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
and
civilization A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system). Ci ...
. But while a belief that humanity can control its own future, control nature, and "progress" has been long-lasting, Machiavelli's followers, starting with his own friend Guicciardini, have tended to prefer peaceful progress through economic development, and not warlike progress. As Harvey wrote: "In attempting other, more regular and scientific modes of overcoming fortune, Machiavelli's successors formalized and emasculated his notion of virtue." Machiavelli however, along with some of his classical predecessors, saw ambition and spiritedness, and therefore war, as inevitable and part of
human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
. Strauss concludes his 1958 book '' Thoughts on Machiavelli'' by proposing that this promotion of progress leads directly to the advent of new technologies being invented in both good and bad governments. Strauss argued that the unavoidable nature of such arms races, which have existed before modern times and led to the collapse of peaceful civilizations, show that classical minded men "had to admit in other words that in an important respect the good city has to take its bearings by the practice of bad cities or that the bad impose their law on the good."


Religion

Machiavelli shows repeatedly that he saw religion as man-made, and that the value of religion lies in its contribution to social order and the rules of morality must be dispensed with if security requires it. In ''The Prince'', the ''Discourses'' and in the ''
Life of Castruccio Castracani The ''Life of Castruccio Castracani'' (Italian: ''Vita di Castruccio Castracani'') is a short work by Niccolò Machiavelli. It is made in the form of a short biographical account of the life of the medieval Tuscan condottiere, Castruccio Castraca ...
'' he describes "prophets", as he calls them, like
Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
,
Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...
,
Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...
and
Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describ ...
(he treated pagan and Christian patriarchs in the same way) as the greatest of new princes, the glorious and brutal founders of the most novel innovations in politics, and men whom Machiavelli assures us have always used a large amount of armed force and murder against their own people. He estimated that these sects last from 1,666 to 3,000 years each time, which, as pointed out by Leo Strauss, would mean that Christianity became due to start finishing about 150 years after Machiavelli. Machiavelli's concern with Christianity as a sect was that it makes men weak and inactive, delivering politics into the hands of cruel and wicked men without a fight. While fear of
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
can be replaced by fear of the prince, if there is a strong enough prince, Machiavelli felt that having a religion is in any case especially essential to keeping a republic in order. For Machiavelli, a truly great prince can never be conventionally religious himself, but he should make his people religious if he can. According to he was not the first person to ever explain religion in this way, but his description of religion was novel because of the way he integrated this into his general account of princes. Machiavelli's judgment that governments need religion for practical political reasons was widespread among modern proponents of republics until approximately the time of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. This therefore represents a point of disagreement between Machiavelli and late modernity.


Positive side to factional and individual vice

Despite the classical precedents, which Machiavelli was not the only one to promote in his time, Machiavelli's realism and willingness to argue that good ends justify bad things, is seen as a critical stimulus towards some of the most important theories of modern politics. Firstly, particularly in the ''Discourses on Livy,'' Machiavelli is unusual in the positive side he sometimes seems to describe in factionalism in republics. For example, quite early in the ''Discourses,'' (in Book I, chapter 4), a chapter title announces that ''the disunion'' of the
plebs In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizenship, Roman citizens who were not Patrician (ancient Rome), patricians, as determined by the capite censi, census, or in other words "commoners". Both ...
and
senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
in Rome ''"kept Rome free".'' That a community has different components whose interests must be balanced in any good regime is an idea with classical precedents, but Machiavelli's particularly extreme presentation is seen as a critical step towards the later political ideas of both a
division of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
or
checks and balances Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typic ...
, ideas which lay behind the US constitution, as well as many other modern state constitutions. Similarly, the modern economic argument for
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
, and most modern forms of economics, was often stated in the form of " public virtue from private vices." Also in this case, even though there are classical precedents, Machiavelli's insistence on being both realistic and ambitious, not only admitting that vice exists but being willing to risk encouraging it, is a critical step on the path to this insight. Mansfield however argues that Machiavelli's own aims have not been shared by those he influenced. Machiavelli argued against seeing mere peace and economic growth as worthy aims on their own, if they would lead to what Mansfield calls the "taming of the prince."


Influence

To quote Robert Bireley: Machiavelli's ideas had a profound impact on political leaders throughout the modern west, helped by the new technology of the printing press. During the first generations after Machiavelli, his main influence was in non-republican governments. Pole reported that ''The Prince'' was spoken of highly by
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; 1485 – 28 July 1540), briefly Earl of Essex, was an English lawyer and statesman who served as chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false char ...
in England and had influenced Henry VIII in his turn towards Protestantism, and in his tactics, for example during the
Pilgrimage of Grace The Pilgrimage of Grace was a popular revolt beginning in Yorkshire in October 1536, before spreading to other parts of Northern England including Cumberland, Northumberland, and north Lancashire, under the leadership of Robert Aske. The "most ...
. A copy was also possessed by the Catholic king and emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...
. In France, after an initially mixed reaction, Machiavelli came to be associated with
Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...
and the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. As reports, in the 16th century, Catholic writers "associated Machiavelli with the Protestants, whereas Protestant authors saw him as Italian and Catholic". In fact, he was apparently influencing both Catholic and Protestant kings. One of the most important early works dedicated to criticism of Machiavelli, especially ''The Prince'', was that of the
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, Innocent Gentillet, whose work commonly referred to as ''Discourse against Machiavelli'' or ''Anti Machiavel'' was published in
Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
in 1576. He accused Machiavelli of being an atheist and accused politicians of his time by saying that his works were the "Koran of the courtiers", that "he is of no reputation in the court of France which hath not Machiavel's writings at the fingers ends". Another theme of Gentillet was more in the spirit of Machiavelli himself: he questioned the effectiveness of immoral strategies (just as Machiavelli had himself done, despite also explaining how they could sometimes work). This became the theme of much future political discourse in Europe during the 17th century. This includes the Catholic
Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...
writers summarised by Bireley:
Giovanni Botero Giovanni Botero (c. 1544 – 1617) was an Italian thinker, priest, poet, and diplomat, author of '' Della ragion di Stato (The Reason of State)'',Botero, Giovanni, Pamela Waley, Daniel Philip Waley, and Robert Peterson. 1956. The Reason of St ...
,
Justus Lipsius Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; 18 October 1547 – 23 March 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible w ...
, Carlo Scribani, Adam Contzen,
Pedro de Ribadeneira Pedro de Ribadeneira S.J. ( Toledo, 1 November 1527 – Madrid, 10 September or 22 September 1611) was a Spanish hagiographer, Jesuit priest, companion of Ignatius of Loyola, and a Spanish Golden Age ascetic writer. Life Pedro was born at T ...
, and
Diego de Saavedra Fajardo Diego de Saavedra Fajardo (24 August 1648) was a Spanish diplomat and man of letters. Biography He was born in Algezares, in what is now the province of Murcia. After receiving a religious education at Salamanca, he took minor orders, and ...
. These authors criticized Machiavelli, but also followed him in many ways. They accepted the need for a prince to be concerned with reputation, and even a need for cunning and deceit, but compared to Machiavelli, and like later modernist writers, they emphasized economic progress much more than the riskier ventures of war. These authors tended to cite
Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his t ...
as their source for realist political advice, rather than Machiavelli, and this pretense came to be known as " Tacitism". "Black tacitism" was in support of princely rule, but "red tacitism" arguing the case for republics, more in the original spirit of Machiavelli himself, became increasingly important. Modern materialist philosophy developed in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, starting in the generations after Machiavelli. This philosophy tended to be republican, but as with the Catholic authors, Machiavelli's realism and encouragement of using innovation to try to control one's own fortune were more accepted than his emphasis upon war and factional violence. Not only was innovative economics and politics a result, but also
modern science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Sc ...
, leading some commentators to say that the 18th century Enlightenment involved a "humanitarian" moderating of Machiavellianism. The importance of Machiavelli's influence is notable in many important figures in this endeavor, for example Bodin,
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
,
Algernon Sidney Algernon Sidney or Sydney (15 January 1623 – 7 December 1683) was an English politician, republican political theorist and colonel. A member of the middle part of the Long Parliament and commissioner of the trial of King Charles I of Englan ...
, Harrington,
John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...
,
Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
,
Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
, Hume,
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, is ...
, and
Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
. Although he was not always mentioned by name as an inspiration, due to his controversy, he is also thought to have been an influence for other major philosophers, such as Montaigne, Descartes,
Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influe ...
, Locke and
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...
. Although Jean-Jacques Rousseau is associated with very different political ideas he was also influenced by him, although he viewed Machiavelli's work as a satirical piece in which Machiavelli exposes the faults of a one-man rule rather than exalting amorality.
In the seventeenth century it was in England that Machiavelli's ideas were most substantially developed and adapted, and that republicanism came once more to life; and out of seventeenth-century English republicanism there were to emerge in the next century not only a theme of English political and historical reflection—of the writings of the Bolingbroke circle and of Gibbon and of early parliamentary radicals—but a stimulus to the Enlightenment in Scotland, on the Continent, and in America.
Scholars have argued that Machiavelli was a major indirect and direct influence upon the political thinking of the
Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...
due to his overwhelming favoritism of
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
and the republican type of government. According to John McCormick, it is still very much debatable whether or not Machiavelli was "an advisor of tyranny or partisan of liberty."
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
,
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
and
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
followed Machiavelli's republicanism when they opposed what they saw as the emerging aristocracy that they feared
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...
was creating with the
Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a Conservatism in the United States, conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. De ...
. Hamilton learned from Machiavelli about the importance of foreign policy for domestic policy, but may have broken from him regarding how rapacious a republic needed to be in order to survive.
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
was less influenced by Machiavelli. The Founding Father who perhaps most studied and valued Machiavelli as a political philosopher was
John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...
, who profusely commented on the Italian's thought in his work, ''A Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America''. In this work, John Adams praised Machiavelli, with Algernon Sidney and
Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (; ; 18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the princi ...
, as a philosophic defender of mixed government. For Adams, Machiavelli restored empirical reason to politics, while his analysis of factions was commendable. Adams likewise agreed with the Florentine that human nature was immutable and driven by passions. He also accepted Machiavelli's belief that all societies were subject to cyclical periods of growth and decay. For Adams, Machiavelli lacked only a clear understanding of the institutions necessary for good government.


20th century

The 20th-century Italian Communist Antonio Gramsci drew great inspiration from Machiavelli's writings on ethics, morals, and how they relate to the State and revolution in his writings on
Passive Revolution Passive revolution is a transformation of the political and institutional structures without strong social processes by ruling classes for their own self-preservation. The phrase was coined by the Marxist politician and philosopher Antonio Grams ...
, and how a society can be manipulated by controlling popular notions of morality.
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...
read ''The Prince'' and annotated his own copy. In the 20th century there was also renewed interest in Machiavelli's play ''
La Mandragola ''The Mandrake'' (Italian: ''La Mandragola'' ) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likel ...
'' (1518), which received numerous stagings, including several in New York, at the
New York Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions ar ...
in 1976 and the
Riverside Shakespeare Company The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional ( AEA) theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski. Focusing on Shakespeare plays and other classical ...
in 1979, as a musical comedy by
Peer Raben Peer Raben (born Wilhelm Rabenbauer, 3 July 1940 – 21 January 2007) was a German composer who worked with German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Life Raben was born in Viechtafell, Bavaria, and attended Musische Gymnasium Straubing. He died ...
in Munich's antiteater in 1971, and at London's National Theatre in 1984.Review by Jann Racquoi, ''Heights/Inwood Press of North Manhattan'', 14 March 1979.


"Machiavellian"

Machiavelli is most famous for a short political treatise, ''The Prince'', written in 1513 but not published until 1532, five years after his death. Although he privately circulated ''The Prince'' among friends, the only theoretical work to be printed in his lifetime was ''
The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...
'', which was about military science. Since the 16th century, generations of politicians remain attracted and repelled by its neutral acceptance, and also positive encouragement, of the amorality of powerful men, described especially in ''The Prince'' but also in his other works. His works are sometimes even said to have contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words ''politics'' and ''politician'', and it is sometimes thought that it is because of him that ''Old Nick'' became an English term for the
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
. More obviously, the adjective ''Machiavellian'' became a term describing a form of politics that is "marked by cunning, duplicity, or bad faith". ''Machiavellianism'' also remains a popular term used casually in political discussions, often as a byword for bare-knuckled political realism. While Machiavellianism is notable in the works of Machiavelli, scholars generally agree that his works are complex and have equally influential themes within them. For example, J.G.A. saw him as a major source of the
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
that spread throughout England and North America in the 17th and 18th centuries and Leo , whose view of Machiavelli is quite different in many ways, had similar remarks about Machiavelli's influence on republicanism and argued that even though Machiavelli was a teacher of evil he had a "grandeur of vision" that led him to advocate immoral actions. Whatever his intentions, which are still debated today, he has become associated with any proposal where "
the end justifies the means In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative, teleological ethical theories that holds that the consequences of one's conduct are the ultimate basis for judgment about the rightness or wrongness of that conduct. Thus, from a ...
". For example, Leo wrote:


In popular culture

In
English Renaissance theatre English Renaissance theatre, also known as Renaissance English theatre and Elizabethan theatre, refers to the theatre of England between 1558 and 1642. This is the style of the plays of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson ...
(Elizabethan and Jacobian), the term " Machiavel" (from 'Nicholas Machiavel', an "anglicization" of Machiavelli's name based on French) was used for a stock antagonist that resorted to ruthless means to preserve the power of the state, and is now considered a synonym of "Machiavellian". Christopher Marlowe's play ''
The Jew of Malta ''The Jew of Malta'' (full title: ''The Famous Tragedy of the Rich Jew of Malta'') is a play by Christopher Marlowe, written in 1589 or 1590. The plot primarily revolves around a Maltese Jewish merchant named Barabas. The original story comb ...
'' (ca. 1589) contains a prologue by a character called Machiavel, a Senecan ghost based on Machiavelli. Machiavel expresses the cynical view that power is amoral, saying "I count religion but a childish toy,/And hold there is no sin but ignorance."
Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
's last book '' Then and Now'' fictionalizes Machiavelli's interactions with Cesare Borgia, which formed the foundation of ''The Prince''. Niccolò Machiavelli plays a vital role in the young adult book series '' The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' by Michael Scott. He is immortal, and is working in national security for the French government. Niccolò Machiavelli aids Cesare Borgia and protagonist Nicholas Dawson in their dangerous intrigues in
Cecelia Holland Cecelia Holland (born December 31, 1943) is an American historical fiction novelist. Early life and education Holland was born December 31, 1943, in Henderson, Nevada. She grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey, where she started writing at age 12, rec ...
's 1979 historical novel '' City of God''. David Maclaine writes that in the novel, Machiavelli "is an off-stage presence whose spirit permeates this work of intrigue and betrayal ... It is a brilliant introduction to the people and events that gave us the word 'Machiavellian.'" Machiavelli appears as an Immortal adversary of
Duncan MacLeod Duncan MacLeod is a fictional character and the protagonist of '' Highlander: The Series,'' which ran for six seasons from 1992 to 1998. The character also starred in two spin-off films, '' Highlander: Endgame'' and '' Highlander: The Source''. ...
in
Nancy Holder Nancy Holder (born August 29, 1953) is an American writer and the author of several novels, including numerous tie-in books based on the TV series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. She's also written fiction related to several other science fiction ...
's 1997 '' Highlander'' novel ''The Measure of a Man'', and is a character in Michael Scott's novel series '' The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel'' (2007–2012). Machiavelli is also one of the main characters in ''
The Enchantress of Florence ''The Enchantress of Florence'' is the ninth novel by Salman Rushdie, published in 2008. According to Rushdie this is his "most researched book" which required "years and years of reading". The novel was published on 11 April 2008 by Jonathan ...
'' (2008) by
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and We ...
, mostly referred to as "Niccolò 'il Macchia", and the central protagonist in the 2012 novel ''The Malice of Fortune'' by Michael Ennis. Television dramas centring on the early
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
have also made use of Machiavelli to underscore his influence in early modern political philosophy. Machiavelli has been featured as a supporting character in ''
The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...
'' (2007–2010), ''Borgia'' (2011–2014) and '' The Borgias'' (2011–2013), and the 1981 BBC mini series ''The Borgias''. Machiavelli appears in the popular historical
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s ''
Assassin's Creed II ''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's '' Assassin's Creed''. The g ...
'' (2009) and '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'' (2010), in which he is portrayed as a member of the secret society of Assassins. A highly fictionalised version of Machiavelli appears in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
children's TV series ''
Leonardo Leonardo is a masculine given name, the Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese equivalent of the English, German, and Dutch name, Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate ...
'' (2011–2012), in which he is "Mac", a black streetwise hustler who is best friends with fellow teenagers
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
,
Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known ...
, and
Lorenzo di Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...
. In the 2013 episode "Ewings Unite!" of the television series ''
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
'', legendary oil baron
J. R. Ewing John Ross "J.R." Ewing Jr. is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas'' (1978–1991) and its spin-offs, including the revived ''Dallas'' series (2012–2014). The character was portrayed by Larry Hagman from the serie ...
wills his copy of ''
The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' to his adopted nephew Christopher Ewing, telling him to "use it, because being smart and sneaky is an unbeatable combination." In ''
Da Vinci's Demons ''Da Vinci's Demons'' is a historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life. The series was conceived by David S. Goyer and stars Tom Riley in the title role. It was developed and produced in ...
'' (2013–2015) – an American
historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthu ...
drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci's early life –
Eros Vlahos Eros Vlahos (born 13 January 1995) is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his roles as Cyril Gray in ''Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'', Jake Farley in '' Summer in Transylvania'', and Lommy Greenhands in '' Game of Thrones''. He also ...
plays a young Niccolò "Nico" Machiavelli, although the character's full name is not revealed until the finale of the second season. The 1967 ''
The Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...
'' episode "The Death Merchant" stars character actor
Malachi Throne Malachi Throne (December 1, 1928 – March 13, 2013) was an American actor, noted for his guest-starring roles on ''Star Trek'', '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', ''Lost in Space'', ''Batman'', '' Land ...
as Niccolò Machiavelli, who has been time-displaced to the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
. The character's personality and behaviour seem to portray Cesare Borgia rather than Machiavelli himself, suggesting that the writers may have confused the two. Machiavelli is played by
Damian Lewis Damian Watcyn Lewis (born 11 February 1971) is an English actor, presenter and producer. He is best known for portraying U.S. Army Major Richard Winters in the HBO miniseries '' Band of Brothers'', which earned him a Golden Globe nomination ...
in the 2013 BBC radio play ''The Prince'' written by Jonathan Myerson. Together with his defence attorney
Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...
(
Helen McCrory Helen Elizabeth McCrory (17 August 1968 – 16 April 2021) was an English actress. After studying at the Drama Centre London, she made her stage debut in ''The Importance of Being Earnest'' in 1990. Other stage roles include playing Lady Mac ...
), he presents examples from history to the devil to support his political theories and appeal his sentence in Hell. The historical novel ''The City of Man'' (2009) by author Michael Harrington fully portrays the complex personalities of the two main characters –
Girolamo Savonarola Girolamo Savonarola, OP (, , ; 21 September 1452 – 23 May 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of ...
and a formative Niccolò Machiavelli – in opposition during the turbulent last decade of 15th-century Florence. The portrayal of Machiavelli draws from his later writings and observations of the chaotic events of his youth before rising from obscurity to be appointed as Second Chancellor of the Florentine Republic at the age of twenty-nine, only one month after Savonarola's execution. Major characters include
Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (; 1 January 1449 – 8 April 1492) was an Italian statesman, banker, ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic and the most powerful and enthusiastic patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Also known as Lorenzo ...
, his son Piero,
Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
,
Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th cent ...
, Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficino,
Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
(Rodrigo Borgia), Cesare Borgia (model for ''The Prince''), Piero and Tommaso Soderini, Il Cronaca and the diarist, Luca Landucci. The American rapper
Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...
read Machiavelli while in prison and became greatly influenced by his work. Upon his release from prison, Tupac honoured Machiavelli in 1996 by changing his own rap name from 2Pac to Makaveli. In the 1993 crime drama '' A Bronx Tale'', local mob boss Sonny tells his young protégé Calogero that while he was doing a 10-year sentence in jail, he passed the time and stayed out of trouble by reading Machiavelli, whom he describes as "a famous writer from 500 years ago". He then tells him how Machiavelli's philosophy, including his famous advice about how it is preferable for a leader to be feared rather than loved if he cannot be both, have made him a successful mob boss. Machiavelli also appears as a young Florentine spy in the third season of ''Medici'', where he is portrayed by Vincenzo Crea. He is addressed as "Nico" in all appearances except the season finale, where he reveals his full name.


Works


Political and historical works

* ''
Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa ''Discourse on Pisa'' ( it, Discorso sopra le cose di Pisa) is a 1499 work by Italian Renaissance historian and political scientist Niccolò Machiavelli about the history of Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Ita ...
'' (1499) * ''
Del modo di trattare i popoli della Valdichiana ribellati ''On the method of dealing with the Rebellious Peoples of Valdichiana'' ( it, Del modo di trattare i popoli della Valdichiana ribellati) is a 1503 work by Niccolò Machiavelli. A short excerpt in English may be found in Allan Gilbert's ''Machiave ...
'' (1502) * '' Descrizione del modo tenuto dal Duca Valentino nello ammazzare Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, il Signor Pagolo e il duca di Gravina Orsini'' (1502) – A ''Description of the Methods Adopted by the Duke Valentino when Murdering Vitellozzo Vitelli, Oliverotto da Fermo, the Signor Pagolo, and the Duke di Gravina Orsini'' * '' Discorso sopra la provisione del danaro'' (1502) – A discourse about the provision of money. * ''Ritratti delle cose di Francia'' (1510) – Portrait of the affairs of France. * ''Ritracto delle cose della Magna'' (1508–1512) – Portrait of the affairs of Germany. * ''
The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...
'' (1513) * '' Discourses on Livy'' (1517) * ''Dell'Arte della Guerra'' (1519–1520) – ''
The Art of War ''The Art of War'' () is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating from the Late Spring and Autumn Period (roughly 5th century BC). The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu ("Master Sun"), is com ...
'', high military science. * ''
Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Firenze The ''Discourse on Reforming the Government of Florence'' (Italian: ''Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Firenze'') is a 1520 work by Italian Renaissance political scientist and writer Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiav ...
'' (1520) – A discourse about the reforming of Florence. * ''Sommario delle cose della citta di Lucca'' (1520) – A summary of the affairs of the city of Lucca. * ''The
Life of Castruccio Castracani The ''Life of Castruccio Castracani'' (Italian: ''Vita di Castruccio Castracani'') is a short work by Niccolò Machiavelli. It is made in the form of a short biographical account of the life of the medieval Tuscan condottiere, Castruccio Castraca ...
of Lucca'' (1520) – ''Vita di
Castruccio Castracani Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian '' condottiero'' and duke of Lucca. Biography Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he ...
da Lucca'', a short biography. * ''Istorie Fiorentine'' (1520–1525) – ''
Florentine Histories ''Florentine Histories'' ( it, Istorie fiorentine) is a historical account by Italian Renaissance political philosopher and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, first published posthumously in 1532. Background After the crisis of 1513, with arrests for ...
'', an eight-volume history of the city-state Florence, commissioned by Giulio de' Medici, later
Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...
.


Fictional works

Besides being a statesman and political scientist, Machiavelli also translated classical works, and was a playwright (''Clizia'', ''Mandragola''), a poet (''Sonetti'', ''Canzoni'', ''Ottave'', ''Canti carnascialeschi''), and a novelist (''Belfagor arcidiavolo''). Some of his other work: * '' Decennale primo'' (1506) – a poem in
terza rima ''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rh ...
. * ''
Decennale secondo ''The Second Decade'' (Italian: ''Decennale secondo'') is a poem by Italian Renaissance writer Niccolò Machiavelli Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( , , ; 3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), occasionally rendered in English as Nicholas Machia ...
'' (1509) – a poem. * Andria or ''The Girl from Andros'' (1517) – a semi-autobiographical comedy, adapted from
Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...
. * ''Mandragola'' (1518) – ''
The Mandrake ''The Mandrake'' (Italian: ''La Mandragola'' ) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likel ...
'' – a five-act prose comedy, with a verse prologue. * ''
Clizia ''Clizia'' is a comedy by the Italian Renaissance political scientist and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, written in 1525. The work is based upon a classical play by Plautus, called ''Casina Casina ( egl, label= Montanaro, Caṡîna ; egl, lab ...
'' (1525) – a prose comedy. * ''
Belfagor arcidiavolo ''Belfagor arcidiavolo'' (" Belfagor the archdaemon") is a novella by Niccolò Machiavelli, written between 1518 and 1527, and first published with his collected works in 1549. The novella is also known as ''La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo'' ...
'' (1515) – a novella. * ''Asino d'oro'' (1517) – ''
The Golden Ass The ''Metamorphoses'' of Apuleius, which Augustine of Hippo referred to as ''The Golden Ass'' (''Asinus aureus''), is the only ancient Roman novel in Latin to survive in its entirety. The protagonist of the novel is Lucius. At the end of the no ...
'' is a
terza rima ''Terza rima'' (, also , ; ) is a rhyming verse form, in which the poem, or each poem-section, consists of tercets (three line stanzas) with an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme: The last word of the second line in one tercet provides the rh ...
poem, a new version of the classic work by
Apuleius Apuleius (; also called Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis; c. 124 – after 170) was a Numidian Latin-language prose writer, Platonist philosopher and rhetorician. He lived in the Roman province of Numidia, in the Berber city of Madauros, modern- ...
. * ''Frammenti storici'' (1525) – fragments of stories.


Other works

''Della Lingua'' (Italian for "On the Language") (1514), a dialogue about Italy's language is normally attributed to Machiavelli. Machiavelli's literary executor, Giuliano de' Ricci, also reported having seen that Machiavelli, his grandfather, made a comedy in the style of
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
which included living Florentines as characters, and to be titled ''Le Maschere''. It has been suggested that due to such things as this and his style of writing to his superiors generally, there was very likely some animosity to Machiavelli even before the return of the Medici.. Also see


See also

*
Florentine military reforms The military reforms of the Florentine Republic were initiated by Florentine politician and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli during the short-lived Republic of Florence that lasted from 1498 to 1512 under the priest Girolamo Savonarola. In t ...
*
Francesco Guicciardini Francesco Guicciardini (; 6 March 1483 – 22 May 1540) was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, ''Th ...
*
Francesco Vettori Francesco Vettori (1474–1539) was an Italian diplomat, politician and writer from Florence. He served his city during both the republican and the de Medici regimes. He is remembered chiefly as one of the main personal correspondents of Niccolò ...
*
Mayberry Machiavelli Mayberry Machiavelli is a satirically pejorative phrase coined by John DiIulio, John J. DiIulio Jr., a former George W. Bush administration staffer who ran the President's White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, Faith-Based Init ...
*
Republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
*
Scipione Ammirato Scipione Ammirato (October 7, 1531January 11, 1601) was an Italian historian and philosopher. He is now regarded as an important founding figure in the scholarly study of the history of philosophy. He is best known for his political treatise '' ...
*
Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...


References


Sources

* * * * *


Further reading


Biographies

* * Black, Robert. ''Machiavelli: From Radical to Reactionary''. London: Reaktion Books (2022) * Burd, L. A., "Florence (II): Machiavelli" in ''Cambridge Modern History'' (1902), vol. I, ch. vi. pp. 190–21
online Google edition
* Capponi, Niccolò. ''An Unlikely Prince: The Life and Times of Machiavelli'' (Da Capo Press; 2010) 334 pages * Celenza, Christopher S. ''Machiavelli: A Portrait'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2015) 240 pages. * * , an intellectual biography that won the Pulitzer Prize
excerpt and text search
* Hale, J. R. ''Machiavelli and Renaissance Italy'' (1961
online edition
* Hulliung, Mark. ''Citizen Machiavelli'' (Oxfordshire, UK: Routledge, 1983) * Lee, Alexander. ''Machiavelli: His Life and Times'' (London: Picador, 2020) * Oppenheimer, Paul. ''Machiavelli: A Life Beyond Ideology'' (London; New York: Continuum, 2011) * Ridolfi, Roberto. ''The Life of Niccolò Machiavelli'' (1963) * Schevill, Ferdinand. ''Six Historians'' (1956), pp. 61–91 * Skinner, Quentin. ''Machiavelli'', in ''Past Masters'' series. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1981. pp. vii, 102. pbk. * Skinner, Quentin. ''Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction'' (2d ed., 2019) pbk. * Unger, Miles J. ''Machiavelli: A Biography'' (Simon & Schuster, 2011) * Villari, Pasquale. ''The Life and Times of Niccolò Machiavelli'' (2 vols. 1892)
Vol 1Vol 2
*
excerpt and text search
* Viroli, Maurizio. ''Machiavelli'' (1998
online edition
* Vivanti, Corrado. ''Niccolò Machiavelli: An Intellectual Biography'' (Princeton University Press; 2013) 261 pages


Political thought

* Baron, Hans. ''The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance: Civic Humanism and Republican Liberty in an Age of Classicism and Tyranny'' (2 vol 1955), highly influential, deep study of civic humanism (republicanism); 700 pp
excerpts and text searchACLS E-books
als
vol 2 in ACLS E-books
* Baron, Hans. ''In Search of Florentine Civic Humanism'' (2 vols. 1988). *
in JSTOR
* * * * Chabod, Federico (1958). ''Machiavelli & the Renaissance'
online edition

online from ACLS E-Books
* Connell, William J. (2001), "Machiavelli on Growth as an End," in Anthony Grafton and J.H.M. Salmon, eds., ''Historians and Ideologues: Essays in Honor of Donald R. Kelley'', Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 259–277. * Donskis, Leonidas, ed. (2011). Niccolò Machiavelli: History, Power, and Virtue. Rodopi, , E- * Everdell, William R. "Niccolò Machiavelli: The Florentine Commune" in ''The End of Kings: A History of Republics and Republicans.'' Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000. * * * * * Gilbert, Felix. ''Machiavelli and Guicciardini: Politics and History in Sixteenth-Century Italy'' (2nd ed. 1984
online from ACLS-E-books
* Gilbert, Felix. "Machiavelli: The Renaissance of the Art of War," in Edward Mead Earle, ed. ''The Makers of Modern Strategy'' (1944) * Jensen, De Lamar, ed. ''Machiavelli: Cynic, Patriot, or Political Scientist?'' (1960) essays by scholar
online edition
* * * Mansfield, Harvey C. "Machiavelli's Political Science," ''The American Political Science Review,'' Vol. 75, No. 2 (Jun. 1981), pp. 293–30
in JSTOR
* * * Mansfield, Harvey C. '' Machiavelli's Virtue'' (1996), 371 pp. * Mansfield, Harvey C. ''Machiavelli's New Modes and Orders: A Study of the Discourses on Livy'' (2001
excerpt and text search
* See als

. * Also available in Chinese (), Japanese (), German (), Portuguese (), and Korean (). See als

. * * * * * * * new ed. 2003, a highly influential study of ''Discourses'' and its vast influence
excerpt and text search
; als
online 1975 edition
* Pocock, J. G. A. "The Machiavellian Moment Revisited: a Study in History and Ideology.: ''Journal of Modern History'' 1981 53(1): 49–72
Fulltext: in Jstor
. *
online edition
* Excerpt, reviews and Text search shows Machiavelli's ''Discourses'' had a major impact on shaping conservative thought. * Ruggiero, Guido

(2007) * . * * Skinner, Quentin. ''The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, v. I, The Renaissance,'' (1978) * * Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ''Niccolò Machiavelli'' (2005) * * * * * von Vacano, Diego, "The Art of Power: Machiavelli, Nietzsche and the Making of Aesthetic Political Theory," Lanham MD: Lexington: 2007. * . Also in . * * * Zuckert, Catherine, (2017
"Machiavelli's Politics"


Italian studies

* Barbuto, Marcelo (2005), "Questa oblivione delle cose. Reflexiones sobre la cosmología de Maquiavelo (1469–1527)," ''Revista Daimon'', 34, Universidad de Murcia, pp. 34–52. * Barbuto, Marcelo (2008), "Discorsi, I, XII, 12–14. La Chiesa romana di fronte alla republica cristiana", ''Filosofia Politica'', 1, Il Mulino, Bologna, pp. 99–116. * Celli, Carlo ( 2009), ''Il carnevale di Machiavelli'', Firenze, L.S. Olschki. * Connell, William J. (2015), ''Machiavelli nel Rinascimento italiano'', Milano, Franco Angeli. * Giuseppe Leone, "Silone e Machiavelli. Una scuola...che non crea prìncipi", pref. di Vittoriano Esposito, Centro Studi Ignazio Silone, Pescina, 2003. * Martelli, Mario (2004), "La Mandragola e il suo prologo", ''Interpres'', XXIII, pp. 106–42. * Martelli, Mario (2003), "Per la definizione della nozione di principe civile", ''Interpres'', XXII. * Martelli, Mario (2001), "I dettagli della filologia", ''Interpres'' XX, pp. 212–71. * Martelli, Mario (1999a), "Note su Machiavelli", ''Interpres'' XVIII, pp. 91–145. * Martelli, Mario (1999b), ''Saggio sul Principe'', Salerno Editrice, Roma. * Martelli, Mario (1999c), "Machiavelli e Savonarola: valutazione politica e valutazione religiosa", Girolamo Savonarola. L´uomo e il frate". Atti del xxxv Convegno storico internazionale (Todi, II-14 ottobre 1998), CISAM, Spoleto, pp. 139–53. * Martelli, Mario (1998a), ''Machiavelli e gli storici antichi, osservazioni su alcuni luoghi dei discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio'', Quaderni di Filologia e critica, 13, Salerno Editrice, Roma. * Martelli, Mario (1998b), "Machiavelli politico amante poeta", ''Interpres'' XVII, pp. 211–56. * Martelli, Mario (1998c), "Machiavelli e Savonarola", ''Savonarola. Democrazia, tirannide, profezia'', a cura di G.C. Garfagnini, Florencia, Sismel-Edizioni del Galluzo, pp. 67–89. * Martelli, Mario and Bausi, Francesco (1997), "Politica, storia e letteratura: Machiavelli e Guicciardini", ''Storia della letteratura italiana'', E. Malato (ed.), vol. IV. Il primo Cinquecento, Salerno Editrice, Roma, pp. 251–320. * Martelli, Mario (1985–1986), "Schede sulla cultura di Machiavelli", ''Interpres'' VI, pp. 283–330. * Martelli, Mario (1982) "La logica provvidenzialistica e il capitolo XXVI del Principe", ''Interpres'' IV, pp. 262–384. * Martelli, Mario (1974), "L´altro Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli", ''Rinascimento'', XIV, pp. 39–100. * Sasso, Gennaro (1993), ''Machiavelli: storia del suo pensiero politico'', II vol., Bologna, Il Mulino, * Sasso, Gennaro (1987–1997) ''Machiavelli e gli antichi e altri saggi'', 4 vols., Milano, R. Ricciardi


Editions

Collections * Gilbert, Allan H. ed. ''Machiavelli: The Chief Works and Others,'' (3 vol. 1965), the standard scholarly edition * Bondanella, Peter, and Mark Musa, eds. ''The Portable Machiavelli'' (1979) * Penman, Bruce. ''The Prince and Other Political Writings,'' (1981) *
excerpt and text search
The Prince * . Translated by William J. Connell * . Edited by W. Garner. Translated by Luigi Ricci
Excerpt and text search
* . Translated by
George Bull George Bull (25 March 1634 – 17 February 1710) was an English theologian and Bishop of St David's. Life He was born, 25 March 1634, in the parish of St. Cuthbert, Wells, and educated in the grammar school at Wells, and then at Blundell's ...
* . Translated by
Tim Parks Timothy Harold Parks (born 19 December 1954) is a British novelist, translator, author and professor of literature. Career He is the author of eighteen novels (notably ''Europa'', which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1997). His first ...
* . Translated by Robert M. Adams (Norton Critical Edition, 2nd ed., with "Backgrounds, Interpretations, Marginalia"). * . Translated into Spanish by Marina Massa-Carrara * . Translated by Harvey Mansfield * . Translated and Edited by Stephen J. Milner. Introduction, Notes and other critical apparatus by J.M. Dent. * ''The Prince'' ed. by Peter Bondanella (1998) 101 p
online edition
* ''The Prince'' ed. by Rufus Goodwin and Benjamin Martinez (2003
excerpt and text search
* ''The Prince'' (2007
excerpt and text search
* Machiavelli, Niccolò. ''The Prince,'' (1908 edition tr by W. K. Marriott
Gutenberg edition
* * ''Il principe'' (2006) ed. by Mario Martelli and Nicoletta Marcelli, Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Niccolò Machiavelli, Salerno Editrice, Roma. The Discourses on Livy * ''Discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio'' (2001), ed. by Francesco Bausi, Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Niccolò Machiavelli, II vol. Salerno Editrice, Roma. * ''The Discourses,'

* ''The Discourses,'' tr. with introduction and notes by L. J. Walker (2 vol 1950). * Machiavelli, Niccolò (1531). '' The Discourses''. Translated by Leslie J. Walker, S.J, revisions by Brian Richardson (2003). London: Penguin Books. * ''The Discourses,'' edited with an introduction by Bernard Crick (1970). The Art of War * ''The Seven Books on the Art of War'
online 1772 edition
* ''The Art of War'', University of Chicago Press, edited with new translation and commentary by Christopher Lynch (2003) * ''The Art of War'
online 1775 edition
* ''The Art of War'', Niccolò Machiavelli. Da Capo press edition, 2001, with introduction by Neal Wood. Florentine Histories * ''History of Florence'

* ''Reform of Florence'

* . Translation by Laura F. Banfield and Harvey Mansfield, Jr. Correspondence * ''Epistolario privado. Las cartas que nos desvelan el pensamiento y la personalidad de uno de los intelectuales más importantes del Renacimiento'', Juan Manuel Forte (edición y traducción), Madrid, La Esfera de los Libros, 2007, 435 págs, * ''The Private Correspondence of Niccolò Machiavelli,'' ed. by Orestes Ferrara; (1929
online edition
* . Translated and edited by James B. Atkinson and David Sices. * Also see . Poetry and comedy * Bilingual edition of ''The Woman from Andros'', ''
The Mandrake ''The Mandrake'' (Italian: ''La Mandragola'' ) is a satirical play by Italian Renaissance philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Although the five-act comedy was published in 1524 and first performed in the carnival season of 1526, Machiavelli likel ...
'', and ''
Clizia ''Clizia'' is a comedy by the Italian Renaissance political scientist and writer Niccolò Machiavelli, written in 1525. The work is based upon a classical play by Plautus, called ''Casina Casina ( egl, label= Montanaro, Caṡîna ; egl, lab ...
'', edited by David Sices and James B. Atkinson. * Hoeges, Dirk. ''Niccolò Machiavelli. Dichter-Poeta. Mit sämtlichen Gedichten, deutsch/italienisch. Con tutte le poesie, tedesco/italiano'', Reihe: Dialoghi/Dialogues: Literatur und Kultur Italiens und Frankreichs, Band 10, Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt/M. u.a. 2006, .


External links

* * * * *
Niccolò Machiavelli , Biography , Encyclopedia Britannica

Machiavelli, Niccolò
''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.'' *
Niccolò Machiavelli, ''History.com''
* William R. Everdell's article
From State to Free-State: The Meaning of the Word Republic from Jean Bodin to John Adams
with extensive discussion of Machiavelli
Works by Niccolò Machiavelli
text, concordances and frequency list *

Italian and English text
Machiavelli and the Italian City on the BBC's In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg
with Quentin Skinner, Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge; Evelyn Welch, Professor of Renaissance Studies at Queen Mary, University of London; Lisa Jardine, Director of the Centre for Editing Lives and Letters at Queen Mary, University of London
University of Adelaide's full texts of Machiavelli's works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machiavelli, Niccolo Italian political philosophers Italian Renaissance writers Italian classical liberals 1469 births 1527 deaths Burials at Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence Consequentialists Italian dramatists and playwrights 15th-century Italian philosophers 16th-century Italian philosophers Italian political writers Italian military writers Military theorists 15th-century people of the Republic of Florence 16th-century people of the Republic of Florence Philosophers of war Political realists Politicians from Florence 16th-century dramatists and playwrights 16th-century male writers Writers from Florence 15th-century Italian historians 16th-century Italian historians