Summary:
A biography of the noted Italian diplomat, writer, and political theorist Machiavelli. Not much is known about his life before he became an official in the Florentine government.
Not much was know about Machiavelli before he became an official in the Florentine government. He grew-up in the most tumultuous period in the city of Florence. He was born in Florence Italy when the Lorenzo the Magnificent came to power subverting the civil liberties of his people, and inaugurating a realm of matchless lavishness and a profound desire of the arts. When he was twenty-five years old Savonarola attempted to establish a theocratic democracy and even though Machiavelli was close to these events more than any other citizen, due to family ties, himself never took part. For many generations his family held public offices, and his father was a jurist and a minor official.
After Savonarola's execution Machiavelli, became "Secretary of the Second Chancery," a position that made him well known among his contemporaries as a "Florentine Secretary." Due to the virtue of his position he served "Ten of Liberty and Peace," a political sector that send their own ambassadors to foreign powers, conducted businesses in the Florentine domain, and was in control of the military in Florence. Machiavelli, during his fourteen years of office served as a diplomatic correspondent for his office, he represented Florence on nearly thirty foreign missions, and attempted to organize a militia to replace the mercenary troops. He spent most of his energy on political issues dealing with different principalities in which Italy was divided. In one of his most important missions he was send to the court of kings in France where he met the most powerful minister of Europe, Cardinal d'Amboise. Soon after this he started observing and analyzing national politics and began expressing his thoughts on his diplomatic reports.
As a diplomat Machiavelli enjoyed extraordinary success and was admired for his excellent reports, thus winning him the confidence of the president of Florence, Gonfalonier. However, when the Medecis came to power Machiavelli's political career ended abruptly. Despite his attempts to gain the favor of the new government, he ended up losing his position and was exiled from Florence for a year. Consequently, he was falsely accused for conspiring against the new government. As a result of this he was imprisoned and tortured and was released when Giovanni de Medici became pope.
Upon his release, he moved along with his family to a small farm outside the city. There he spends part of his time cultivating the farm and part doing petty things; also he pondered on the thought that he possessed knowledge of the "State" but was not able to use it. The ambassador to the pope was the only link he had to the political world. Machiavelli corresponded with him about his public affairs and his private matters.
Henceforth Machiavelli began studding the classical scholars such as Livy, Aristotle, and Polybius. He hoped by this to gain knowledge and compose his own principles on politics, and by doing so he might win a diplomatic position with the new government. The Medecis however, did not pay attention to him until he switched from politics to drama. His comedies were applauded by the well educated Florentines. One of his plays the Mandragola was very successful and was perform before Pope Leo X I 1520.
Consequently his fame as a writer won him over with the Medici family and he was asked to give advice on the affairs of the Florentine government. He took advantage of his new position to re-state and defend the republican principles on his Discourse on Reforming the State of Florence. He was also asked to write a history on the city of Florence. It wasn't until the later years of his life that he was recall to active public work. Pope Clement VII asked him to organize a national militia like the one he defended in his art of War, but the men that were to help him accomplish this, were not much help and his efforts amounted into nothing. Rome was sacked by emperor Charles V ending the plans of Clement. The republic of Florence was restored shortly before his death.
Even though he held no public office under the Medecis, the new government felt that because of his close friendship with them he was unsuitable for the new republic. His request of being reinstated in his old post as Florentine Secretary was rejected. He died shortly after, on June 20th, 1527.
Bibliography
Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince. Published by the Penguin Group 1999
Great Books of the western World The Prince. The University of Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1990.
This is the complete article, containing 744 words
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