|
Niccolò Machiavelli (1469
- 1527)
|
|
|
 Niccolo's
Smile : A Biography of Machiavelli by Maurizio Viroli,
Antony Shugaar (Translator)
In Niccolò's Smile, Maurizio
Viroli brings to life the fascinating writer who was the founder of
modern political thought. Niccolò Machiavelli's works on the theory and
practice of statecraft are classics, but Viroli suggests that his
greatest accomplishment is his robust philosophy of life-his deep
beliefs about how one should conduct oneself as a modern citizen in a
republic, as a responsible family member, as a good person. On these
subjects Machiavelli wrote no books: the text of his philosophy is his
life itself, a life that was filled with paradox, uncertainty, and
tragic drama.
Here is an extraordinary man in all his complexity and
brilliance-a vivid narrative of Machiavelli's loves and friendships, the
rewards and perils of being an adviser to princes, his travels and
adventures, and the challenges and dangers of both his youth and his old
age. Machiavelli was a charming figure who was both famous and
powerless, both loved and reviled; we see him here for the first time
not as an intimidating, cynical icon of European political thought but
as a subtle, modern, and sagacious man whose smile captivated his
friends, disarmed his foes and preserved his inviolable personal
freedom.
 Click
here for more information on this book
Click
here for books by and about Machiavelli
Click
here for 20th Century Philosophy Books
|
|
E-text translated by W. K. Marriott, Rendered
into HTML by Jon
Roland of the Constitution
Society. This text was written c. 1505,
published in 1515.
|
|
From Steven Kreis, The
History Guide: Lectures on Modern Intellectural History
Excerpt:
The father of modern political theory, Niccolo di
Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was born at Florence, May 3, 1469, saw the
troubles of the French invasion (1493), when the Medici fled, and in
1498 became secretary of the Ten, a post he held until the fall of the
republic in 1512. He was employed in a great variety of missions,
including one to the Emperor Maximilian, and four to France. His
dispatches during these journeys, and his treatises on the Affairs
of France and Germany, are full of far-reaching insight. On the
restoration of the Medici, Machiavelli was involved in the downfall of
his patron, Gonfaloniere Soderini. Arrested on a charge of conspiracy in
1513, and put to the torture, he disclaimed all knowledge of the alleged
conspiracy. Although pardoned, he was obliged to retire from public life
and devoted himself to literature...
|
|
Merrilee H. Salmon
Excerpt:
Niccolò Machiavelli, born in 1469, wrote The Prince
during 1513 while living in political exile at his country house outside
of Florence. He had served as head of the second chancery of the
Florentine republic, but was dismissed after it fell in 1512. The Medici
family was again ruling Florence, and a Medici also sat on the papal
throne in Rome. Machiavelli tried unsuccessfully to use this treatise to
gain an advisory appointment either to the papacy or the court of the
Duke. The Prince was published in 1532, five years after Machiavelli
died...
|
|
Excerpt:
The first great political philosopher of the
Renaissance was Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). His famous treatise, The
Prince, stands apart from all other political writings of the period
insofar as it focus on the practical problems a monarch faces in staying
in power, rather than more speculative issues explaining the foundation
of political authority. As such, it is an expression of realpolitik,
that is, governmental policy based on retaining power rather than
pursuing ideals...
|
|
Excerpt:
Machiavelli's formulation of the historical principles
inherent in Roman government may be found in his Discourse on the First
Ten Books of Titus Livius (1531; trans. 1636), a commentary on the
History of Rome by the Roman historian Livy. In this study Machiavelli
departs from medieval theocratic concepts of history, ascribing
historical events to the demands of human nature and the effects of
chance. Among his other works are Dell'arte della guerra (On the Art of
War, 1521), which describes the advantages of conscripted over mercenary
troops. The Istorie Fiorentine (History of Florence, 1525) interprets
the chronicles of the city, in terms of historical causality.
Machiavelli was also the author of the biography Vita di Castruccio
Castracani (Life of Castruccio Castracani, 1520), a number of poems, and
several plays, of which the best known is Mandragola (The Mandrake,
1524), a biting satire on the corruption of contemporary Italian
society. Many of his writings anticipated the growth in succeeding
periods of strong nationalistic states...
|
|
Richard Hooker
Excerpt:
His life spanned the greatest period of cultural
achievement in Florence to its ultimate downfall. This period was marked
by political instability, fear, invasion, intrigue, and high cultural
achievement as the tiny states of Italy, including the Papal States,
were pulled into the politics and wars of Europe by the immense gravity
of two large states, Spain and France. His life began at the very start
of this process: in 1469, when Ferdinand and Isabella married and
through this marriage created a new, large kingdom of Spain composed of
Castile and Aragon, Machiavelli was born to a wealthy Florentine lawyer.
In his lifetime, he would see the efflorescence of Florentine culture
and political power under the brilliant political genius of Lorenzo
de'Medici. He would also see the twilight of the Medici power as
Lorenzo's son and successor, Piero de'Medici, was thrown from power by
the Dominican monk, Savonarola, who set up a true Florentine Republic.
When Savonarola, fanatic about reform, was himself thrown from power and
burned, a second Republic was set up under Soderini in 1498. Machiavelli
was the secretary of this new Republic, an important and distinguished
position. The Republic, however, was crushed in 1512 by the Spanish who
installed the Medici's as rulers of Florence once again...
|
 |
|
