NICCOLO’ MACHIAVELLI.

He was born in Florence in 1469. In 1498 he was elected secretary of the Republic of Florence,
but when the doctors again became the lords of this city, he was excluded from political office
and was sentenced to one year of isolation for having been an official of the Florentine Republic.
After a year he was tortured and arrested because he was accused of having made an AntiMedicean conspiracy. he retired to the countryside and composed “Il Principe”. In 1520 he was
commissioned to write the chronicles of Florence. In 1527 the doctors were driven out of
Florence again, so it became a republic again. Machiavelli died that same year. He also wrote
historical works such as “Nei discorsi sopra la prima deca di Tito Livio”. Shortly before his death
he finished the “Istorie Fiorentine”. He also wrote prose comedies such as “mandrake” and
“Clizia”.
“Il Principe” is a treatise that he dedicates to Piero de’medici in the hope of recovering his trust.
It is divided into 26 chapters where it examines the characteristics of the various principalities, for
example how to make it stable and the qualities that a prince must have. In the end he explains
why the Italian principalities have lost their territories and also elaborates a more modern political
theory. And the Florentine used by him is essential and dry. Published in 1532, in 1559 “The
Prince” was included in the index of forbidden books for his reasoning.