A Year: Day to Day Men: 3rd of May
Absorbed in His Thoughts
May 3, 1469 was the birthdate of Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, the Italian diplomat, politician, and writer of the Renaissance period.
Machiavelli was born in a tumultuous era in which popes waged acquisitive wars against Italian city-states. People and cities often fell from power as France, Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire battled for regional influence and control. Political-military alliances continually changed, featuring mercenary leaders, who changed sides without warning. The result was a rise and fall of many short-lived governments.
Between 1503 and 1506, Machiavelli was responsible for the Florentine militia. Under his command, Florentine citizen-soldiers defeated Pisa in 1509. However, Machiavelli’s success did not last. In August 1512 the Medici, backed by Pope Julius II, used Spanish troops to defeat the Florentines at Prato. After the Medici victory in 1512, the Florentine city-state and the republic were dissolved, and Machiavelli was deprived of office. In 1513 the Medici accused him of conspiracy against them and had him imprisoned. Despite having been subjected to torture, he denied involvement and was released after three weeks.
Machiavelli then retired to his estate at Sant’Andrea in Percussina and devoted himself to studying and writing the political treatises that earned his place in the intellectual development of political philosophy and political conduct. He wrote his most well-known work “The Prince” in 1513 during his exile from city affairs.
Machiavellianism is widely used as a negative term to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli described most famously in “The Prince”. Machiavelli described immoral behavior, such as dishonesty and the killing of innocents, as being normal and effective in politics. He even seemed to encourage it in some situations. The book gained notoriety due to claims that it teaches “evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power”.
The term “Machiavellian” is often associated with political deceit, deviousness, and realpolitik. On the other hand, many commentators, such as Baruch Spinoza, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Denis Diderot, have argued that Machiavelli was actually a republican, even when writing “The Prince”, and his writings were an inspiration to Enlightenment proponents of modern democratic political philosophy. In one place, for example, he noted his admiration for the selfless Roman statesman Cincinnatus, who, after twice being granted absolute authority during crises, gave up the power as soon as it was no longer necessary, each crisis have been resolved.