Machiavelli
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1827
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 35 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Moderate2 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Harvard Classics, Volume 27, English Essays from Sir Philip Sidney to MacaulayP. F. Collier and Son, 1910The volume in which it is assigned, with twenty-three other essays from Sidney to De Quincey.
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A review essay published in the Edinburgh Review in 1827 on a new edition of Machiavelli. Macaulay sets out to explain how a man of evident patriotism and integrity could have written The Prince. His answer is that Italian society in the Renaissance valued cunning over courage, as the northern nations valued courage over cunning, so that Machiavelli's morality was that of his time rather than a peculiar wickedness. The essay surveys Machiavelli's comedies, histories and political writings and closes with an appreciation of him as an Italian patriot.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Machiavelli are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
