A colorful, comprehensive, and authoritative account of Machiavelli's life and thought This is a colorful, comprehensive, and authoritative introduction to the life and work of the Florentine statesman, writer, and political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527). Corrado Vivanti, who was one of the world's leading Machiavelli scholars, provides an unparalleled intellectual biography that demonstrates the close connections between Machiavelli's thought and his changing fortunes during the tumultuous Florentine republic and his subsequent exile. Vivanti's concise account covers not only Machiavelli's most famous works-The Prince, The Discourses, The Florentine Histories, and The Art of War-but also his letters, poetry, and comic dramas. While setting Machiavelli's life against a dramatic backdrop of war, crisis, and diplomatic intrigue, the book also paints a vivid human portrait of the man.

• Cover Page
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I. The Florentine Secretary
  • 1. A Shadowy Period: The First Half of His Life
  • 2. The Relationship with Savonarola
  • 3. The Activity in the Chancery
  • 4. The Correspondence with Functionaries of the Domain
  • 5. Diplomatic Activity
  • 6. The Experience of the Early Missions
  • 7. Changes of Fortune and the Ghiribizzi al Soderino
  • 8. The Florentine Ordinance
  • 9. The Venetian Defeat and the Reconquest of Pisa
  • 10. The End of the Republic and the Return of the Medici
• Part II. Exile in His Homeland
  • 11. The Confinement at Sant’Andrea
  • 12. “I have composed a little work On Princedoms”
  • 13. The “Myth” of The Prince
  • 14. Frequenting the Orti Oricellari
  • 15. An Original Comment on Livy
  • 16. The Art of War
• Part III. “Niccolò Machiavelli, Historian, comic writer, and tragic writer”
  • 17. A New Season in Machiavelli’s Life
  • 18. A Return to Business
  • 19. “The annals or the history of Florence”
  • 20. “The things done at home and abroad by the Florentine people”
  • 21. The Friendship with Guicciardini
  • 22. Clizia and the Musical Madrigals
  • 23. Final Act
• Appendix: Notes on the Use of the Word Stato in Machiavelli
• Notes
• Index