Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli born on May 3, 1469, was an Italian diplomat, philosopher, historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise “The Prince” which he wrote in 1513. Niccolò Machiavelli is often regarded as the father of modern political philosophy and political science. 

Niccolo Machiavelli served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic for many years and had the responsibility of handling diplomatic and military affairs. He is just not known for his work based on politics as he has also written many comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is extremely valuable to historians and researchers. From 1498 until 1512, when the Medici were no longer in power, he served as secretary to the Second Chancery of the Republic of Florence.

Machiavelli's name came to connote unethical behavior, such as that which he recommended most memorably in The Prince. His experience had taught him that politics has always been a game of deception, betrayal, and criminality. He also stated that a ruler who is building a kingdom or a republic and is chastised for his actions, even violence, could be pardoned if the goal is good and the outcome is good.

Machiavelli's Prince was mostly read as a manuscript long before it was published in 1532 and the response it got was mixed. Few people described it as a straightforward description of all the evil or inhuman practices which the rulers used to conquer everything whereas others said that it is an evil recommendation to oppressive rulers to help them maintain their powers. Many famous scholars including Leo Strauss stated that Niccolo Machiavelli's Prince was a teacher of evil.

The term Machiavellian is frequently associated with political deception, deviousness, and realpolitik. Despite the fact that Machiavelli is most known for his work on principalities, academics pay close attention to the exhortations in his other works of political philosophy. While far less well-known than The Prince, the Discourses on Livy which was written about 1517 is often regarded as having set the path for contemporary republicanism.

In this article, we are going to discuss who was Niccolo Machiavelli, his early life, his work, and also a few of the most important and frequently asked questions related to Machiavelli will be answered. 

Who was Mchiavelli

• Niccolò Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence and his father was Bernardo and his mother’s name was Bartolomea. His family for decades was fortunate enough to enjoy prestige and financial success but while Niccolò Machiavelli his father was struggling with work and so did the family and he had a large debt on his head.  

• Bernardo Machiavelli was a lawyer, although a poor one, who made most of his money from family property rather than his law business. He did, however, continue to be a member of the attorneys' guild, which was powerful in Florentine politics. Bernardo, as a lawyer and a lover of literature and writing, was likely to have connections among the influential in Florence's political circles, which subsequently presented Niccolo with the opportunity to enter public service. Niccolo would share his father's writing goals when he grew older. Niccolò Machiavelli’s father was actively interested in education and so he did his best and provided young Niccolo with the books which he had collected for years and made sure that his son gets the best education from his side. 

• Niccolò Machiavelli could be described as a diplomat for almost 14 years in Italy's Florentine Republic during the exile of the Medici family. When the Medici family reclaimed control in 1512, Machiavelli was fired and temporarily imprisoned. He subsequently authored The Prince, a manual for politicians on how to utilize ruthless, self-serving cunning, which inspired the name "Machiavellian" and because of his work on the Prince, it established Machiavelli as the "father of contemporary political philosophy." He also wrote a number of poetry and plays. He died in Florence, Italy, on June 21, 1527.

Niccolo Machiavelli Early Life 

• Niccolo Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy, into a family of aristocracy but not riches. Bernardo and Bartolomea, his parents, have three more children, two daughters, and a son. Bernardo worked as a lawyer and small landowner on a low wage. Machiavelli's education began when he was seven years old. According to some sources, Machiavelli worked for a Florentine banker from 1487 until 1495. A love of reading was a familial value shared by Machiavelli. His compositions demonstrate that he read the classics on a regular basis.

• Although very little is known about Machiavelli's early life, it is believed that he got the same education for a boy of the middle class. He learned languages such as Latin and reading classical Greek and Roman authors; he was particularly interested in history.

• In the year 1498, Machiavelli was named the Chancellor which is that he was the secretary to a nobleman, king, or prince and a secretary of the second chancellor which is the shield executive office. His job was to chiefly carry out the policy decisions of others, writing diplomatic letters in the favor of the king, reading and writing the reports, and taking notes about everything. He was trusted in such a way that he was selected to go on not one but three diplomatic missions to the foreign states which included four trips to France and two to the court of Rome. 

• Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini in 1502, and they had four sons and two daughters. Many of Machiavelli's letters and writings are said to have been saved by his grandson, Giovanni Ricci. In 1510, inspired by studying Roman history, Machiavelli was involved in creating a Florentine Republic citizen army. A Spanish army invaded Tuscany in August 1512 and devastated Prato. In fear, the Florentines deposed their king, Soderini, whom Machiavelli described as "decent but weak," and permitted the Medici, a formerly powerful family, to return to power.

• In November 1510, Machiavelli was then dismissed from his important role of chancellor and was then later arrested, imprisoned, and was also tortured by the suspect that he was the schemer or the mind behind the event against the Medici family. He was actually innocent, but he remained in suspect for years went and soon as time passed by he tried to acquire his farmer position of the chancellor to the Medici family but was unable to acquire it after many attempts, and at the end, he became a writer. 

Niccolo Machiavelli Finest Work-Prince 

• From the beginning, Niccolo Machiavelli had a passion for ancient history. He wanted to learn about the former governments and how they worked and so he did learn everything and was also a chancellor earlier in his career at the Medici family. Niccolo Machiavelli had a desire to rebuild the government with a stronger political and moral foundation and the desire came by reading the Roman Republic. He revealed that the biggest need in his time was to have a strong political and military leader who could easily bring together northern Italy by getting rid of the French and the Spanish influence. 

• While writing the classic “The Prince” he imagined the possibility of the Newly formed Medici family ruling both Florence and the papacy system. This desire is also played or written in the final chapter of the Prince. In the final chapter, he has pleaded to the Medici patrons to set Italy free from the barbarians. The chapter closes with a quotation from Petrarch's patriotic poem Italia mia which is "Virtue will take arms against fury \[[anger]\], and the battle will be brief; for the ancient valour \[[courage]\] in Italian hearts is not yet dead."At that time in 1513, no one listens to the plea. 

• The chapters of The Prince are written in a plain and unambiguous way. Politics has previously been viewed as a branch of morals by political authors. Machiavelli deviated from this lengthy history by treating politics as a separate entity. Machiavellian politics defined reality rather than what people thought or were taught to think. This was a significant departure from the convention.

• Niccolo Machiavelli viewed politics in purely human terms and did not consider the Christian view of history which is believed to be guided by God. A political leader's potential for substantial action is either given or taken away by a fortune. Machiavelli, like others in the Renaissance, thought that man had the capacity to control his own fate. This was the polar opposite of the Middle Ages' which was the period in Western European history beginning with the fall of the Roman Empire and lasting until the fifteenth century. Unlike Christian virtue, Machiavelli's take on politics is a beneficial blend of power and objectivity.

• Serious opponents of Machiavelli sometimes overlook the fact that he sought to describe rather than construct the principles of political success. For him, the state or the kingdom was bigger than its inhabitants and their particular interests; its health was based on unity, but even at its peak, the state's life was anticipated to expire at some point.

Other Works of Machiavelli

• Over the next ten years after being dismissed from the duty as the chancellor of the Medici family, Niccolo Machiavelli was away from political activities as he did not have to handle the political cases or the paperwork of the kingdom. He gave himself a second chance and turned his attention towards writing. During this time, he wrote a book on the art of war based on his experience as a militia organizer, as well as a commentary on the writings of the classical Roman historian Livy. Machiavelli elaborated on the notion of republican governance when studying Livy's account of the Roman republic. In contrast to The Prince, which advocates monarchy or even dictatorship, Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy are frequently regarded as proof of his republican inclinations. He also composed a number of poems as well as three comedy plays.

• Niccolo Machiavelli’s writing drew the notice of Cardinal Giulio de Medici, who had been in charge of Florence for some years and commissioned him to write a history of the city. From 1520 until 1524, he worked on his Florentine History. Giulio was elected Pope Clement VII in 1523, and Machiavelli presented him with the completed History in 1525. Machiavelli's brief return to public duty resulted from reconciliation with the Medici. He was appointed in command of Clement's military plans in Florence. Clement, on the other hand, stupidly fell for a ruse devised by his Roman adversaries, which culminated in his humiliation and the destruction of the papal residence and church of St. Peter.

• Soon after, Rome fell, and the great Catholic metropolis was tormented and ravaged by Protestant troops, primarily from Germany. This catastrophe, along with the threat posed to Florence by Clement's adversaries' approaching armies, prompted the Florentines to overthrow the Medici family in 1527. Machiavelli, a lifetime friend, and protector of the Florentine republic was on the losing side once more, now suspected by the republicans of conspiring with the Medici. He didn't have long to ponder the irony of his situation, though. In June 1527, he died as a result of an illness.

• Funny thing is that Machiavelli's most famous works were not published during his lifetime although there were many copies of his work. After his death, the Prince was his first work that got published in the year 1532 only by taking permission of Clement VII. Machiavelli was popular during his days and many people respected him because of his ideologies and the way in which he had described politics. Machiavelli's the Prince passed through seven Italian versions over the following twenty years, demonstrating its appeal. In 1559, the Catholic church placed all of Machiavelli's writings on the "Index of Prohibited Publications," a list of books banned for heresy or immorality. This had little effect on his popularity, and The Prince was quickly translated into all of the main European languages. Machiavelli is still regarded as one of the earliest contemporary political philosophers and as an astute observer of leadership psychology.

Later Life and Death 

After writing for more than a decade, in the later years, Machiavelli started living in a small village that was just outside of Florence. On June 21, 1527, Niccolo Machiavelli died in the city. His tomb is located in the church of Santa Croce in Florence which when he was alive was banned from entering during the latter part of his life. In today’s world, Niccolo Machiavelli  is regarded as the ‘father of the modern political theory.