(1469–1527). Italian political writer and statesman Niccolò Machiavelli was active during the Italian Renaissance. He wrote powerful, influential, and thoughtful prose. He was devoted to truth and to the freedom of Florence, the city he loved.
Machiavelli’s two chief works are The Prince and Discourses on Livy. Machiavelli began them both in 1513. He is especially known for The Prince. In it he offers advice to rulers on acquiring and holding on to their power. However, his advice ignores the usual ethical rules. Instead, he states that a prince should “learn how not to be good.”
The Prince was startling to readers for its frank rejection of morality. Some scholars suggest that the work was an attempt to satirize the conduct of the princely rulers of Renaissance Italy. Others believe that Machiavelli was concerned only with stating what human beings are like and how power is maintained. They assert that he had no intention of passing moral judgment on the current state of affairs. These scholars thus view Machiavelli as an early political scientist.
Either way, The Prince gained instant notoriety. Machiavelli’s name became synonymous with political cynicism and deviousness. The term Machiavellian was coined after his death. It refers to someone who is unscrupulous, cunning, and unprincipled.
Machiavelli was born in Florence on May 3, 1469. Because of his family’s poverty he received most of his education at home. In 1498 he was given a government position in the city and remained in its service until 1512.
Machiavelli was often used as a roving ambassador. In that capacity he tried to protect the interests of Florence from being sacrificed to the warring parties of Europe: France, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Roman Catholic Church. One of his most vital contributions to the welfare of Florence was persuading the city to raise its own militia instead of using a mercenary, or hired, army. He was vindicated when his militia helped conquer Pisa (Italy) in 1509.
When Giuliano de’ Medici became ruler of Florence in 1512, Machiavelli lost his post. He was exiled to his property outside the city and spent the time writing. Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, later Pope Clement VII, came to govern Florence in 1520, and Machiavelli was restored to government service. When the Medici were cast off in 1527, Machiavelli was again turned out of office because he had served a Medici. Machiavelli died on June 21, 1527, in Florence.
While in office Machiavelli wrote a number of short political discourses and poems on Florentine history. It was while he was out of office, however, that he wrote the works of political philosophy for which he is remembered. Most of Machiavelli’s philosophical ideas went against society’s teachings at the time. Therefore, many readers viewed Machiavelli as a teacher of evil.
Machiavelli is perhaps best known for his book The Prince. About the same time that he wrote it, he was also writing a different book, Discourses on Livy (in full, Discourses on the First Ten Books of Titus Livy). Both books were first published only after Machiavelli’s death, the Discourses on Livy in 1531 and The Prince in 1532.
The Prince is mostly concerned with princes and is short and easy to read. It examines political power, both how to obtain it and how to keep it. The book is basically divided into four sections. The first reviews the types of states that exist. The second delves into military might and the qualities of a prince as the head of an armed force. The third catalogs the traits expected in a prince. Finally, the fourth reviews the political environment into which Italy had fallen.
The Discourses on Livy is long, difficult, and full of advice on how to preserve republics. In it Machiavelli states his opinions on war, politics, and state affairs. He uses examples from ancient Rome, but he also discusses republics in general and includes information on Italy’s current state. The Discourses on Livy is divided into three books. In the first Machiavelli presents information on states and republics. In the second he discusses war and the expansion of the Roman Empire. In the last book he gives his opinions on powerful Roman leaders and how they worked to increase the greatness of the empire.
Machiavelli’s longest work is the Florentine Histories. Pope Leo X commissioned it in 1520, and it was first published in 1532. It is a history of Florence from its origin to 1492. Like the Discourses on Livy, the Florentine Histories contains criticism of the church and popes. In addition, it contains revealing portraits of leading characters, especially of the Medici.
The Art of War (1521) is one of only a few works of Machiavelli to be published during his lifetime. It is a dialogue set in a garden in Florence where people gathered to discuss philosophy and politics. The principal speaker urges that the ancients be imitated in war. He complains about the use of mercenaries in modern times and presents the Roman army as his model of military excellence. The book has achieved a prominent place in the history of writings on war.