Niccolò Machiavelli

Florence

Born in 1469: he served the Florentine Republic for 14 years as senior official and diplomat.

💡 Did you know? Machiavelli served the Republic of Florence for years as a diplomat and official: this experience fed his sober view of power.

The Prince

Written in exile in 1513, printed only in 1532: one of the most controversial books in history.

💡 Did you know? „The Prince“ is a manual for rulers: ruthlessly realistic rather than morally idealising.

feared

But never hated, he adds: hatred destroys a ruler.

💡 Did you know? „It is safer to be feared than loved“, for love does not hold, but fear does, said Machiavelli.

lion and fox

The lion for strength against the wolves, the fox for cunning against the snares.

💡 Did you know? The image originally comes from Cicero: Machiavelli reversed its moral valuation.

modern political theory

Not how the world ought to be, but how it is: the 'verità effettuale', the effective truth of things.

💡 Did you know? By separating politics from morality and asking what actually secures power, Machiavelli is seen as a founder of modern political science.

Cesare Borgia

He witnessed Pope Alexander VI's son at close quarters as an envoy: admiration mixed with horror.

💡 Did you know? Machiavelli observed the ruthless Cesare Borgia at close range, as a living model for his „Prince“.

the Medici

He lost his office, was tortured on suspicion of conspiracy and banished to his country estate.

💡 Did you know? When the Medici toppled the Republic in 1512, Machiavelli lost his post, was tortured and withdrew to the country: where he wrote „The Prince“.

Discourses

Discourses on the first ten books of Livy: a hymn to the Roman republic.

💡 Did you know? In the „Discorsi“ Machiavelli shows himself a committed republican: a contrast to the authoritarian „Prince“.

in official robes

Thus he entered 'the courts of the ancients' and conversed with them: one of literature's loveliest self-portraits.

💡 Did you know? By day he trapped thrushes and played cards in the village tavern.

unscrupulous pursuit of power

A simplification that only partly does justice to Machiavelli the republican.

💡 Did you know? „Machiavellianism“ still stands for cold, ruthless calculation of power: often unfairly reducing his work.

Mandragola

A biting comedy of seduction: in his lifetime he was more famous as a playwright than as a theorist.

💡 Did you know? Machiavelli also wrote the bawdy comedy „Mandragola“: more successful in his lifetime than his political writings.

1527

Shortly after the republic returned: which now in turn distrusted the ex-official of the Medici years.

💡 Did you know? Machiavelli died in 1527 without seeing his fame: „The Prince“ was printed only after his death.

Niccolò Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli was a Florentine political thinker of the Renaissance whose „The Prince“ first coolly separated politics from morality.

💡 Did you know? From his name derives „Machiavellianism“: a synonym for ruthless pursuit of power.