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...