Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince (1513)
Impact
Machiavelli has been vilified since before his death. Some historians have seen The Prince as a kind of sword that smote the body politic of Renaissance Europe, revealing the secrets of dirty politics. In many quarters he has been regarded as “Old Nick” (the devil) and the ideal theorist for evil dictators. Stories have historically circulated that tyrants such as Catherine de Médicis (great-granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent who became queen of France and was known particularly for her ruthless persecution of the French Huguenots) and the Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini carried The Prince with them at all times and that Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union, kept a copy on his nightstand.
Some historians have believed that Machiavelli was just a foolish and inconsistent man. Others have argued that The Prince was nothing but a long-winded job-wanted advertisement, or possibly even a work of satire. Still others credit him with having envisioned a...
