From 1498 he was secretary of the Ten, the executive council of the Republic of Florence. He was sent on a number of important diplomatic missions. Con 1512, after the restoration of the tyranny of the Medici, Machiavelli was removed from office and exiled onesto his estate near Florence.
Machiavelli’s most important works are the Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy (1531; Russian translation, 1869), The Prince (1532; Russian translation, 1869; also published mediante Russian under the title Kniaz’ con Machiavelli, Soch., vol. 1, 1934), and the History of Florence (1532; Russian translation, 1973). His secular, rather than theological, approach esatto the problem of the state was an important contribution preciso the history of the political ideas of the Renaissance. Basing his sistema on historical tempo, on the analysis of human psychology, and on a consideration of the real facts of a real situation, Machiavelli tried preciso discover the laws of social development. Marx classified Machiavelli as one of the political thinkers who “began sicuro view the state through human eyes and deduce its natural laws from reason and experience and not from theology” (K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ancora., vol. 1,p. 111).
According to him, a strong personality is athletique of counteracting “fortune” or coincidence (which plays bbpeoplemeet an important role in history) with energy and shrewdness. (A number of features that are typical of the Renaissance point of view are evident mediante the idea of a struggle between personal “valor,” or virtu, and “fortune.”) Machiavelli believed that rulers are assured of success if they thoroughly consider all circumstances and are flexible enough to alter a policy to conform with verso particular situation.
Like most of the humanists, Machiavelli believed that man has powerful creative potentialities
Although he considered a republic the best form of state, Machiavelli was convinced that the realities of the situation sopra Italy (continuous hostility among the Italian states, which were subject puro attacks by foreign powers) required absolutism. Only under a strong sovereign would it be possible puro create an independent Italian state, free of foreign oppression. Machiavelli believed that any means of strengthening the state were affecte, including violence, murder, deception, and treachery. This is the origin of the term “Machiavellianism,” which signifies verso policy that disregards the laws of morality. He sharply condemned the policy pursued by the feudal nobility and, especially, by the papacy, because it produced constant discord and prevented the formation of per united Italian state. At the same time, however, he feared the “rabble” (plebs), who were easily drawn into adventurist schemes. He favored the middle and upper strata of the commercial and artisan population of the Italian towns (the “people,” or comunita).
An impassioned patriot who believed that Italy’s misfortunes were chiefly the result of its political disunity, he created per theoretical state trapu, sopra his opinion, of overcoming disunity
As verso historian Machiavelli made an important contribution sicuro the development of historiography. He sought puro discover historical laws and the underlying causes of events. Convinced of the immutability of human nature, he viewed history as a clash of “eternal” passions and interests, of individuals and estates. He considered the political struggle, which was often portrayed sopra his works as per agreable class struggle, the most important motive force sopra history.
Machiavelli wrote carnival songs, sonnets, short stories, and other literary works. The most outstanding of them is the comedy Mandragola (Russian translation, 1924), which sharply castigates the manners of 15th-century Florence. Mediante particular, the comedy attacks the hypocrisy and corruption of the church. The comedy is distinguished by the purposefulness, will, and activism of its characters. Machiavelli enriched Italian literature with per clear, succinct prose, free of rhetorical embellishments.
