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, who were then engaged in the process of trying to bring a large part of Central Italy under their possession. Florence sent him to Pistoia to pacify the leaders of two opposing factions which had broken into riots in 15 when this failed, the leaders were banished from the city, a strategy which Machiavelli had favoured from the outset. In the first decade of the sixteenth century, he carried out several diplomatic missions, most notably to the Papacy in Rome. Shortly thereafter, he was also made the secretary of the Dieci di Libertà e Pace. Shortly after the execution of Savonarola, 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. In 1494 Florence restored the republic, expelling the Medici family that had ruled Florence for some sixty years. It is unknown whether Machiavelli knew Greek Florence was at the time one of the centres of Greek scholarship in Europe. Machiavelli was taught grammar, rhetoric, and Latin by his teacher, Paolo da Ronciglione. Political-military alliances continually changed, featuring condottieri (mercenary leaders), who changed sides without warning, and the rise and fall of many short-lived governments. The Italian city-states, 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 waged acquisitive wars for regional influence and control. Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era. They had seven children, five sons and two daughters: Primerana, Bernardo, Lodovico, Guido, Piero, Baccina and Totto. Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini in 1501. 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 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 was born in Florence, Italy, the third child and first son of attorney Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli, on. See also: Timeline of Niccolò Machiavelli Oil painting of Machiavelli by Cristofano dell'Altissimo Machiavelli's political realism has continued to influence generations of academics and politicians, including Hannah Arendt and Otto von Bismarck. His works were a major influence on Enlightenment authors who revived interest in classical republicanism, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau and James Harrington. 1517) has been said to have paved the way for modern republicanism. While much less well known than The Prince, the Discourses on Livy (composed c. Įven 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. Even into recent times, some scholars, such as Leo Strauss, have restated the traditional opinion that Machiavelli was a "teacher of evil". Others view The Prince as a manual, teaching would-be tyrants how they should seize and maintain power. Some consider it to be a straightforward description of political reality. Machiavelli's Prince has been surrounded by controversy since it was published. 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 are beneficial to him. He claimed that his experience and reading of history showed him that politics have always been played with deception, treachery, and crime. He worked as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence from 1498 to 1512, when the Medici were out of power.Īfter his death Machiavelli's name came to evoke unscrupulous acts of the sort he advised most famously in his work, The Prince. His personal correspondence is also important to historians and scholars of Italian correspondence. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. įor many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science. He is best known for his political treatise The Prince ( Il Principe), written around 1513 but not published until 1532, five years after his death. Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli ( – 21 June 1527) was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. Classical realism, virtù, multitude, national interest
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