The Impact Of Machiavelli
The Impact of Niccolò Machiavelli
“It is much safer to be feared than loved.” This quotation is an example of the tough and practical political commentary of Niccolò Machiavelli— philosopher, statesman, and patriot. The son of a poor lawyer, Niccolò spent many hours educating himself in his father’s library. In 1498, he began a political career in Florence, Italy that would lead him to write one of the most important books in history—The
The Prince (1513). Machiavelli was not a great artist or religious leader, but he had the greatest influence on history of any single individual of the Renaissance or Reformation.
Machiavelli was a man of action. In 1498, at age 29, he accepted an important position in the government of Florence. He was entrusted with diplomatic missions to local Italian and other European courts. These missions required great diplomacy and a sophisticated understanding of
European politics. But Machiavelli could also handle more direct action. In
1509, Machiavelli established the Florentine militia and even led the troops himself to recapture the rebellious town of Pisa.
Clearly a Renaissance man, Machiavelli showed his greatest skill and made his most lasting mark on history as a writer. He wrote histories, short stories, and even plays. The Prince, however, was Machiavelli’s most influential work. It was an examination of how a leader could gain power and stay in power. Machiavelli described how to run a principality without regard for traditional ideas about right and wrong. He wrote it with the hopes of gaining favor with the politically powerful Medici family.
Machiavelli did gain power in Florence, but when the leadership of
Florence changed he lost his political influence. However, The Prince has become one of the best examinations of how politics actually works and is studied by political thinkers to this day. Francis Bacon, British statesman and philosopher, wrote that “We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others, that write what men do,
“It is much safer to be feared than loved.” This quotation is an example of the tough and practical political commentary of Niccolò Machiavelli— philosopher, statesman, and patriot. The son of a poor lawyer, Niccolò spent many hours educating himself in his father’s library. In 1498, he began a political career in Florence, Italy that would lead him to write one of the most important books in history—The
The Prince (1513). Machiavelli was not a great artist or religious leader, but he had the greatest influence on history of any single individual of the Renaissance or Reformation.
Machiavelli was a man of action. In 1498, at age 29, he accepted an important position in the government of Florence. He was entrusted with diplomatic missions to local Italian and other European courts. These missions required great diplomacy and a sophisticated understanding of
European politics. But Machiavelli could also handle more direct action. In
1509, Machiavelli established the Florentine militia and even led the troops himself to recapture the rebellious town of Pisa.
Clearly a Renaissance man, Machiavelli showed his greatest skill and made his most lasting mark on history as a writer. He wrote histories, short stories, and even plays. The Prince, however, was Machiavelli’s most influential work. It was an examination of how a leader could gain power and stay in power. Machiavelli described how to run a principality without regard for traditional ideas about right and wrong. He wrote it with the hopes of gaining favor with the politically powerful Medici family.
Machiavelli did gain power in Florence, but when the leadership of
Florence changed he lost his political influence. However, The Prince has become one of the best examinations of how politics actually works and is studied by political thinkers to this day. Francis Bacon, British statesman and philosopher, wrote that “We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others, that write what men do,