Machiavelli (1469 - 1527) was mainly known as an influential Italian statesman and author. He claimed in The Prince that all rulers should aim for welfare of state, regardless of methods. For no apparent reason, the name became byword for devious plotting.He was born in Florence on May 3, 1469; saw the troubles of the French invasion (1493), when the Medici fled, and in 1498 became secretary of the Ten, a post he held until the fall of the republic in 1512.He was employed in a great variety of missions, including one to Cesare Borgia in 1502, of which an account is preserved in fifty-two letters, one to the Emperor Maximilian, and four to France.His dispatches during these journeys, and his treatises on the 'Affairs of France and Germany', are full of far reaching insight.On the restoration of the Medici, Machiavelli was involved in the downfall of his patron, the Gonfaloniere Soderini. Arrested on a charge of conspiracy in 1513, and put to the torture, he disclaimed all knowledge of the alleged conspiracy; but although pardoned, he was obliged to withdraw from public life, and devoted himself to literature.It was not till 1519 that he was commissioned by Leo X to draw up his report on a reform of the state of Florence; in 1521-25 he was employed in diplomatic services and as historiographer.After the defeat of the French at Pavia (1525), Italy lay helpless before the advancing forces of the Emperor Charles V, and Machiavelli strove to avert from Florence the invading army on its way to Rome. In May 1527 the Florentines again drove out the Medici and proclaimed the republic; but Machiavelli, bitterly disappointed that he was to be allowed no part in the movement for liberty, and already in feeble health, died on June 22.Through misrepresentation and misunderstanding his writings were spoken of as almost diabolical, his most violent assailants being the clergy.The first great edition of his works was not issued until 1782. From that period his fame as the founder of political science has steadily increased. Besides his letters and state papers, Machiavelli's historical writings comprise Florentine Histories, Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius., a Life of Castruccio Castracni (unfinished), and History of the Affairs of Lucca. His literary works comprise an imitation of the Golden Ass of Apuleius, an essay on the Italian language, and several minor compositions. He also wrote Seven Books on the Art of War. But his great source of his reputation, for good or for evil, is De Principatibus or Il Principe (Rome1532). The main theme of the book is that all means may be resorted to for the establishment and maintenance of authority and the worst and most treacherous acts of the ruler are justified by the wickedness and treachery of the governed.The Prince was condemned by Pope Clement VIII. The comedies of Machiavelli form an epoch in the history of the Italian theatre; La Mandragola, full of biting humour and shameless indecency, is a masterpiece of art.
