External links
- Booknotes interview with Viroli on Niccolo's Smile, February 18, 2001
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Niccolo's Smile: A Biography of Machiavelli is a translation of Machiavelli's diaries and memoirs by Maurizio Viroli, a scholar from the University of Bologna, Italy, and Princeton University.
Published in 1998 using Machiavelli's original source materials, the author recreates his biography.
"Machiavellian" is a pejorative term suggesting serpentine scheming and use of immoral, ruthless means to achieve desired ends. Those ends usually include the maintenance of power at all costs. Some scholars assert that Machiavelli endorses these methods in his works on political philosophy. He lived in interesting but chaotic and often violent times. Viroli states that Machiavelli's longing for a powerful ruler was not merely based on a cynical wish to see power exercised; rather, he posits that Machiavelli hoped for a strong and, if necessary, devious ruler who could rule effectively but also wisely and justly. In his personal life, he is revealed here as a caring, sensitive man who, contrary to expectations, was frequently ruled by his heart rather than his head.
Describing "Machiavelli's Dream", the author recounts a legend in which on his death bed, the great philosopher gathered his friends and told of a dream. In the dream, a band of ragged, poorly dressed and miserable men were the self-described "saintly and blessed; we are on our way to Heaven". He then saw a crowd of solemnly attired, noble men of grave appearance. He recognized among them Plato, Plutarch, and Tacitus. They told him "We are the damned of Hell". Machiavelli tells his friends he would be far happier in Hell where he could discuss politics with the great men of the ancient world, whereas in Heaven he would languish in boredom among the saintly and blessed.
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Cesare Borgia was an Italian cardinal and condottiero, an illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and member of the Spanish-Aragonese House of Borgia. His fight for power was a major inspiration for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli.
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise The Prince, written around 1513 but not published until 1532. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.
Republicanism is a political ideology centred on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It has had different definitions and interpretations which vary significantly based on historical context and methodological approach.
The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of The Prince is of accepting that the aims of princes – such as glory and survival – can justify the use of immoral means to achieve those ends.
Han Fei, also known as Han Feizi or Han Fei Zi, was a Chinese philosopher or statesman of the "Legalist" (Fajia) school during the Warring States period, and a prince of the state of Han.
Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, The History of Italy, Guicciardini paved the way for a new style in historiography with his use of government sources to support arguments and the realistic analysis of the people and events of his time.
Classical republicanism, also known as civic republicanism or civic humanism, is a form of republicanism developed in the Renaissance inspired by the governmental forms and writings of classical antiquity, especially such classical writers as Aristotle, Polybius, and Cicero. Classical republicanism is built around concepts such as civil society, common good, civic virtue and mixed government.
The Discourses on Livy is a work of political history and philosophy written in the early 16th century by the Italian writer and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, best known as the author of The Prince. The Discourses were published posthumously with papal privilege in 1531.
While the term "political science" as a separate field is a rather late arrival in terms of social sciences, analyzing political power and the effects that it had on history has been occurring for centuries. However, the term "political science" was not always distinguished from political philosophy, and the modern discipline has a clear set of antecedents including moral philosophy, political economy, political theology, history, and other fields concerned with normative determinations of what ought to be and with deducing the characteristics and functions of the ideal state. Political science as a whole occurs all of the world in certain disciplines, but can also be lacking in other specific aspects of the term.
The Art of War is a treatise by the Italian Renaissance political philosopher and historian Niccolò Machiavelli.
Machiavellianism is widely defined as the political philosophy of the Italian Renaissance diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli.
Harvey Claflin Mansfield Jr. is an American political philosopher. He is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Government at Harvard University, where he has taught since 1962. He has held Guggenheim and NEH Fellowships and has been a Fellow at the National Humanities Center; he also received the National Humanities Medal in 2004 and delivered the Jefferson Lecture in 2007. He is a Carol G. Simon Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution. He is notable for his generally conservative stance on political issues in his writings.
The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu is a political satire written by French attorney Maurice Joly in protest against the regime of Napoleon III, who ruled France from 1848–1870. It was translated into English in 2002. Small portions were translated in 1967 as an appendix to Norman Cohn's Warrant for Genocide, which identifies it as the main source of the later Protocols of the Elders of Zion, though The Dialogue itself makes no mention of Jews.
Belfagor arcidiavolo is a novella by Niccolò Machiavelli, written between 1518 and 1527, and first published with his collected works in 1549. The novella is also known as La favola di Belfagor Arcidiavolo and Il demonio che prese moglie. Machiavelli's tale appeared in an abbreviated version published by Giovanni Brevio in 1545. Giovanni Francesco Straparola included his own version as the fourth story of the second night in his Le piacevoli notti (1557).
Niccolò Machiavelli started work with the chancery in Florence at the age of 29, traveling on diplomatic missions around Europe. In the 14 years he served the chancery, he met great statesmen and politicians, including Louis XII, Emperor Maximilian and Cesare Borgia, and gained great insight into the political workings of Europe. He gave Florentine generals successful military advice concerning tactics and organizing infantry forces. He even established a Florentine militia. When the Medici came back into power in 1512, Machiavelli was arrested, tortured and exiled from Florence.
This timeline lists important events relevant to the life of the Italian diplomat, writer and political philosopher Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (1469–1527).
The Life of Castruccio Castracani is a short work by Niccolò Machiavelli. It is made in the form of a short biographical account of the life of the medieval Tuscan condottiere, Castruccio Castracani, who lived in and ruled Lucca.
A Supplement to the Journey to the West is a Chinese shenmo (fantastic) novel written around 1640 CE by Dong Yue. It acts as an addendum to the famous 16th century novel Journey to the West and takes place between the end of chapter sixty-one and the beginning of chapter sixty-two.
Political opportunism refers to the attempt to maintain political support, or to increase political influence - possibly in a way which disregards relevant ethical or political principles.
Hujjat al-Din Abu Abdallah Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Zafar al-Siqilli, commonly known simply as Ibn Zafar al-Siqilli, was a philosopher, polymath and Arab-Sicilian politician of the Norman period, and has come to be known in the West as "Niccolò Machiavelli's Arab Precursor".