The Quotable Machiavelli

Niccolò Machiavelli, Maurizio Viroli

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780691270623, 9780691164366
• eBook ISBN: 9781400883318
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Early Modern History
• Index: Politics & International Relations

A collection of insightful and revealing quotations on a wide range of subjects from the father of modern politics

Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527) is the father of modern political thought, but he is also one of the greatest writers of the Renaissance and his wisdom and style extend far beyond politics to encompass a compelling philosophy of life as well. In The Quotable Machiavelli, Maurizio Viroli, one of the world's leading Machiavelli scholars, offers a rich collection of the Florentine's most memorable words on a wide range of subjects, including politics, the human condition, religion, love and happiness, antiquity and history, patriotism, and virtue. Drawing on Machiavelli's entire body of writings, and including little-known quotations as well as famous passages, the book shows the full scope of his thought and belies the cliché that he was a "Machiavellian" cynic. In addition to Machiavelli's own words on dozens of subjects of perennial interest, the book includes some almost unknown texts in which his contemporaries describe him. Complete with a biographical introduction, the book serves as a handy reference and a smart and lively introduction to a masterly thinker and writer.

• Includes a rich collection of Machiavelli's most memorable words on a wide range of subjects, from politics to the human condition—almost 700 quotations in all
• Edited and introduced by one of the world's leading Machiavelli scholars
• Serves as a smart and lively introduction to Machiavelli's life and works
• Draws on the complete body of Machiavelli's writings
• Features a brief biography of Machiavelli, a chronology of his life, suggestions for further reading, and an index

Index

Page numbers in bold indicate the primary discussion of a person or topic.

Abel, 36

absolute power, 144–46, 169, 192, 202, 275, 282. See also dictatorships; monarchies; tyranny

Acciaiuoli, Agnolo, Archbishop of Florence, 67

accusations and calumnies, 85, 122–23

Achilles, 43

Adam, 36–37

adoption: and inheritance of power, 72, 155, 168–69

advice, 95–96

Aeneas, 167, 275, 276

Africa, 31

Agathocles of Syracuse, 52–53, 116–17, 238–39

Agnadello, Battle of, 285

agrarian laws, 123, 150

Alamanni, Lodovico, 11–12

Alberti, Benedetto, 77

Albizzi, Rinaldo degli, 79

Alexander the Great, 74, 76, 88, 215–16, 238, 240, 245

Alexander VI, Pope (Roderic Llançol de Borgia), 55, 218, 230, 267–68

Alighieri, Dante, 106–7, 247–48

“Alla Barbera” (Machiavelli), 14

ambition, 35–36, 70, 77, 123–28, 198–99, 260, 283; and qualification for leadership, 196–97; and tyrants, 213; and war, 215–16

Andriani, Marcello di Virgilio, 18

anger, 119. See also wrath, divine

antiquity and the ancients, 40, 94–95. See also Rome, ancient

Antonius, 62

appeal, right of, 56–57, 149, 175

archery, xxiii, 61, 83–84, 91

Ariosto, Ludovico, 11–12

Aristides, 64–65

aristocracy, 128–30, 173, 179–83, 283; division between people and, 207–8, 255; “gentlemen” defined by Machiavelli, 201–2; means of controlling, 260–61; oligarchy and, 173; the Tarquins ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chronology
• Note on the Texts
• I. Machiavelli on Himself, His Family, and Friends
• II. Machiavelli Described by His Relatives, Friends, and Lovers
• III. Man and Cosmos
• IV. The Human Condition
• V. Political Life
• VI. Machiavelli on His Contemporaries
• VII. Past and Present
• Selected Bibliography
• Credits
• Index