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Niccolò Machiavelli
Florentine statesman, diplomat, and political theorist (–)
For other uses, see Machiavelli (disambiguation) and Macchiavelli (surname).
Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli[a] (3 May – 21 June ) was a Florentine[4][5] diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian who lived during the Italian Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise The Prince (Il Principe), written around but not published until , five years after his death.[6] He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.[7]
For many years he served as a senior official in the Florentine Republic with responsibilities in diplomatic and military affairs. He wrote comedies, carnival songs, and poetry. His personal correspondence is also important to historians and scholars of Italian correspondence.[8] He worked as secretary to the second chancery of the Republic of Florence from to , w
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Introduction
Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince
Source: The Project Gutenberg: Etext prepared by John Bickers, and Bonnie Sala.
Nicolo Machiavelli was born at Florence on 3rd May He was the second son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli, a lawyer of some repute, and of Bartolommea di Stefano Nelli, his wife. Both parents were members of the old Florentine nobility.
His life falls naturally into three periods, each of which singularly enough constitutes a distinct and important era in the history of Florence. His ungdom was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as an Italian power beneath the guidance of Lorenzo de Medici, Il Magnifico. The downfall of the Medici in Florence occurred in , in which year Machiavelli entered the public service. During his official career Florence was free beneath the government of a Republic, which lasted until , when the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office. The Medici again ruled Florence from until , when they were once more d
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