Among the most original thinkers of the Renaissance is a brilliant and slightly figure, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), he was from the city of Florence (The Prince, i). Throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, his name would be synonymous with deviousness, cruelty, and destructive rationality; no thinker was every so misunderstood than Machiavelli. The source of this misunderstanding is his most influential and widely read on government. When Niccolo Machiavelli wrote The Prince, Italy was not unified country. Instead, it was a collection of city-states, each with its own court and ruler, each attempting to gain power over others. One of the major Italian city-states, the Republic of Florence, however, was crushed in 1512 and Soderini’s government fell from power and the Medici’s were installed as rulers of Florence once again (Rise/Grafton 140).
These political developments had a serious impact on the life and career of Machiavelli. He had actually served......
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