This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Book Three, The Example of Rome's Great Men, Salus Populi, Suprema Lex, Further Reflections Based on the Samnite Wars, The Preservation of Freedom in a Republic.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What, according to Machiavelli, determines whether or not a Republic falls into tyranny.
(a) The corruption of its Nobles.
(b) The weakness of its Princes.
(c) The reputation of its Citizens.
(d) The absence of its military.

2. In Book 1, Section 46, Machiavelli credits the ruin of Republics on citizens who jump from one ambition to another. What was the phrase that Sallust put in the mouth of Caesar that explains how such ambitions begin?
(a) "Beware the Ides of March."
(b) "I see the better things, and approve; I follow the worse."
(c) "Vini. Vidi. Vici."
(d) "All evil examples have their origins in good beginnings."

3. When Machiavelli writes, "For sometimes of necessity our judgment is the truth, as human affairs are always in motion, either ascending or descending," what is he writing about what he believes about truth?
(a) Machiavelli considers truth to be relative.
(b) You can't make sound judgments without having a firm grasp on the truth.
(c) Truth is not as important as the people you make relationships with.
(d) Truth is irrelevant to the reason for making judgments.

4. What does Machiavelli recommend as the three ways to restore a divided city?
(a) Kill the leaders, conscript the men to the military, take the women into slavery.
(b) Kill the leaders of tumults, remove them from the city, or have them make peace.
(c) Build a wall between the combatants, place soldiers between their neighborhoods, and prevent them from passing among each other.
(d) Dividing the city's wealth among the factions, sending them to colonies, conscripting them to the military.

5. According to Machiavelli, what caused the Roman Republic to form?
(a) Political rivalries between powerful generals.
(b) Class warfare between the patricians and the plebes.
(c) Economic agreements between fertile cities.
(d) Trade agreements between cities with resources and cities with technologies.