Nicolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 in Florence. At the time of his birth Italy was divided between four city-states. Each of these continually faced threats from foreign governments of Europe. Florence was ruled by the powerful Medici family whose dominance was temporarily interrupted by a reform movement in 1494. As a young man Machiavelli became an important dignitary of this reform movement's government. When the Medici family returned to power in 1512 through the aid of a Spanish militia Machiavelli was tortured and removed from public life.

Little is known of Machiavelli's early life although it was clear that he was well-educated as evidenced by his familiarity with the works of the Ancient Classical philosophers such as Aristotle, Herodotus, and Virgil.

Machiavelli's public career came about with the ascendancy of Savonarola in 1492. Machiavelli became a disciple of Savanarola. Savonarola was hanged in 1498 and Machiavelli was appointed as the head of of the second chancery with the new republic.

During this period, Machiavelli came into contact not only with officials of foreign governments, but he also came to know powerful Italians including Cesare Borgia. In his work with the second chancery, Machiavelli worked on governmental documents. The first-hand contacts with the leading political figures of his time along with his documentary work ultimately afforded him the insights that would take shape in his later works.

After his imprisonment and banishment from the Medici court in 1512, Machiavelli retired outside Florence. It was in this period of his life that he began work on The Prince. Machiavelli had hoped to regain the favor of the Medici with this work, but he was not to realize this hope. The Princewas never published in his lifetime.

Somewhat ironically, Machiavelli was better known during his life time for his dramatic works such as Mandragola and Clizia. He was also a poet and musician who wrote carnival songs Some of his numerous political treatises including his Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius and The History of Florence. In later life, Machiavelli was able to recapture some of his influence with the Medici. He died on June 21, 1527.

Machiavelli's place in history lies in his political insights and particularly with issues of power and dominance. In this regard he may be regarded as a pioneer in political theory. The Prince, written in 1513, was eventually published in 1532 after his death. It proved to be controversial from the start and was immediately condemned by Pope Clement VIII.

The central message of The Prince is based on the premise that princes or rulers should retain absolute power over those they rule. In order to maintain their absolute dominance all means should be employed to justify their ends. In The Prince, Machiavelli even praises Casare Borgia, a Spanish aristocrat of the Romagna area of northern Italy who was a much-hated despot.

The Prince has provoked a great deal of discussion over the centuries and scholars have long debated the meaning of Machiavelli's seeming advocacy of tyranny and deceit. The Prince was interpreted at first as a satire of government, but letter from Machiavelli discover in 1810 indicated that his intent for penning this work was motivated by his hope of gaining the favor of the Medicis. He also added that his advocacy that rulers use an ends justifying the means approach to government was based on what he saw as the only way that Italy could rid itself of foreign invasions.

Machiavelli's work has become synonymous with a life dictated by expediency. Likewise, the phrase "it is better to be feared than loved" has, justly or not, identified Machiavelli with a cold and often heartless cynicism. As a man of his times, and of a period which articulated the premise that humans could strive beyond self-imposed boundaries, the rule of expediency in Machiavelli's theses took all known ethnical and religious mores in essence to the ultimate limits.

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