The Italian writer and philosopher Machiavelli Niccolo was an important statesman in Florence, holding the position of secretary in charge of foreign policy. But he was much more famous for the books he wrote, among which the political treatise "The Sovereign" stands apart.
Writer's biography
The future writer and thinker Machiavelli Niccolo was born in the suburbs of Florence in 1469. His father was a lawyer. He did everything so that his son received the best education for those times. For this purpose, there was no better place than Italy. The main storehouse of knowledge for Machiavelli was the Latin language, in which he read a huge amount of literature. His desk books were the works of ancient authors: Josephus Flavius, Macrobius, Cicero, and Titus Livius. The young man was fond of history. Later, these tastes were reflected in his own work. The works of the ancient Greeks Plutarch, Polybius and Thucydides became key for the writer.
Machiavelli Niccolo began his civil service at a time when Italy was suffering from wars between numerouscities, principalities and republics. A special place was occupied by the Pope, who at the turn of the XV and XVI centuries. was not just a religious pontiff, but also a significant political figure. The fragmentation of Italy and the lack of a unified national state made the rich cities of the Apennine Peninsula a tasty morsel for other major powers - France, the Holy Roman Empire and the growing power of colonial Spain. The tangle of interests was very complex, which led to the birth and dissolution of political alliances. The fateful and striking events that Machiavelli Niccolo witnessed greatly influenced not only his professionalism, but also his worldview.
Philosophical views
The ideas set forth by Machiavelli in his books have significantly influenced the public's perception of politics. The author was the first to review and describe in detail all models of behavior of rulers. In the book The Sovereign, he directly stated that the political interests of the state should prevail over agreements and other conventions. Because of this point of view, the thinker is considered an exemplary cynic who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal. He explained state unprincipledness by serving the highest good goal.
Niccolò Machiavelli, whose philosophy was born as a result of personal impressions of the state of Italian society at the beginning of the 16th century, did not only talk about the benefits of this or that strategy. On the pages of his books, he described in detail the structure of the state, the principles of its work and the relationship within this system. The thinker proposed the thesis that politics is a science that has its own laws and rules. Niccolo Machiavelli believed that a person who has mastered this subject to perfection can predict the future or determine the outcome of a particular process (war, reform, etc.).
The importance of Machiavelli's ideas
The Florentine writer of the Renaissance introduced many new topics for discussion in the humanities. His dispute about the expediency and compliance with moral standards raised a sharp question over which many philosophical schools and teachings are still arguing.
Discourses about the role of the personality of the ruler in history also first appeared from the pen of Niccolò Machiavelli. The ideas of the thinker led him to the conclusion that in feudal fragmentation (in which, for example, Italy was), the character of the sovereign replaces all power institutions, which harms the inhabitants of his country. In other words, in a fragmented state, the paranoia or weakness of the ruler leads to ten times worse consequences. During his life, Machiavelli saw enough such picturesque examples thanks to the Italian principalities and republics, where power swung from side to side like a pendulum. Often such fluctuations led to wars and other disasters that hit the common population the hardest.
Therefore, in an address to his reader, the author complained that the state cannot be effective without a rigid central government. In this case, the system itself compensates for the shortcomings of a weak or incapable ruler.
History of the "Sovereign"
It should be noted that the treatise "The Prince" was written as a classic application manual, intended for Italian politicians. This style of presentation made the book unique for its time. It was a carefully systematized work, in which all thoughts were presented in the form of theses, supported by real examples and logical reasoning. The Prince was published in 1532, five years after the death of Niccolò Machiavelli. The views of the former Florentine official immediately resonated with the widest public.
The book has become a desktop for many politicians and statesmen of subsequent centuries. It is still being actively reprinted and is one of the pillars of the humanities devoted to society and institutions of power. The main material for writing the book was the experience of the fall of the Florentine Republic, which Niccolò Machiavelli experienced. Quotes from the treatise were included in various textbooks used to teach civil servants of various Italian principalities.
Heritage of power
The author divided his work into 26 chapters, each of which addressed a particular political issue. A deep knowledge of the history of Niccolo Machiavelli (quotes from ancient authors are often found on the pages) made it possible to prove his guesses on the experience of the ancient era. For example, he devoted an entire chapter to the fate of the Persian king Darius, captured by Alexander the Great. In his essay, the writer assessed the fall of the state and gave several arguments about why the countrydid not rebel after the death of the young commander.
The question of the types of heredity of power was of great interest to Niccolò Machiavelli. Politics, in his opinion, directly depended on how the throne passes from predecessor to successor. If the throne is transferred in a reliable way, the state will not be threatened by unrest and crises. At the same time, the book provides several ways to maintain tyrannical power, the author of which was Niccolò Machiavelli. In short, the sovereign can move to a new occupied territory in order to directly monitor local moods himself. A vivid example of such a strategy was the fall of Constantinople in 1453, when the Turkish Sultan moved his capital to this city and renamed it Istanbul.
Preservation of the State
The author tried to explain in detail to the reader how to keep a captured foreign country. For this, according to the theses of the writer, there are two ways - military and peaceful. At the same time, both methods are acceptable, and they must be skillfully combined in order to simultaneously appease and frighten the population. Machiavelli was a supporter of the creation of colonies on acquired lands (approximately in the form that the ancient Greeks or Italian maritime republics did). In the same chapter, the author deduced the golden rule: the sovereign needs to support the weak and weaken the strong in order to maintain balance within the country. The absence of powerful counter-movements helps to maintain the authorities' monopoly on violence in the state, which is one of the main signs ofreliable and stable government.
This is how Niccolò Machiavelli described how to solve this problem. The writer's philosophy was formed as a combination of his own managerial experience in Florence and historical knowledge.
The role of personality in history
Since Machiavelli paid great attention to the importance of the individual in history, he also compiled a short sketch of the qualities that an effective sovereign should possess. The Italian writer emphasized stinginess, criticizing generous rulers who were wasting their treasury. As a rule, such autocrats are forced to resort to higher taxes in the event of a war or other critical situation, which is extremely annoying for the population.
Machiavelli justified the rigidity of the rulers within the state. He believed that it was precisely such a policy that helped society avoid unnecessary unrest and unrest. If, for example, a sovereign prematurely executes people prone to rebellion, he will kill a few people, while saving the rest of the population from unnecessary bloodshed. This thesis again repeats an example of the author's philosophy that the suffering of individual people is nothing compared to the interests of the whole country.
The need for tough rulers
The Florentine writer often repeated the idea that human nature is fickle, and most of the people around are a bunch of weak and greedy creatures. Therefore, continued Machiavelli, it is necessary for the sovereign to inspire awe amongtheir subjects. This will help maintain discipline within the country.
As an example, he cited the experience of the legendary ancient commander Hannibal. With the help of cruelty, he maintained order in his multinational army, which fought for several years in a Roman foreign land. Moreover, it was not tyranny, because even executions and reprisals against those guilty of violating the laws were fair, and no one, regardless of their position, could receive immunity. Machiavelli believed that the cruelty of the ruler is justified only if it is not outright robbery of the population and violence against women.
Death of a thinker
After writing The Emperor, the famous thinker devoted the last years of his life to creating the History of Florence, in which he returned to his favorite genre. He died in 1527. Despite the posthumous fame of the author, the place of his grave is still unknown.
