Machiavelli, the Thinker of Necessity
Publisher
:
Payot
Parution date
:
EAN
:
9782228904537
Number of pages
:
471
Description
Niccoló Machiavelli, although one of the founders of modern political science, is now known primarily through the adjective Machiavellian and his quite short treatise, The Prince. But as Marina Marietti shows in this revealing new biography, Machiavelli was a true Renaissance man.
To give us a broader view of Machiavelli, Marietti analyzes his writings and places them in historical context. She uses Machiavelli’s diplomatic correspondence, especially as Secretary to the second Chancery of the Republic of Florence after the ouster of Savonarola, to show the importance of his political philosophy. But her research, and her biography, is also informed by his personal letters, plays, and poems. She shows the many facets of Machiavelli’s personality—he was a fine musician as well as a shrewd diplomat—by making connections between the events in Machiavelli’s life and his works.
Machiavelli lived in exciting times—changes were occurring in almost every area of society, and this revolutionary thinker and irreverent cynic was deeply involved. Machiavelli’s experiences from childhood onward did steer him toward pessimism, but as Marietti shows, that pessimism was enlivened by his joys and passions. Although his father was a strict disciplinarian, he nonetheless introduced young Niccoló to the writings of societal outliers, including Dante, and this reading encouraged a later questioning of the status quo. Despite the generally accepted view of his philosophy as uncaring of the greater society, his writing shows him to be engaged with the public good, conflicted over the political situation in Italy and questioning his country’s position in Europe. His correspondence with a good friend shares not only his views on the separation of church and state but also more intimate details, including his passion for an opera singer. Machiavelli, as this new biography shows, was not as Machiavellian as we thought.
Author
Marina Marietti : Marina Marietti is professor emeritus at Paris 3- Sorbonne, where she is department chair of Italian literature and the Middle Ages. In addition to Machiavel, she has published and coauthored several scholarly books in both French and Italian, namely Savonarole (PUF, 1997) and Dante (PUF, 1995), which have both gained reputations as the definitive texts on their subjects.
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