Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)‚ Italian historian‚ statesman‚ and political philosopher‚ whose amoral‚ but influential writings on statecraft have turned his name into a synonym for cunning and duplicity. Born in Florence on May 3‚ 1469‚ Machiavelli entered government service as a clerk and rose to prominence when the Florentine Republic was proclaimed in 1498. He was secretary of the ten-man council that conducted the diplomatic negotiations and supervised the military operations of the republic
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forced to grant that his (Machiavelli’s) teaching is diabolical and he himself a devil‚ we are forced to remember the profound theological truth that the devil himself is a fallen angel. - Leo Strauss‚ “Thoughts on Machiavelli” (1958: 13) The sheer infamy Niccolo Machiavelli has drawn to himself in the five centuries since he wrote The Prince underscores the fact that he was no political infant. On the contrary‚ he has been called‚ amongst other things‚ a ‘great sinner’ (Dostoevsky‚ cited in
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Niccolo Machiavelli. Hobbes was born in 1588 in England‚ when absolutism was taking hold in Europe. His most famous work was "Leviathan"‚ written in 1651. Hobbes discussed the ideal state and innate laws of man and nature‚ among other things. Machiavelli was born in Italy in 1469‚ a time when his home country was ruled mostly by foreign powers. His hometown‚ Florence‚ was still independent. Machiavelli’s most famous work‚ "The Prince"‚ tells of his ideal state and ideal ruler. Machiavelli goes
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War‚ Politics‚ Castiglione‚ and Machiavelli During the Renaissance period‚ many great minds expressed their ideas and talents to their fullest potential. Neither Baldesar Castiglione nor Niccoló Machiavelli were exceptions. In Castiglione?s greatest work‚ The Book of the Courtier‚ he describes the qualities that should be possessed by the perfect courtier in a compilation of made-up conversations between the members of the court of Urbino. In arguably Machiavelli?s best work‚ The Prince‚ he sets
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Prince At the end of the 14th century‚ Italy was still politically organized by city-states. Emerging as one of the most influential writers of the Renaissance‚ Niccolo Machiavelli was a political analyst‚ whose aim was to free italy from foreign rule‚ as well as to unite and strengthen the Italian city states. Machiavelli believed Italy could not be united unless its leader was ruthless. In 1513‚ he wrote his best-known work‚ The Prince‚ in which he describes the ways that a prince may gain
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From Niccolo Machiavelli ’s farm near San Casciano he wrote The Prince (1513) which has been described as depicting Renaissance humanism‚ where secularism‚ history‚ and intellectual freedom are all stressed. This essay will maintain this notion by exploring the definition of humanism and exploring the text of Niccolo Machiavelli to see if his work‚ The Prince‚ does sustain the characteristics of humanism. The most important characteristics of Renaissance humanism that will be examined include secularism
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The Prince‚ one of the most popular and well known doctrines of political thought was also one of the greatest works of Niccoló Machiavelli. First published in 1513‚ The Prince was written in response to the failure of the Greek-based Italian city-states. Machiavelli wrote The Prince because‚ despite being a firm Republican‚ he was also well-documented as a strong patriot. He wanted that his people live under a free but effective government‚ but he decided that if his nation has to be ruled by
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successfully. Through the clear and simple dialect‚ Machiavelli is able to compose understandable advice on how to have a fruitful reign. To fully support his ideas‚ Machiavelli uses Cesare Borgia’s rule as the prime example. Cesare Borgia’s rule is considered successful in the eyes of Machiavelli. This paper will outline Machiavelli’s points to being a successful ruler through the reign of Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli’s The Prince‚ is a work in which Machiavelli describes the qualities and actions he believed
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I will begin talking about what I propose to discuss in my dissertation. Firstly the title includes two main components; who influenced Machiavelli and the second part includes who he himself influenced through his writings and actions of war and violence. I have done numerous accounts of research‚ most importantly by reading the art of war written by Machiavelli. This book consists of answering the first question of who influenced him. Throughout the book‚ there are many examples which show who
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Niccolo Machiavelli was a famous Italian writer during the Reniassance. He was also a humanist‚ diplomat‚ philosopher‚ politician‚ and historian. Machiavelli was very smart and gifted‚ a psychologist actually name a behavioral trait after him. He was very versatile and could do many things‚ but being a writer was one of his most popular. Machiavelli is known for writing the book‚ The Prince. There is a lot of debate about this particular book. His writings in this book exemplified many different
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