machiavelli effectual truth

All rights reserved. They are notable for their topics and for the way in which they contain precursors to important claims in later works, such as The Prince. Vdeo 0073 (Table manners as we know them were a Renaissance invention.). The Discourses is, by Machiavellis admission, ostensibly a commentary on Livys history. Machiavellis writings bear the imprint of his age in this regard. This is a prime example of what we call Machiavelli's political realismhis intention to speak only of the "effectual truth" of politics, so that his treatise could be of pragmatic use in . But in fact it is replete with recommendations of moderation and self-discipline. He laments that histories are no longer properly read or understood (D 1.pr); speaks of reading histories with judicious attention (sensatamente; D 1.23); and implies that the Bible is a history (D 2.5). The effectiveness of his message can be seen in the stark difference between Botticellis Primavera and his later, post-Savonarolan Calumny of Apelles; or in the fact that Michelangelo felt compelled to toss his own easel paintings onto the so-called bonfires of the vanities. He was released in March and retired to a family house (which still stands) in SantAndrea in Percussina. Machiavelli first met Borgia at Urbino in summer 1502 to assess how much of a threat the popes son was to Florence. ! He died a few years after his fathers death, at the age of 32, in a street brawl in Spain. Citations to the Art of War refer to book and sentence number in the Italian edition of Marchand, Farchard, and Masi and in the corresponding translation of Lynch (e.g., AW 1.64). By Christmas 1513 Machiavelli had completed The Prince. Lastly, Machiavellis correspondence is worth noting. It is all the more striking to readers today, then, when they confront Machiavellis seeming recommendations of cruelty. Machiavelli on Reading the Bible Judiciously., Major, Rafael. Although Machiavelli studied ancient humanists, he does not often cite them as authorities. However, Colonna was also the leader of the Spanish forces that compelled the capitulation of Soderini and that enabled the Medici to regain control of Florence. Machiavelli insists, for example, that a prince should use cruelty sparingly and appropriately (P 8); that he should not seek to oppress the people (P 9); that he should not spend his subjects money (P 16) or take their property or women (P 17); that he should appear to merciful, faithful, honest, humane, and, above all, religious (P 18); that he should be reliable, not only as a true friend but as a true enemy (P 21); and so forth. Lastly, scholars have recently begun to examine Machiavellis connections to Islam. The question of nature is particularly important for an understanding of Machiavellis political philosophy, as he says that all human actions imitate nature (D 2.3 and 3.9). The third camp argues for the unity of Machiavellis teaching and furthermore argues that The Prince and the Discourses approach the truth from different directions. It is worth noting, though, that Machiavellis preference may be pragmatic rather than moral. An early copy of a portrait by Raphael. To what extent the Bible influenced Machiavelli remains an important question. Varieties of Realism: Thucydides and Machiavelli., Hankins, James. Two years before he wrote his famous 13-21 September 1506 letter to Giovan Battista Soderinithe so-called Ghiribizzi al Soderini (Musings to Soderini)Machiavelli wrote a now lost letter to Batolomeo Vespucci, a Florentine teacher of astrology at the University of Padua. Let and D 1.10). In 1513, the Fifth Lateran Council condemned those who believed that the soul was mortal; those who believed in the unity of the intellect; and those who believed in the eternity of the world. How Does Inflation Change Consumer Behavior? In 1512, the year before he wrote The Prince, the Florence administration he had served as a diplomat was overthrown by the Medici family, who had ruled Florence for much of the 15th century until their temporary overthrow in 1494. Books 5, 6, 7, and 8 concern Florences history against the background of Italian history. He also distinguishes between the humors of the great and the people (D 1.4-5; P 9). His mother was Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. Machiavelli makes at least two provocative claims. Finally, with respect to self-knowledge, virtue involves knowing ones capabilities and possessing the paradoxical ability to be firmly flexible. He seems to have commenced writing almost immediately. Machiavellis moral exemplars are often cruel, but they are also often dissimulators. Amazing Grace: Fortune, God, and Free Will in Machiavellis Thought., Newell, Waller R. Machiavelli and Xenophon on Princely Rule: A Double-Edged Encounter.. It is worth noting that a third possibility is principality, which according to some scholars looks suspiciously like the imposition of form onto matter (e.g., P 6 and 26; see also FH Pref. The sketcher image becomes even more complicated later in the text, when Machiavelli introduces the perspectives of two additional humors of the city, that is, the great (i grandi; P 9) and the soldiers (i soldati; P 19). His father was Bernardo, a doctor of law who spent a considerable part of his meager income on books and who seems to have been especially enamored of Cicero. It is worth noting that Machiavelli writes on ingratitude, fortune, ambition, and opportunity in I Capitoli; notably, he omits a treatment of virtue. They often act like lesser birds of prey, driven by nature to pursue their prey while a larger predator fatally circles above them (D 1.40). Some scholars have suggested that the beginning of Prince 25 not only problematizes Machiavellis notion of necessity but also engages with this ancient controversy. One of the ironies surrounding Machiavelli is that there has never been anything resembling a Machiavellian school of thought. The Histories has received renewed attention in recent years, and scholars have increasingly seen it as not merely historical but also philosophicalin other words, as complementary to The Prince and the Discourses. The destabilization of the Roman Republic was in part due to individuals who short-circuited this system, that is, who achieved glory outside the conventional political pathway. They share a common defect of overlooking the storm during the calm (P 24), for they are blind in judging good and bad counsel (D 3.35). He wrote poetry and plays during this period, and in 1518 he likely wrote his most famous play, Mandragola. But Machiavelli concludes that Agathocles paid so little heed to public opinion that his virtue was not enough. Machiavelli is sensitive to the role that moral judgment plays in political life; there would be no need to dissimulate if the opinions of others did not matter. Nevertheless, the young Niccol received a solid humanist education, learning Latin and some Greek. For Machiavelli, however, the gaining of power, however rightful or legitimate, is irrelevant if the ruler cannot then hold on to it. Depending on the context, virt is translated as virtue, strength, valor, character, ability, capability, talent, vigor, ingenuity, shrewdness, competence, effort, skill, courage, power, prowess, energy, bravery, and so forth. Additionally, recent work has explored the extent to which Machiavelli engaged with the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. intentions might find the imagination of things a more appropriate rhetorical strategy. It also raises the question as to whether Machiavelli writes in a manner similar to Xenophon (D 3.22). To reform contemplative philosophy, Machiavelli moved to assert the necessities of the world against the intelligibility of the heavenly cosmos and the supra-heavenly whole. Machiavelli says in the Dedicatory Letter that he is writing of those times which, through the death of the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici, brought a change of form [forma] in Italy. He says that he has striven to satisfy everyone while not staining the truth. In the Preface, Machiavelli says that his intent is to write down the things done inside and outside [the city] by the Florentine people (le cose fatte dentro e fuora dal popolo fiorentino) and that he changed his original intention in order that this history may be better understood in all times.. Friends such as Francesco Guicciardini and patrons such as Lorenzo di Filippo Strozzi attempted, with varying degrees of success, to restore Machiavellis reputation with the Medici. The son of Cosimo de Medicis physician, Ficino was a physician himself who also tutored Lorenzo the Magnificent. Machiavelli abandoned a moralistic approach to human behavior in order to express his values of what develops a good leader. He even at one point suggests that it is useful to simulate craziness (D 3.2). In what follows, Machiavellis four major works are discussed and then his other writings are briefly characterized. And since the Discourses references events from as late as 1517, it seems to have still been a work in progress by that point and perhaps even later. Five centuries ago, Niccol Machiavelli called this the "effectual truth": Claims that are true, he wrote in "The Prince," are so not because they correspond to objective reality but . The Redeeming Prince. In, Voegelin, Eric. There is still a remarkable gap in the scholarship concerning Machiavellis possible indebtedness to Plato. He is mentioned at least five times in The Prince (P 6 [4x] and 26) and at least five times in the Discourses (D 1.1, 1.9, 2.8 [2x], and 3.30). We do not know whether Machiavelli read Greek, but he certainly read Greek authors in translation, such as Thucydides, Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle, Polybius, Plutarch, and Ptolemy. The most notable ancient example is Dido, the founder and first queen of Carthage (P 20 and D 2.8). It bears no heading and begins with a paragraph that our other manuscripts do not have. Below are listed some of the more well-known works in the scholarship, as well as some that the author has found profitable but which are perhaps not as well-known. This dissertation accounts for these boasts and their political theories, tracing them first through . Atkinson, James B. The lines between these two forms are heavily blurred; the Roman republic is a model for wise princes (P 3), and the people can be considered a prince (D 1.58). The main difference between the Aristotelian scholastics and their humanist rivals was one of subject matter. For example, some scholars believe that Machiavellis notion of a sect (setta) is imported from the Averroeist vocabulary. And he says: I do not judge nor shall I ever judge it to be a defect to defend any opinion with reasons, without wishing to use either authority or force for it (D 1.58). Machiavellian virtue thus seems more closely related to the Greek conception of active power (dynamis) than to the Greek conception of virtue (arete). Machiavelli was privileged to have lived in highly interesting, if chaotic, times. Finally, he says that virtuous princes can introduce any form that they like, with the implication being that form does not constitute the fundamental reality of the polity (P 6). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Renaissance 'Prince of Painters' made a big impact in his short life, Leonardo da Vinci transformed mapping from art to science, Dante's 'Inferno' is a journey to hell and back, This Renaissance 'superdome' took more than 100 years to build, This Italian artist became the first female superstar of the Renaissance, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society. If this hypothesis is true, then his moral position would be much more complicated than it appears to be. 3.89. The revival of Greek learning in the Italian Renaissance did not change this concern and in fact even amplified it. Machiavelli also says that Filippo Casavecchia, a longtime friend, has already seen a rough draft of the text. Borgia was a contemporary of Machiavellis. The Prince expresses the effectual truth of things and the idea that a prince must not be just and fair . The Discourses is presented as a philosophical commentary on Livys History. Thiss site was howw ddo yyou say it? Even the good itself is variable (P 25). If Machiavelli possessed a sense of moral squeamishness, it is not something that one easily detects in his works. The status of Machiavellis republicanism has been the focus of much recent work. One reason for this lacuna might be that Plato is never mentioned in The Prince and is mentioned only once in the Discourses (D 3.6). Even the most excellent and virtuous men appear to require the opportunity to display themselves. Recent work has also highlighted stylistic resonances between Machiavellis works and De rerum natura, either directly or indirectly. With respect to self-discipline, virtue involves a recognition of ones limits coupled with the discipline to work within those limits. In the spirit of bringing common benefit to everyone (D 1.pr), what follows is a rough outline of the scholarly landscape. But the meaning of these manipulations, and indeed of these appearances, remains a scholarly question. 2015] B. REAKING . I would like to read a passage from the text in which Machiavelli gives an example of this virtuosity of Cesare Borgia. In 1522, Piero Soderini died in Rome. Life, Positive, Birthday. Machiavelli Ristorante Italiano, Sydney: See 307 unbiased reviews of Machiavelli Ristorante Italiano, rated 4 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #240 of 5,445 restaurants in Sydney. The following remarks about human nature will thus be serviceable signposts. Machiavelli presents to his readers a vision of political rule allegedly purged of extraneous moralizing influences and fully aware of the foundations of politics in the effective exercise of power. Machiavelli studies in English appear to have at least one major bifurcation. Reviewed in the United States on 30 November 2008. Machiavelli occasionally refers to other philosophical predecessors (e.g., D 3.6 and 3.26; FH 5.1; and AW 1.25). In a digression in The Prince, Machiavelli refers to David as a figure of the Old Testament (una figura del Testamento vecchio; P 13). Although the effectual truth may pertain to military matters e. The themes in The Prince have changed views on politics and . Book 7 concerns issues regarding armament, such as fortifications and artillery. The adjective Machiavellian means a total lack of scruples. If we look at the symbolism of the ministers punishment, we find that the spectacle is brilliantly staged. He also compares the Christian pontificate with the Janissary and Mameluk regimes predominant under Sunni Islam (P 19; see also P 11). Machiavelli's views were drastically different from other humanists at his time. His influence has been enormous. Recent work has noted that it is precisely this section of the text that received the least attention from other Renaissance annotators, many of whom focused instead upon Epicurean views on love, virtue, and vice. The Medici family backed some of the Renaissance's most beautiful paintings. Although he was interested in the study of nature, his primary interest seemed to be the study of human affairs. In Machiavelli's view, such a leader . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); BU Blogs | The Core Blog Machiavelli and Poetry. In. (Was Cesare Borgia's sister Lucrezia political pawn or predator?). In the same year, Florence underwent a major constitutional reform, which would place Piero Soderini as gonfaloniere for life (previously the term limit had been two months). While Italian cities, Florence in particular, were nurturing the great flourishing of learning and culture of the Renaissance, the peninsula was, at the same time, the focal point of seemingly endless war, intrigue, and violence between Europes powers. And he says in a preface to his version of Plotinus that Cosimo had been so deeply impressed with Plethon that the meeting between them had led directly to the foundation of Ficinos so-called Platonic Academy. The Florentine Histories was commissioned in 1520 by Pope Leo X, on behalf of the Officers of Study of Florence. Realising he was outnumbered, Borgia feigned reconciliation while cannily building up his forces. This might hold true whether they are actual rulers (e.g., a certain prince of present times who says one thing and does another; P 18) or whether they are historical examples (e.g., Machiavellis altered story of David; P 13). The work is dedicated to Zanobi Buondelmonti and Cosimo Rucellai, two of Machiavellis friends, of whom Machiavelli says in the letter that they deserve to be princes even though they are not. Though they did treat problems in philosophy, they were primarily concerned with eloquence. would follow from a dualistic interpretation of Plato's philosophy. Regardless, what follows is a series of representative themes or vignettes that could support any number of interpretations. A possible weakness is that it seems to downplay Machiavellis remarks on nature and consequently places outsized importance upon processes such as training (esercitato), education (educazione), and art (arte). Evidence suggests that manuscript copies were circulating by 1530 and perhaps earlier. Thus, even with a figure as purportedly novel as Machiavelli, it is worth pondering historical and philosophical influences. Bock, Gisela, Quentin Skinner, and Maurizio Viroli, eds. Neither is it an accident that fortune, with which virtue is regularly paired and contrasted, is female (e.g., P 20 and 25). Recent work has pointed to provocative connections between Machiavellis thoughts and that of Greek historians, such as Herodotus (quoted at D 3.67), Thucydides (D 3.16 and AW 3.214), Polybius (D 3.40), Diodorus Siculus (D 2.5), Plutarch (D 1.21, 2.1, 2.24 [quoted], 3.12, 3.35, and 3.40), and Xenophon (P 14; D 2.2, 2.13, 3.20, 3.22 [2x], and 3.39 [2x]). One of the interlocutors of the Art of War is Bernardos grandson, Cosimo Rucellai, who is also one of the dedicatee of the Discourses. To assert the claim of nature against theology Machiavelli changes nature into the world, or, more precisely, because the world is not an intelligible whole, into worldly things. This world is the world of sense. Most interpreters have taken him to prefer the humor of the people for any number of reasons, not the least of which may be Machiavellis work for the Florentine republic. Although difficult to characterize concisely, Machiavellian virtue concerns the capacity to shape things and is a combination of self-reliance, self-assertion, self-discipline, and self-knowledge. But what more precisely might Machiavelli mean by philosophy? Fortune, he wrote, was like a "violent river" that can flood and destroy the earth, but when it is quiet, leaders can use their free will to prepare for and conquer the rough river of fate. He grew up in the Santo Spirito district of Florence. Machiavelli also narrates the rise of several prominent statesmen: Salvestro de Medici (FH 3.9); Michele di Lando (FH 3.16-22; compare FH 3.13); Niccol da Uzzano (FH 4.2-3); and Giovanni di Bicci de Medici (FH 4.3 and 4.10-16), whose family is in the ascendancy at the end of Book 4. Savonarola most famously carried out a citywide burning of luxuries, the bonfire of the vanities.. Machiavelli and Rome: The Republic as Ideal and as History. In, Rahe, Paul A. Anyone who wants to learn more about the intellectual context of the Italian Renaissance should begin with the many writings of Kristeller (e.g., 1979, 1961, and 1965), whose work is a model of scholarship. 5.0 out of 5 stars The few must be deferred, the many impressed or How I learned to live with the effectual truth. Petrarch, whom Machiavelli particularly admired, is never mentioned in the Discourses, although Machiavelli does end The Prince with four lines from Petrarchs Italia mia (93-96). $4.99 1 New from $4.99. And in one of the most famous passages concerning necessity, Machiavelli uses the word two different times and, according to some scholars, with two different meanings: Hence it is necessary [necessario] to a prince, if he wants to maintain himself, to learn to be able not to be good, and to use this and not use it according to necessity (la necessit; P 25). In Chapter 26, Machiavelli refers to extraordinary occurrences without example (sanza essemplo): the opening of the sea, the escort by the cloud, the water from the stone, and the manna from heaven. But what might Machiavelli have learned from Lucretius? Belief and Opinion in Machiavellis, Tarcov, Nathan. Machiavelli was a 16th century Florentine philosopher known primarily for his political ideas. Finally, he claims that the first part or book will treat things done inside the city by public counsel. Among the Latin authors that he read were Plautus, Terence, Caesar, Cicero, Sallust, Virgil, Lucretius, Tibullus, Ovid, Seneca, Tacitus, Priscian, Macrobius, and Livy. Savonarola was ousted in 1498; he was hanged and his body burned. What matters the most, politically speaking, is non-domination. Summary Chapter XVI: Liberality and Parsimony. histories. One cannot call it virtue to keep to a life of crime constantly; to slaughter the senators and the rich; to betray ones friends; to be without faith, without mercy, without religion. The Art of War is the only significant prose work published by Machiavelli during his lifetime and his only attempt at writing a dialogue in the humanist tradition. His brother Totto was a priest. Shakespeares plays are filled with famous Machiavellian villainsLady Macbeth, Iago, Edmund. I Capitoli contains tercets which are dedicated to friends and which treat the topics of ingratitude, fortune, ambition, and opportunity (with virtue being notably absent). It holds that Machiavelli is something of a neo-Roman republican. It is simply not the case that Italian Aristotelianism was displaced by humanism or Platonism. Minimally, then, virtue may mean to rely upon ones self or ones possessions. But Alexander of Aphrodisias interpretation that the soul was mortal might be much more in line with Machiavellis position, and this view was widely known in Machiavellis day. Machiavellis politics, meaning the wider world of human affairs, is always the realm of the partial perspective because politics is always about what is seen. The ends would justify the means. During the revolt of the Orsini, Borgia had deployed his virtuecunning and deceitto turn the tide of his bad fortune. Milan is not a wholly new principality as such but instead is new only to Francesco Sforza (P 1). By the early 1500s he was effectively the foreign minister of the Florentine republic, serving the citys chief minister, Piero Soderini. Chapter 6 of The Prince is famous for its distinction between armed and unarmed prophets. Machiavelli later acknowledges that Savonarola spoke the truth when he claimed that our sins were the cause of Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy, although he does not name him and in fact disagrees with Savonarola as to which sins are relevant (P 12; compare D 2.18). A second way of engaging this question is to examine the ways in which Machiavelli portrays fortune. At the beginning of his ascendancy, Scipio had never held any political positions and was not even eligible for them. Great Old School and freshly prepared Italian food. Surprisingly, there is still relatively little work on this fundamental Machiavellian concept. Success is never a permanent achievement. It is not enough to be constantly moving; additionally, one must always be ready and willing to move in another direction. But the technical nature of its content, if nothing else, has proved to be a resilient obstacle for scholars who attempt to master it, and the book remains the least studied of his major works. Three times in the Prince 25 river image, fortune is said to have impetus (impeto); at least eight times throughout Prince 25, successful princes are said to need impetuosity (impeto) or to need to be impetuous (impetuoso). Compre The Prince Classic Edition(Original Annotated) (English Edition) de Machiavelli, Niccol na Amazon.com.br. The Prince is a 16th-century political . Nederman (1999) examines free will. F. AITH. Machiavelli says that a wise prince should never be idle in peaceful times but should instead use his industry (industria) to resist adversity when fortune changes (P 14). And Machiavelli wrote several historical works himself, including the verse Florentine history, I Decannali; the fictionalized biography of Castruccio Castracani; and the Medici-commissioned Florentine Histories. While it is true that Machiavelli does use bugie only in a negative context in the Discourses (D 1.14 and 3.6), it is difficult to maintain that Machiavelli is opposed to lying in any principled way. Some scholars have gone so far as to see it as an utterly satirical or ironic work. History for Machiavelli might be a process that has its own purposes and to which we must submit. But if a prince develops a reputation for generosity, he will ruin his state. This characterization has important Renaissance precedentsfor instance, in the work of Leon Battista Alberti, Giovanni Pontano, and Enea Silvio Piccolomini. Borgias way of dealing with his minister is a prime example of what Machiavelli praises as political virtue, because in this instance Borgia demonstrates a knowledge of the inner essence of the people, or of what the people need and expect in a ruler. The new weapons of control are far more effectual. If I were introducing Machiavelli to students in a political science course, I would emphasize Machiavellis importance in the history of political thought. Although many aspects of Machiavellis account of the humors are well understood, some remain mysterious. The rise of Charlemagne is also a crucial factor (FH 1.11). Table manners as we know them were a Renaissance invention. In addition to I Decannali, Machiavelli wrote other poems. Corruption is a moral failing and more specifically a failing of reason. Machiavelli says that the second book concerns how Rome became an empire, that is, it concerns foreign political affairs (D 2.pr). Virtue involves flexibilitybut this is both a disciplined and an optimistic flexibility. Machiavelli makes his presence known from the very beginning of the Discourses; the first word of the work is the first person pronoun, Io. And indeed the impression that one gets from the book overall is that Machiavelli takes fewer pains to recede into the background here than in The Prince. 166 Copy quote. A New Argument for Morality: Machiavelli and the Ancients., Mansfield, Harvey C. Machiavelli on Necessity. In, Mansfield, Harvey C. Machiavellis Enterprise. In, Martinez, Ronald L. Comedian, Tragedian: Machiavelli and Traditions of Renaissance Theater. In, McCormick, John P. On the Myth of a Conservative Turn in Machiavellis, Najemy, John A. He grew up in a family reduced to penury, was raped by a schoolmaster, was promiscuously bisexual and also, as befits a Renaissance man, an accomplished . It is written in prose and covers the period of time from the decline of the Roman Empire until the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent in 1434. One way of engaging this question is to think of fortune in terms of what Machiavelli calls the arms of others (arme daltri; P 1 and 12-13; D 1.43). Machiavellis understanding of glory (gloria) is substantially beholden to that of the Romans, who were great lovers of glory (D 1.37; see also D 1.58 and 2.9). Both accounts are compatible with his suggestions that human nature does not change (e.g., D 1.pr, 1.11, and 3.43) and that imitating the ancients is possible (e.g., D 1.pr). The Prince is Machiavellis most famous philosophical book. Leaders should achieve and encourage to serve something larger than themselves, but Machiavelli's prince seeks only to preserve power for himself. There is still no settled scholarly opinion with respect to almost any facet of Machiavellis philosophy. An alternative hypothesis is that Machiavelli has some literary or philosophical reason to break from the structure of the outline, keeping with his general trajectory of departing from what is customary. William J. Connell is Professor of History and La . The first three sections, at least, are suggested by Machiavellis own comments in the text. His family fell from favour when the new pope, Julius II, removed the Borgias from power and exiled them to Spain. At some point, for reasons not entirely clear, Machiavelli changed his mind and dedicated to the volume to Lorenzo. Maximally, it may mean to rely completely upon outside influences and, in the end, to jettison completely the idea of personal responsibility. Machiavelli never treats the topic of the soul substantively, and he never uses the word at all in either The Prince or the Discourses (he apparently even went so far as to delete anima from a draft of the first preface to the Discourses). Time sweeps everything before it and brings the good as well as the bad (P 3); fortune varies and can ruin those who are obstinate (P 25). Our religion is also contrasted to the curiously singular ancient religion (religione antica; D 2.2). Today, the title is usually given as the Discourses on Livy (or the Discourses for short). Machiavellis nephew, Giuliano de Ricci, is responsible for assembling the copies of letters that Machiavelli had made. Bacon, Descartes, Spinoza, Bayle, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, Hume, Smith, Montesquieu, Fichte, Hegel, Marx, and Nietzsche number among those whose ideas ring with the echo of Machiavellis thought. Machiavelli is most famous as a political philosopher. Whats brilliant about this action for Machiavelli is the way Borgia manages not only to exercise power but also to control and manipulate the signs of power. Cosimo (though unarmed) dies with great glory and is famous largely for his liberality (FH 7.5) and his attention to city politics: he prudently and persistently married his sons into wealthy Florentine families rather than foreign ones (FH 7.6). One could find many places in his writings that support this point (e.g., D 1.pr and 2.6), although the most notable is when he says that he offers something useful to whoever understands it (P 15).

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