Machiavelli's Meaning & Modern Interpretations
The following is an extract from the foreword to the Gilgamesh Books edition of Machiavelli's The Prince
The Prince needs little introduction but it can benefit greatly by an extended elucidation. The influence of the work has extended far beyond its modest pages and its subsequent authority and deeper meaning can easily be missed, even by the most engaged reader. This ‘ante foreword’ then, aims to cover as broadly as possible such details that will illuminate the reader and further their understanding of what is a divisive and yet instructive work.
Niccolò Machiavelli, whose father was a lawyer and brilliant tutor, was irreverent, witty, friendly, loyal to his friends, attracted to and by women and even wrote the best comedy of his day, the Mandrake. Little is known of his early life until we reach the end of the 15th century.
In 1494 Charles VIII of France crossed the Alps and invaded France. Florence erupted in the ensuing chaos and the then leader Piero the Unfortunate, Lorenzo de' Medici’s son and successor, went to meet the French King. He surrendered unconditionally but when he returned to the city he was harangued as a traitor and forced into exile with his family. He had barely ruled for two years.
The vacuum was filled by the dynamic Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who persuaded the king not to sack Florence. Savonarola was not qualified for political office due to the fact that he was a cleric and secondly because he was not a Florentine citizen. However, he made his influence felt at government level through the political group the Frateschi. Fra Girolamo was known for his prophecies, eulogies of social grandeur and calls for a Christian revival. He denounced priestly corruption, oppressive rule and the exploitation of the poor. His government ushered in democratic reforms and permitted many exiles to return home. Despite the strident advances in secular legislation and law, Savonarola’s true motive was to create a ‘city of god’. Citizens threw off showy garments, and numerous women joined religious orders. Above all, Savonarola came to be remembered for organising the ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’, where he consigned all ‘vanities’, such as perfume, paintings, wigs and even ancient manuscripts, to the flames.
Savonarola’s Florence collapsed within a year, and the Dominican father was summoned to Rome after having accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption. He refused to attend and was excommunicated and banned from speaking in public. Florence had also challenged independent Pisa and the short-lived war was an unmitigated disaster, which caused severe food shortages. There were even cases of the plague and Savonarola was blamed for the catastrophe being visited upon them. The citizens once more instigated change and tired of the friar’s religious rantings, Savonarola was arrested in 1498 and charged with heresy on spurious charges. Under torture he confessed that his visions were false and he was burnt at the stake in Florence’s beautiful Piazza della Signoria, along with two lieutenants. A nascent Golden Age of democracy had therefore been extinguished in the impure flames of inquisitional Italy.
Piero Soderini was elected as president for life and the republic flourished during a brief period marked by the absence of fraud and a continuance of democracy. Niccolò Machiavelli was instated as the secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria, known as i dieci, the ten. He was not eligible to be an ambassador as he was not of noble birth. He was also the Secretary for War and led a successful campaign against Pisa. He also prompted the use of a citizen’s militia thus removing dependence on erratic mercenary forces. Now began the politician’s inroads into international affairs and power games. He was sent to papal elections and met Pope Alexander VI, who he considered a master of political deception. He also appeared before King Luis XII of France and Maximilian the Holy Roman Emperor, both of whom Machiavelli thought very little. In fact, the only leader that he did have some admiration for was Cesare Borgia, Pope Alexander VI’s son. Cesare Borgia, known as the Duke of Valentinois (Duca Valentino, in Italian), was considered by Machiavelli to be a role model prince. He was a leader who exercised his power well and would have united all of Italy had fate not intervened and illness put an early end to his life. And while being a legend in his own time he was also ruthless, depraved, and wielded violence in the best of Machiavellian manners, which was in the aid of a lucid political goal. Leaders were invited to peace talks and then assassinated in textbook Agathocles-style.
In September 1512 Soderini was repudiated when Cardinal Giovanni de Medici captured Florence with Papal troops during the War of the League of Cambrai and the citizen militia was crushed by battle hardened Spanish troops. This restored the Medici rule of Florence and with the return of one of Europe’s most notable families and Pope Leo X ruling as proxy from Rome, Machiavelli was arrested, charged with conspiring against the Medici and then tortured. He was finally released in an amnesty by the Pope and then exiled to his family estate south of the city limits.
Machiavelli had had ex officio control of the military and ambassadors while also acting as envoy and diplomat. Now he found himself a bored and hard up land holder. In frustration at the loss of purpose to his life he took pen to paper and began writing his discourses on Republican government, only to abandon them almost at once and write out his most famous work in just three months. In so doing he completed what has been deemed the most famous job application letter in history. It was a document that, in its essence, offered a blueprint for how to maintain power in the face of undermining forces.
Machiavelli finished The Prince in order to make a favourable impression on a would-be Medici patron. Machiavelli asked his friend ‘the Magnificent Francesco Vettori, His Patron and Benefactor, Florentine Ambassador to the Supreme Pontiff. In Rome’ to pass it on to the Medici. Here is part of the accompanying letter he wrote explaining his reasons for presenting such a work to Vettori:
‘I am unashamed to converse with them [local villagers] and to question them about the motives for their actions, and they, out of their human kindness, answer me. And for four hours at a time I feel no boredom, I forget all my troubles, I do not dread poverty, and I am not terrified by death. I absorb myself into them completely. And because Dante says that no one understands anything unless he retains what he has understood, I have jotted down what I have profited from in their conversation and composed a short study, De principatibus, in which I delve as deeply as I can into the ideas concerning this topic, discussing the definition of a princedom, the categories of princedoms, how they are acquired, how they are retained, and why they are lost. And if ever any whimsy of mine has given you pleasure, this one should not displease you. It ought to be welcomed by a prince, and especially by a new prince; therefore I am dedicating it to His Magnificence Giuliano.’
He continued:
‘I am wasting away and cannot continue on like this much longer without becoming contemptible because of my poverty. Besides, there is my desire that these Medici princes should begin to engage my services, even if they should start out by having me roll along a stone.’
The work was dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, grandson of ‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’. Lorenzo was part of the family that ruled Florence and his uncle, Giovanni, was Pope Leo X at the time. As a book it was never published in his lifetime and although a Medici did receive a copy, the recipient never gave any indication that he had read it.
Machiavelli also wrote it at a time in human history when Copernicus was studying the heavens and Leonardo anatomised the machinery of Mother Nature. In this fashion Niccolò dissected the inner workings of man the political animal. He wanted to understand the secrets of state craft as had been understood in ancient Rome by such great men as Tacitus and Seneca.
The book’s subject matter was organised along the lines of new princedoms; mixed princedoms; totally new states; defense and military; the qualities of a prince and finally the prudence of the prince.
The rest of the text can be found in the Gilgamesh Books edition of Machiavelli's The Prince as stated above or if you prefer less reading it is the core text of 'A Bluffer's Handbook to Machiavelli's The Prince', both available on Amazon
The Prince needs little introduction but it can benefit greatly by an extended elucidation. The influence of the work has extended far beyond its modest pages and its subsequent authority and deeper meaning can easily be missed, even by the most engaged reader. This ‘ante foreword’ then, aims to cover as broadly as possible such details that will illuminate the reader and further their understanding of what is a divisive and yet instructive work.
Niccolò Machiavelli, whose father was a lawyer and brilliant tutor, was irreverent, witty, friendly, loyal to his friends, attracted to and by women and even wrote the best comedy of his day, the Mandrake. Little is known of his early life until we reach the end of the 15th century.
In 1494 Charles VIII of France crossed the Alps and invaded France. Florence erupted in the ensuing chaos and the then leader Piero the Unfortunate, Lorenzo de' Medici’s son and successor, went to meet the French King. He surrendered unconditionally but when he returned to the city he was harangued as a traitor and forced into exile with his family. He had barely ruled for two years.
The vacuum was filled by the dynamic Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola, who persuaded the king not to sack Florence. Savonarola was not qualified for political office due to the fact that he was a cleric and secondly because he was not a Florentine citizen. However, he made his influence felt at government level through the political group the Frateschi. Fra Girolamo was known for his prophecies, eulogies of social grandeur and calls for a Christian revival. He denounced priestly corruption, oppressive rule and the exploitation of the poor. His government ushered in democratic reforms and permitted many exiles to return home. Despite the strident advances in secular legislation and law, Savonarola’s true motive was to create a ‘city of god’. Citizens threw off showy garments, and numerous women joined religious orders. Above all, Savonarola came to be remembered for organising the ‘Bonfire of the Vanities’, where he consigned all ‘vanities’, such as perfume, paintings, wigs and even ancient manuscripts, to the flames.
Savonarola’s Florence collapsed within a year, and the Dominican father was summoned to Rome after having accused Pope Alexander VI of corruption. He refused to attend and was excommunicated and banned from speaking in public. Florence had also challenged independent Pisa and the short-lived war was an unmitigated disaster, which caused severe food shortages. There were even cases of the plague and Savonarola was blamed for the catastrophe being visited upon them. The citizens once more instigated change and tired of the friar’s religious rantings, Savonarola was arrested in 1498 and charged with heresy on spurious charges. Under torture he confessed that his visions were false and he was burnt at the stake in Florence’s beautiful Piazza della Signoria, along with two lieutenants. A nascent Golden Age of democracy had therefore been extinguished in the impure flames of inquisitional Italy.
Piero Soderini was elected as president for life and the republic flourished during a brief period marked by the absence of fraud and a continuance of democracy. Niccolò Machiavelli was instated as the secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria, known as i dieci, the ten. He was not eligible to be an ambassador as he was not of noble birth. He was also the Secretary for War and led a successful campaign against Pisa. He also prompted the use of a citizen’s militia thus removing dependence on erratic mercenary forces. Now began the politician’s inroads into international affairs and power games. He was sent to papal elections and met Pope Alexander VI, who he considered a master of political deception. He also appeared before King Luis XII of France and Maximilian the Holy Roman Emperor, both of whom Machiavelli thought very little. In fact, the only leader that he did have some admiration for was Cesare Borgia, Pope Alexander VI’s son. Cesare Borgia, known as the Duke of Valentinois (Duca Valentino, in Italian), was considered by Machiavelli to be a role model prince. He was a leader who exercised his power well and would have united all of Italy had fate not intervened and illness put an early end to his life. And while being a legend in his own time he was also ruthless, depraved, and wielded violence in the best of Machiavellian manners, which was in the aid of a lucid political goal. Leaders were invited to peace talks and then assassinated in textbook Agathocles-style.
In September 1512 Soderini was repudiated when Cardinal Giovanni de Medici captured Florence with Papal troops during the War of the League of Cambrai and the citizen militia was crushed by battle hardened Spanish troops. This restored the Medici rule of Florence and with the return of one of Europe’s most notable families and Pope Leo X ruling as proxy from Rome, Machiavelli was arrested, charged with conspiring against the Medici and then tortured. He was finally released in an amnesty by the Pope and then exiled to his family estate south of the city limits.
Machiavelli had had ex officio control of the military and ambassadors while also acting as envoy and diplomat. Now he found himself a bored and hard up land holder. In frustration at the loss of purpose to his life he took pen to paper and began writing his discourses on Republican government, only to abandon them almost at once and write out his most famous work in just three months. In so doing he completed what has been deemed the most famous job application letter in history. It was a document that, in its essence, offered a blueprint for how to maintain power in the face of undermining forces.
Machiavelli finished The Prince in order to make a favourable impression on a would-be Medici patron. Machiavelli asked his friend ‘the Magnificent Francesco Vettori, His Patron and Benefactor, Florentine Ambassador to the Supreme Pontiff. In Rome’ to pass it on to the Medici. Here is part of the accompanying letter he wrote explaining his reasons for presenting such a work to Vettori:
‘I am unashamed to converse with them [local villagers] and to question them about the motives for their actions, and they, out of their human kindness, answer me. And for four hours at a time I feel no boredom, I forget all my troubles, I do not dread poverty, and I am not terrified by death. I absorb myself into them completely. And because Dante says that no one understands anything unless he retains what he has understood, I have jotted down what I have profited from in their conversation and composed a short study, De principatibus, in which I delve as deeply as I can into the ideas concerning this topic, discussing the definition of a princedom, the categories of princedoms, how they are acquired, how they are retained, and why they are lost. And if ever any whimsy of mine has given you pleasure, this one should not displease you. It ought to be welcomed by a prince, and especially by a new prince; therefore I am dedicating it to His Magnificence Giuliano.’
He continued:
‘I am wasting away and cannot continue on like this much longer without becoming contemptible because of my poverty. Besides, there is my desire that these Medici princes should begin to engage my services, even if they should start out by having me roll along a stone.’
The work was dedicated to Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, grandson of ‘Lorenzo the Magnificent’. Lorenzo was part of the family that ruled Florence and his uncle, Giovanni, was Pope Leo X at the time. As a book it was never published in his lifetime and although a Medici did receive a copy, the recipient never gave any indication that he had read it.
Machiavelli also wrote it at a time in human history when Copernicus was studying the heavens and Leonardo anatomised the machinery of Mother Nature. In this fashion Niccolò dissected the inner workings of man the political animal. He wanted to understand the secrets of state craft as had been understood in ancient Rome by such great men as Tacitus and Seneca.
The book’s subject matter was organised along the lines of new princedoms; mixed princedoms; totally new states; defense and military; the qualities of a prince and finally the prudence of the prince.
The rest of the text can be found in the Gilgamesh Books edition of Machiavelli's The Prince as stated above or if you prefer less reading it is the core text of 'A Bluffer's Handbook to Machiavelli's The Prince', both available on Amazon
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