History Creator / NiccoloMachiavelli

'''Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavegli''' (1469-1527) was a Florentine writer, philosopher, and political theorist active at a time of great chaos and turmoil throughout Italy. He is best-known for writing ''Literature/ThePrince'', a handbook for the ruling Medici family on how to most effectively run a principality. Due to ''The Prince'' being his best-known work, coupled with the fact that [[MainstreamObscurity few who quote it have actually read it]], Machiavelli's name has become a byword for being a ruthless, manipulative, backstabbing bastard; so much so that in Creator/ChristopherMarlowe's ''The Jew of Malta'', Machiavelli is presented on stage as the narrator of the prologue, and the term ''Old Nick'' to refer to TheDevil may also be derived from his forename.

* Creator/ChristopherMarlowe's famous prologue from ''The Jew of Malta'' has Machiavel introduce the action with a stereotyped invocation of his political philosophy.

* BeamMeUpScotty: He's quoted as saying that it's better for a ruler to be feared rather than loved in ''Literature/ThePrince''. To be fair he did say that, but only if you couldn't be both; it's best if you are feared ''and'' loved. Above all, you should make sure you're not ''hated'', as hatred overcomes fear of punishment.
** The actual point of the quote was to let the reader know that a Prince who is loved, but not feared, will be more readily betrayed by his subjects than a Prince who is feared, but not loved. Thus, fear without inspiring hatred is important to a Prince.

* BornInTheWrongCentury: He shared the [[RenaissanceMan Renaissance mentality]] of being several centuries ahead of his time and of wanting to live in AncientRome, and sometimes dressed up in a toga.
** Interesting because he is born either after his time or ahead of it--or both.
--> ''"The plan of the UsefulNotes/FrenchRevolution was written large in the books of Machiavelli".''
-->-- '''UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre'''

* DeadpanSnarker: A common way of portraying Machiavelli in fiction but also TruthInTelevision. This can be seen in his account of a dream he had where he saw all the saints in {{Heaven}} and philosophers like Creator/{{Plato}} in {{Hell}}. When he told this dream to his friends, Machiavelli said that he'd [[AHellOfATime rather be in Hell with interesting people]] than in Heaven where everyone was boring and good.

* TheGoodChancellor[=/=]EvilChancellor: Machiavelli was Chancellor of the Florentine Republic. YMMV on which one you believe he was.
** According to historians, his tenure in Florence was a rare instance of corruption free governance during the Renaissance and his creation of the Florence standing army was regarded as a great achievement. Unfortunately the Medici returned.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Machiavelli was a proto-[[PatrioticFervor patriot]] who wanted a united Italy at a time when no one else particularly thought it was possible.
** He hated the fact that the FeudingFamilies of the various city states and their reliance on PrivateMilitaryContractors [[CrapsackWorld had left Italy open to plunder]] from neighbouring kingdoms. One reason why historians feel that Machiavelli was so forgiving to Cesare Borgia was that the latter at least mounted an attempt to unify Italy under the Papal States. Hence why, he wrote [[ThePrince a book]] about how a dastardly, wickedly cunning, violent man would be a good ruler.
** Of course Machiavelli would have ideally preferred a Republic, built on a civilian army, like the one that he had built for the Florence, which succeeded in keeping the city Medici-Free until 1512. The fact was that a Republic in the 1500s could not have united a large area of land, and Machiavelli knew that. It wouldn't become a possibility until UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment and the UsefulNotes/WarsOfItalianIndependence that followed the former.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: After his death his son found an unfinished play that Machiavelli had been working on that contained several thinly-veiled and quite cynical parodies of several important men in Florence.

* PrivateMilitaryContractors: In ''ThePrince'', Machiavelli blamed Italy's dominance by foreign powers on the fact that the Italian states all tended to rely on hired mercenaries in war. He pointed out that a soldier's purpose is to protect; a mercenary's is to ''damage'' at the least risk to themselves, which made them most dangerous to their allies and civilians, and least dangerous to the enemy. In battle they tended to get slaughtered, [[DirtyCoward in the unlikely event they turned up at all]]. Armies with more direct loyalty to their prince or their state tended to do much better.
** So much so that he devoted an entire chapter to why one should not rely on mercenaries, and put reminders in the other two chapters on warfare.
** And ''Discourses'' is rather critical of them as well.

* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: Perhaps undeservedly.

* TallDarkAndSnarky

** Of course Machiavelli would have ideally preferred a Republic, built on a civilian army, like the one that he had built for the Florence, which succeeded in keeping the city Medici-Free until 1512. The fact is a Republic in the 1500s could not have united a large area of land, and Machiavelli knew that. It wouldn't become a possibility until UsefulNotes/TheEnlightenment and the UsefulNotes/WarsOfItalianIndependence that followed the former.

->''Anyone who studies present and ancient affairs will easily see how in all cities and all peoples there still exist...the same desires and passions. Thus, it is an easy matter for him who carefully examines past events to foresee future events...to apply the remedies employed by the ancients...But since these matters are neglected... by those who read, or, if understood, remain unknown to those who govern, the result is that the same problems always exist in every era.''

Hegel argued that it was written for a certain time and certain locale and to judge it based on contemporary morality and from the perspective of someone living in a unified nation state was unfair. Since the mid-twentieth century, the most common interpretation of ''The Prince'' is that it simply describes as Francis Bacon said, "what men do, and not what they ought to do" and that it is the first true work to deal with politics as a branch of science and not ethics. Another unfair misinterpretation of Machiavelli is seeing him as someone who wrote for the benefit of [insert favorite mass murdering tyrant here]. This is unfair to Machiavelli considering that someone like Hitler doesn't need a centuries dead philosopher to give him permission to go on a murderous rampage, whereas a democratic leader with a strong moral compass like Abe Lincoln or Winston Churchill might have doubts about what their duties as a leader are. And, for that matter, Machiavelli would probably have approved of pragmatic democratic statesmen like [[UsefulNotes/RichardNixon Nixon]] or Disraeli more than insane ideologues like Hitler or Stalin.

->''Anyone who studies present and ancient affairs will easily see how in all cities and all peoples there still exist...the same desires and passions. Thus, it is an easy matter for him who carefully examines past events to foresee future events...to apply the remedies employed by the ancients, or, if old remedies cannot be found, to devise new ones based upon the similarity of the events. But since these matters are neglected or not understood...the result is that the same problems always exist in every era.''

-->-- ''Discourses on Livy''

->''When evening comes, I return home and go into my study. On the threshold I strip off my muddy, sweaty, workday clothes, and put on the robes of court and palace, and in this graver dress I enter the antique courts of the ancients and am welcomed by them, and there I taste the food that alone is mine, and for which I was born. And there I make bold to speak to them and ask the motives of their actions, and they, in their humanity, reply to me. And for the space of four hours I forget the world, remember no vexation, fear poverty no more, tremble no more at death: I pass indeed into their world.''

->''"Peña Dura taught me one thing. Better to be feared than respected."''
-->-- '''Bane''', ''VideoGame/InjusticeGodsAmongUs''

This reputation is perhaps undeserved as some of his other works, notably ''Literature/DiscoursesOnLivy'', are all about successfully running republics, and even in ''The Prince'' he states that a republic is the best form of government. In the eighteenth century the view that the book was actually an [[StealthParody elaborate]] [[{{Trollfic}} parody]] became fashionable given both the nature of Machiavelli's other works and the fact that ''The Prince'' was written just after he was stripped of his power, imprisoned, and tortured by the Medicis. In early nineteenth century Germany it became fashionable to suggest that ''The Prince'' needed to be judged relatively. Though the tradition began even earlier than that.

'''Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavegli''' (1469-1527) was a Florentine writer, philosopher, and political theorist active at a time of great chaos and turmoil throughout Italy. He is best-known for writing ''Literature/ThePrince'', a handbook for the ruling Medici family on how to most effectively run a principality. Due to ''The Prince'' being his best-known work, coupled with the fact that [[MainstreamObscurity few who quote it have actually read it]], Machiavelli's name has become a byword for being a ruthless, manipulative, backstabbing bastard; so much so that in Creator/ChristopherMarlowe's ''Theatre/DoctorFaustus'', Machiavelli is presented as one who has made a DealWithTheDevil, and the term ''Old Nick'' to refer to TheDevil may also be derived from his forename.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Machiavelli was a [[PatrioticFervor patriot]] who wanted a united Italy at a time when no one else particularly thought it was possible. This may explain why he wrote [[ThePrince a book]] about how a dastardly, wickedly cunning, violent man would be a good ruler.

Hegel argued that it was written for a certain time and certain locale and to judge it based on contemporary morality and from the perspective of someone living in a unified nation state was unfair. Since the mid-twentieth century, the most common interpretation of ''The Prince'' is that it simply describes as Francis Bacon said, "what men do, and not what they ought to do" and that it is the first true work to deal with politics as a branch of science and not ethics. Another unfair misinterpretation of Machiavelli is seeing him as someone who wrote for the benefit of [insert favorite mass murdering tyrant here]. This is unfair to Machiavelli considering that someone like Hitler doesn't need a centuries dead philosopher to give him permission to go on a murderous rampage, whereas a democratic leader with a strong moral compass like Abe Lincoln or Winston Churchill might have doubts about what their duties as a leader are. And, for that matter, Machiavelli would probably have approved of pragmatic democratic statesmen like [[RichardNixon Nixon]] or Disraeli more than insane ideologues like Hitler or Stalin.

** Interesting because he is born either before his time or ahead of it---or both.

However, one must be careful not to assume that Machiavelli was truly pro-democracy. In ''Discourses on Livy'', he takes the time to state that pure democracy isn't a great idea either, and the best form of government is one that combines democracy, aristocracy, and monarchy so that the different social classes can keep each other in check. On the other hand, the liberal movement which (openly or otherwise) adopted Machiavelli's philosophy more or less took the same opinion. Indeed, modern representative democracy would rather please Machiavelli, as it more or less reflects his ideals (a popularly-elected legislature is ''not'' a democracy as he understood it, but close enough to serve in the position in his three-in-one system;[[note]]To elaborate, Machiavelli considered Rome the model, and Rome was a single small republic that conquered and collected tribute from other city-states and thus could have a direct-democratic element in the city. The idea of ''representative'' government was essentially an English invention, and the idea that the territory of a republic could--indeed, ''should''--encompass thousands of square miles was straight from the mind of UsefulNotes/JamesMadison--who, incidentally, made no bones about his interest in Machiavelli.[[/note]] the modern investment of a great deal of power in [[AmericanPoliticalSystem directly-elected presidents]] and [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem indirectly-elected prime ministers]] is a pretty good approximation of his idea of "monarchy"; and both the role of less-representative upper legislative houses--like the US Senate and British Lords--and small, well-educated judicial courts are close to his concept of "aristocracy").

Already in the 18th Century, it was fashionable among Enlightenment philosophers to regard Machiavelli as their inspiration. Jean Jacques Rousseau was a major admirer of his works and was among the first to suggest that ''The Prince'' need not be taken at face value and he regarded Machiavelli as a republican. The founding fathers of the United States were also familiar with his writings.

* PrivateMilitaryContractors: In ''ThePrince'', Machiavelli blamed Italy's dominance by foreign powers on the fact that the Italian states all tended to rely on hired mercenaries in war. They tended to get slaughtered, when they didn't turn out to be {{Dirty Coward}}s. Armies with more direct loyalty to their prince or their state tended to do much better.

* AdmiringTheAbomination: Machiavelli's admiration for [[BastardBastard Cesare Borgia]] may count as this.

** Others mistakenly believe he said never to hire mercenaries. What he actually said was not to rely on mercenaries to protect your kingdom. This would not preclude hiring them to carry out small, covert missions on your behalf where deniability is an important consideration.

-->-- '''MaximilienRobespierre'''

-->-- '''MaximilienRobespierre''

Already in the 18th Century, it was fashionable among Enlightenment philosophers to regard Machiavelli as their inspiration. Jean Jacques Rousseau was a major admirer of his works and was among the first to suggest that ''The Prince'' need not be taken at face value and he regarded Machiavelli as a republican. Anti-royalist MaximilienRobespierre stated that, "the plan of the
the French Revolution was written large in the books of Machiavelli". The founding fathers of the United States were also familiar with his writings.

** Interesting because he is born either before his time or ahead of it---or both

UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution was written large in the books of Machiavelli"''. The founding fathers of the United States were also familiar with his writings.

Already in the 18th Century, it was fashionable among Enlightenment philosophers to regard Machiavelli as their inspiration. Jean Jacques Rousseau was a major admirer of his works and was among the first to suggest that ''The Prince'' need not be taken at face value and he regarded Machiavelli as a republican. Anti-royalist MaximilienRobespierre stated that, ''"the plan of the
French Revolution was written large...in the books of Machiavelli"''. The founding fathers of the united states were also familiar with his writings.

Hegel argued that it was written for a certain time and certain locale and to judge it based on contemporary morality and from the perspective of someone living in a unified nation state was unfair. Since the mid-twentieth century, the most common interpretation of ''The Prince'' is that it simply describes [[FrancisBacon "what men do, and not what they ought to do"]] and that it is the first true work to deal with politics as a branch of science and not ethics. Another unfair misinterpretation of Machiavelli is seeing him as someone who wrote for the benefit of [insert favorite mass murdering tyrant here]. This is unfair to Machiavelli considering that someone like Hitler doesn't need a centuries dead philosopher to give him permission to go on a murderous rampage, whereas a democratic leader with a strong moral compass like Abe Lincoln or Winston Churchill might have doubts about what their duties as a leader are. And, for that matter, Machiavelli would probably have approved of pragmatic democratic statesmen like [[RichardNixon Nixon]] or Disraeli more than insane ideologues like Hitler or Stalin.

This reputation is perhaps undeserved as some of his other works, notably ''Literature/DiscoursesOnLivy'', are all about successfully running republics, and even in ''The Prince'' he states that a republic is the best form of government. In the eighteenth century the view that the book was actually an [[StealthParody elaborate]] [[{{Trollfic}} parody]] became fashionable given both the nature of Machiavelli's other works and the fact that ''The Prince'' was written just after he was stripped of his power, imprisoned, and tortured by the Medicis. In early nineteenth century Germany it became fashionable to suggest that ''The Prince'' needed to be judged relatively. Hegel argued that it was written for a certain time and certain locale and to judge it based on contemporary morality and from the perspective of someone living in a unified nation state was unfair. Since the mid-twentieth century, the most common interpretation of ''The Prince'' is that it simply describes [[FrancisBacon "what men do, and not what they ought to do"]] and that it is the first true work to deal with politics as a branch of science and not ethics. Another unfair misinterpretation of Machiavelli is seeing him as someone who wrote for the benefit of [insert favorite mass murdering tyrant here]. This is unfair to Machiavelli considering that someone like Hitler doesn't need a centuries dead philosopher to give him permission to go on a murderous rampage, whereas a democratic leader with a strong moral compass like Abe Lincoln or Winston Churchill might have doubts about what their duties as a leader are. And, for that matter, Machiavelli would probably have approved of pragmatic democratic statesmen like [[RichardNixon Nixon]] or Disraeli more than insane ideologues like Hitler or Stalin.

* ColdBloodedTorture: He suffered this when the Medici had retaken Florence. He was put in the strapado, a device which led to his body being hoisted by his joints and ankles from the ceiling where they tried to make him confess to some made up crime or another. Machiavelli refused.