It goes without saying that you have to be exceptional to have a lasting impact on history and there is no doubting the exceptionality of Niccolo Machiavelli who excelled in everything he did. He is remembered as an Italian politician, philosopher, historian, diplomat, writer, poet and playwright, whose works are now classified under the Renaissance.
Niccolo, who was also a high official in the Florentine Republic has long been one of the revered voices of the Renaissance and was in charge of military and diplomatic affairs. Secretary of the second chancellery of the Republic of Florence between 1498 and 1512, he was in a unique position to witness the loss of power of the Medici. His most popular work, The Prince, was written in 1513 when he was exiled from city business. He is popular for writing many songs, carnivals, comedies and poems.
Niccolò Machiavelli – Biography
The legendary Niccolo di Bernardo dei MachiavelliHe lived for 58 years, from May 3, 1469 to June 21, 1527. He was born to Bernardo di Niccolo Machiavelli, a lawyer, and Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. Born and raised in Florence, he learned Latin, rhetoric and grammar.
Niccolo was his father’s first son and was born at a time when different wars ravaged the land, especially the wars started by the popes against the Italian states. This could have fueled his distrust of the church and its leaders. After the Medici lost their hold in Florence, Machiavelli was then appointed to an office in the Second Chancellery, a writing position which charged him with the production of official Florentine documents. After which he became secretary of the Dieci di Liberta e Pace.
In 1502 Niccolo Machiavelli married Marietta Corsini; the two were together until his death. Together they had four sons and two daughters.
How was he famous or known?
Niccolo Machiavelli was involved in many diplomatic missions. He traveled extensively, which gave him the privilege and opportunity to observe leaders and broaden his horizons. His experiences premeditated his writings especially the most popular of his works.
Niccolo Machiavelli, between 1502-03, saw the first brutal state-building methods of Pope Alexander VI and his son, Cesare Borgia, who were struggling to acquire much of central Italy. The Borgias used the pretext of defending the interests of the Church to justify their actions. Machiavelli was then responsible for the militia of Florence between 1503 and 2006.
Citizens were recruited into the military during his time because he had a distrust of mercenaries. He believed them to be unpredictable, unpatriotic, unreliable, and fickle in allegiance. He was successful for a time until the Medicis supported by Pope Julius II triumphed over the Florentine troops and returned to power. All these experiences influenced the political postulations and writings of Niccolo Machiavelli.
Niccolo was and still is known today for his book The Prince. He has been called the father of modern politics. The book “was banned by the Catholic Church and some critics viewed it negatively due to its controversial stance.
The book contains several maxims on politics and addresses a “prince”, not in the generic or hereditary sense, but the emergence of a new leader/prince. It outlines how a typical Hereditary Prince and New Prince will retain power. For the “hereditary prince”, the interests of certain institutions that people are used to must be balanced. But the “new prince” must first stabilize and get used to his new power to build a lasting political structure.
Machiavelli also emphasized that private and public morality must be understood in order to govern effectively. And that security and stability can be achieved through moral corruption.
In The Prince, Niccolo believes that a leader should not be overly concerned with his reputation and that the willingness to act and behave immorally at the right time is a quality a good leader should possess.
The most controversial of his maxims is that a sovereign is better feared than loved. He believes that a beloved leader retains power out of obligation, while a feared leader retains authority through fear of punishment. From the above, critics have deduced that Niccolo Machiavelli believed in the principle “the end justifies the means”. He emphasized the occasional need for deception, brute force, and sometimes extermination of the noble family to limit any challenge to the prince’s authority.
Despite the controversial nature of the book, Niccolo Machiavelli left a lasting mark on politics and history.