Machiavelli, Niccolò
Machiavelli, Niccolò ( 1469 – 1527 ),a Florentine dramatist and political theorist. After holding office in the restored Florentine republic and discharging various missions abroad, he was exiled on suspicion of conspiracy against the Medici, but was subsequently restored to some degree of favour. He turned his experience to advantage in his writings, which include Arte della guerra (The Art of War, written 1517 – 20 ; English trans. 1560 – 2 ) and a history of Florence (Storie Fiorentine, 1520 – 5 ; trans. 1595 ). His comedy Mandragola, probably written in 1518 , is a powerful satire. His best-known work was Il principe (The Prince, written 1513 , pub. 1532 ), a treatise on statecraft by an acute observer of the contemporary political scene with an idealistic vision of an Italian saviour who should expel all foreign usurpers. He teaches that the lessons of the...
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