Machiavelli on Morality and Power

Machiavelli
Justice & Power, session iv

Thursday, September 20, 12

Topics in This Session

i.Introduction
ii.Renaissance Italy
iii.Machiavelli
iv.The Prince
v.Criticism


Introduction


Turning from the world depicted in Aristotle’s Politics to
that in The Prince, one is tempted to be overcome by the
contrasts. It might seem that in eighteen and a half
centuries an unbridgeable gulf had grown. Common
wisdom depicts Plato and Aristotle as high minded, moral,
and idealistic. If Machiavelli is known at all, it is as an
immoral, cynical, schemer. The differences between the
two* Greek philosophers and the renaissance Italian
politician seem all important. But, as a disciple of
Socrates, you have learned to be wary of ﬁrst
appearances.
Justice & Power, p. 10


When the three are compared certain issues arise. First there
is the tension between theoretical* and practical knowledge
which was introduced in the Preface. Second, there is the
question of morality. Signiﬁcant changes in the relationship of
church and state occurred during the intervening years. These
changes recast the terms of the persistent question: what is
the relationship between faith* and reason? The rivalry
between philosophy and theology, the secular and the sacred
approaches to knowledge, was keenly felt during the
Renaissance. The key to understanding Machiavelli’s seeming
rejection of the theoretical approach and moral “preachiness”
of Plato and Aristotle lies in the religious and political events
of the nearly two thousand years which separate them.
Ibid.


As Alexander’s armies spread the Greek language
throughout the Eastern Mediterranean, a Hellenistic culture
began to make all separate “nations” (tribes) part of the
Cosmopolis.* One such small and ﬁercely independent ethnic
group was the Jews. Rome expanded eastward when
Alexander’s successors fought among themselves. A Roman
governor, Pontius Pilate, executed a reputed blasphemer and
troublemaker, Jesus of Nazareth.* Roman justice must have
claimed hundreds of thousands* of lives, but none so
signiﬁcant as this one. Jesus’ disciples had an experience on
the third day after his death* which led to the creation of one
of the world’s great religions.
Ibid.


After almost three centuries of persecution and growth,
this church captured the state power when one of its
converts, Constantine*, became emperor in 313 AD.
Then, a new approach to evangelism developed using the
former persecutor, the state, as an instrument for
spreading the Gospel and even forcing it upon pagans*.
The corrupting inﬂuence of this power was clear to
church leaders from the start, but no easy solution to the
dilemma was found.
Ibid.


T milestones of Western thought are Augustine’s* City of
wo
God*, written at the beginning of the fifth century, and Pope
Gelasius I’s doctrine of the two swords, developed at its end.
Both deal with the conflict of church and state and the tension
between the Kingdom of God and “this crooked and perverse
age.” The “two cities” were, according to Augustine, the
societies of those who wanted to live “after the flesh” and
those who desired to live “after the spirit.” The church was to
be the earthly place where the people of God were to be
gathered. The purpose of the state was to assist the church.
Ibid.


Two milestones of Western thought are Augustine’s City of God, written at
the beginning of the fifth century, and Pope Gelasius I’s doctrine of the two
swords, developed at its end. Both deal with the conflict of church and state
and the tension between the Kingdom of God and “this crooked and
perverse age.” The “two cities” were, according to Augustine, the societies
of those who wanted to live “after the flesh” and those who desired to live
“after the spirit.” The church was to be the earthly place where the people
of God were to be gathered. The purpose of the state was to assist the
church. Gelasius I* argued that there were two distinct areas of
human affairs, the temporal (“this worldly”) and the spiritual
(“other worldly”). The emperor was given the temporal rule,
regnum, while the pope held the spiritual authority,
sacerdotium. In his proper field, each was supreme --- under
God.
Ibid.


DUO SUNT
494 AD

regnum

et

sacerdotium

the two swords


During this [5th] century, the western half of the empire
“fell” to the barbarians. The thousand years between the time
of Attila the Hun* and Machiavelli are called the Middle Ages.
The ﬁrst phase, the Dark Ages*, saw a decline in trade, city
life, learning and culture. It was precisely the revival of these
conditions which we call the Renaissance (literally “rebirth”) of
Europe, the watershed which separated medieval and modern
history.
Ibid.


It should be apparent to the thoughtful student that it is
impossible to speak of Medieval Christendom in general terms
without distorting through oversimpliﬁcation. This thousand
year period was remarkably diverse. There were many
variations from place to place even during the same time. Still,
the concepts of feudalism*, the manorial system*, and the Age
of Faith are not so generalized* as to be useless.
op. cit., p. 12.


After Charlemagne was crowned emperor in the West on
Christmas Day, 800 A.D.*, the condition began to develop
which produced the central drama of the High Middle Ages --
the power struggles between popes and emperors. Both
“lords spiritual” (bishops and other high ranking churchmen)
and “lords temporal” (the nobility) sought to increase their
authority and wealth at all levels of European society.
Conﬂicts inevitably arose. Princes of the Church functioned in
much the same way as the secular nobility: as landlords,
judges over their subjects’ disputes, even as military leaders*.
Often, the clergy were not distinguished by their piety or their
learning.
Ibid.


The medieval popes hoped to use the crusading movement,
which they had begun in 1095, to increase their authority as
the leaders of Christendom. The original successes in the
Holy Land, followed by a long, costly series of less effective
crusades, did bring about important economic and social
changes. Several Italian cities which never really “dried up”
during the Dark Ages grew rich as the transporters of
crusaders. Trade and the money economy became more
important. Banking began. A merchant class*, newly
inﬂuential, challenged noble families who depended on land
and the feudal dues of their peasants for wealth.
Ibid.


As the pursuit of wealth and power by the Church led many
to question its moral authority, reform movements developed.
Some reformers, like the followers* of Peter Waldo were
labeled heretics. Others, like the followers of Saints Francis*
and Dominic in the early thirteenth century, were absorbed
into religious orders and given approval by Rome, although
with a certain wariness. The medieval universities as guardians
of natural philosophy, canon law, and theology were the
battleground for the so-called conﬂict between Faith and
Reason.
Ibid.


As the pursuit of wealth and power by the Church led many to question its
moral authority, reform movements developed. Some reformers, like the
followers* of Peter Waldo were labeled heretics. Others, like the followers of
Saints Francis* and Dominic in the early thirteenth century, were absorbed
into religious orders and given approval by Rome, although with a certain
wariness. The medieval universities as guardians of natural philosophy,
canon law, and theology were the battleground for the so-called conflict
between Faith and Reason. The great figure of medieval
scholasticism was the Dominican Saint Thomas Aquinas*,
1225-1274. His Summa Theologica offered a synthesis between
Christian doctrine and “pagan” Aristotelianism which
continues to influence teaching at Catholic universities today.
Ibid.


The ﬁrst revival of classical texts ironically had to come from Islamic and
Jewish sources because Christian book burning had effectively
eliminated the pagan works from monastic libraries. The crusading
movement increased contact with Byzantium and led to a revival of
Greek and the reclaiming of many texts long unknown in the West. This
gave birth to Classical Humanism, which Robert Palmer has called “no
less than a new conception of man himself...a sense of man’s
tremendous powers.” In Machiavelli’s Italy during the Quattrocento
(ﬁfteenth century), Greek texts, Greek authors, and the Greek view of
life enjoyed great esteem among the educated elite. Machiavelli’s city
state, Florence, considered herself the new Athens. Artists turned to
classical subject matter. Politicians used the rhetoric of Roman orators
and appealed tothe tradition of Roman civic virtue. In short,
Renaissance Italy made herself “new,” that is, different from the Middle
Ages by a deliberate return to the spirit of classical antiquity.
Ibid.


Jacopo Pontormo, postumous portrait of Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder
(1389–1464)


So much for the two thousand year gulf between our three
philosophers. Machiavelli’s polis Florence would have been
quite understandable to Aristotle. He would have been able to
converse with some of the scholars who lived in Lorenzo di
Medici’s revived Academy*.
Ibid.


The Platonic Academy was a 15th century discussion group in
Florence. It was founded after Gemistus Pletho reintroduced
Plato's thoughts to Western Europe during the 1438 - 1439
Council of Florence. It was sponsored by Cosimo de' Medici*,
led by Marsilio Ficino and supported by Medici until death of
Lorenzo Medici*. It was never a formal group but the members
considered themselves a modern form of Plato's Academy.
Important members were Poliziano, Cristoforo Landino, Pico
della Mirandola*, and Gentile de' Becchi. The academy would
proceed to translate into Latin all of Plato's works, the Enneads
Headquarters of the group, Villa di Careggi
of Plotinus, and various other Neoplatonic works
Wikipedia


The Platonic Academy was a 15th century discussion group in
Florence. It was founded after Gemistus Pletho reintroduced
Plato's thoughts to Western Europe during the 1438 - 1439
Council of Florence. It was sponsored by Cosimo de' Medici*,
led by Marsilio Ficino and supported by Medici until death of
Lorenzo Medici*. It was never a formal group but the members
considered themselves a modern form of Plato's Academy.
Important members were Poliziano, Cristoforo Landino, Pico
della Mirandola*, and Gentile de' Becchi. The academy would
proceed to translate into Latin all of Plato's works, the Enneads
of Plotinus, and various other Neoplatonic works
Wikipedia


So much for the two thousand year gulf between our three
philosophers. Machiavelli’s polis Florence would have been
quite understandable to Aristotle. He would have been able to
converse with some of the scholars who lived in Lorenzo di
Medici’s revived Academy*. But the questions of practical
versus theoretical knowledge and cynical versus moral
prescriptions must await the criticism following our
examination of the life and work of Machiavelli. As you study,
try to understand his philosophy of history. How did he
approach the past? Why? What were its lessons for him? Why?
What was his attitude toward religion? Why?
Ibid.


Renaissance Italy


The Siege of Florence by Giorgio Vasari 1558.

Renaissance Italy


II. Renaissance Italy
A. End of the Middle Ages
1. feudalism
2. popes and emperors
a. Gregory VII vs. Henry IV
b. Innocent III vs. Frederick III
1. Guelphs vs. Ghibbelines
3. Great Schism, 1378-1417
a. Avignon and “Babylonian Captivity,” 1308
b. Council of Constance, 1414-17
c. Conciliarism
4. Crusades
a. Commercial Revolution
b. social change
B. Humanism
1. guomo universale
2. Classical vs. Christian Humanists
3. Florentine Republic
4. Lorenzo the Magnificent, 1449-92
5. Sixtus IV - Pazzi Conspiracy, 1478


feudalism
lord

vassal (a lesser nobleman, NOT a serf)

ﬁef (feodum, Lat.) land held by the vassal,
conferred by the lord

homage

fealty

difﬁdatio
10th century representation
of Roland swearing fealty sovereignty (the monopoly of justice & power)

sovereign liege lord (king)


Popes & Emperors

Gregory vii Canossa, 1077 Henry iv

Guelphs vs. Ghibbelines
(Welf vs Waibling)
12th -13th centuries

Innocent iii
Investiture Friederich ii

Innocent iii

Popes & Kings

Unam Sanctam, 1302 Philip iv
Boniface viii
Philippe le bel

I.A.3. Great [Western] Schism, 1378-1417
a. Avignon and “Babylonian Captivity,” 1308

Innocent iii

Council of Constance, 1414-1417
1408-Council of Pisa deposed both &
elected a third

now there were three claimants!

1414-an ecumenical council met at
Constance to resolve the schism


elected a third



1415-the proto-Protestants, John Wycliff
and Jan Hus were condemned


elected a third



1415-the proto-Protestants, John Wycliff
and Jan Hus were condemned

1417-Martin V was elected pope and the
anti-popes were deposed

“high water mark” of conciliarism
Habemus Papam!


Crusades

1095-Urban ii, Deo lo vult!, also to
strengthen the role of the papacy


Crusades


Western Christendom began a war to
reestablish control of Outremer


Crusades


Western Christendom began a war to
reestablish control of Outremer

this major endeavor stimulated the growth
of banking, trade, cities and a new class

this Commercial Revolution produced a
social system outside the feudal division of
Clergy, nobility, and peasantry


Humanism


Humanism

ἄνθρωπος µέτρον
Man [is the] measure [of all things]
motto of Protagoras

Vitruvian man--Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1487

II. B. Humanism
1. guomo universale


II. B. Humanism
2. Classical vs Christian Humanists

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola 1463 – 1494, unknown artist


II. B. Humanism
2. Classical vs Christian Humanists

Desiderius Erasmus. By Hans Holbein the younger, 1523.


Duchy of Tuscany Becomes the Florentine Republic


Florence
Firenzi
Arno
River


Florence
Firenzi
Arno
River
Pisa


The Big Five

Florence
Firenzi
Arno
River
Pisa


The Big Five

Republic of Genoa

Florence
Firenzi
Arno
River
Pisa


The Big Five

Republic of Genoa

Florence
Venetian Republic
Firenzi
Arno
River
Pisa


The Big Five

Republic of Genoa

Florence
Venetian Republic
Firenzi
Arno
River Duchy of Milan

Pisa


The Big Five

Republic of Genoa

Florence
Venetian Republic
Firenzi
Arno

Pisa The Papal States


The Big Five

Republic of Genoa

Florence
Venetian Republic
Firenzi
Arno

Pisa The Papal States

Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies


II.B.4. Lorenzo the Magniﬁcent, 1449-1492

de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance; diplomat,
politician and patron of the arts

he gave large sums from his family’s banking business to artists who created
master works of art

his life coincided with the high point of the early Italian Renaissance; his death
marked the end of the Golden Age of Florence


The Artists He Patronized

Leonardo



Leonardo Michaelangelo Buonarroti



Leonardo Michaelangelo Buonarroti Sandro Botticelli



Leonardo Michaelangelo Buonarroti Sandro Botticelli Domenico Ghirlandaio



Andrea del Verrochio




Antonio del Pollaiolo

Andrea del Verrochio



The Pazzi Conspiracy


T della Rovere nobles: Cardinal Guiliano, later Pope Julius II; and Francesco, then Pope Sixtus IV
wo

the Pazzi banking family of Florence deeply resented their
powerful rivals, the Medici

another rival family, the Salviati, began the conspiracy to
assassinate Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano at high mass at
the Duomo

Pope Sixtus, a della Rovere, whose family also resented the
Medici, approved a coup against them, “as long as no one is
killed”

the assassins killed Giuliano but failed to get Lorenzo, whose
vengeance was legendary


Machiavelli


Machiavelli

Statue of Machiavelli at the Ufﬁzi Gallery in Florence, Italy

III. Machiavelli
A. Early Years
1. family
2. training
3. Girolamo Savonarola, d. 1498 -- “the prophet unarmed” (chap. 6)
B. War ad Peace
1. French intervention (chap. 3)
2. Pisa, 1495-99 (chap. 12)
a. Paolo Vitelli- the condottieri
b. mercenaries
3. mission to Louis XII, 1462-98-1515
a. New Monarchies
b. nationalism and vernaculars
C. Renaissance Papacy
1. Alexander VI, 1492-1502 (chap. 3 et seq.)
a. Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia
b. “massacre” of Senigallia, 1502 (chap. 7)
2. Julius II, 1503-08 (chap. 2 et seq.)
3. Leo X, 1513-21 (Giovanni di Medici, 1475-1521)
D. Exile
1. coup of 1512
a. Florentine Republic becomes Duchy of Tuscany
b. Medici restoration
2. country life (Dedication)


1469-born to an attorney father, his
family had produced 13 Gonfalonieri,
educated as a humanist

taught grammar, rhetoric, and Latin
(ironically, never learned Greek)

became a proliﬁc and skilled writer in the
new vernacular

trained in the law, he would follow his
father’s profession and was subject to
the political “ins and outs” of this
turbulent time

Medici in = Machiavelli out; Florentine Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
Republic = Machiavelli in 1469 – 1527


1452-born to a physician father and
noble mother, educated as a humanist

1475-became a Dominican friar, reformer

1490-Pico & Lorenzo bring him to
Florence where he preaches radical
reform, “bonﬁre of the vanities”

1494-French King Charles viii invades
Italy. Savonarola convinces him to spare
Florence, establishes a Christian republic

Pope Alexander vi condemns, then
excommunicates, and brands him a
Girolamo Savonarola heretic
1452–1498


CHAPTER VI
OF NEW DOMINIONS WHICH HAVE
BEEN ACQUIRED BY ONE’S OWN
ARMS AND ABILITY

...Those who by the exercise of abilities...become princes,
obtain their dominions with difficulty but retain them easily, and
the difficulty...arises in part from the new rules...that they have
to introduce in order to establish their position more securely. It
must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry
out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to
handle, than to initiate a new order of things….Thus it comes
about that all armed prophets have conquered and unarmed
ones have failed….it is necessary to order things so that when
[the people] no longer believe, they can be made to believe by
force.


CHAPTER VI
(CONT.)

….it is necessary to order things so that when [the people] no
longer believe, they can be made to believe by force. Moses,
Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus would not have been able to keep
their constitutions observed for so long had they been
disarmed, as happened in our own time with Fra Girolamo
Savonarola, who failed entirely in his new rules when the
multitude began to disbelieve in him, and he had no means of
holding fast those who had believed nor of compelling the
unbelievers to believe….


1498--hanged, body burned, ashes scattered in the Arno River
CHAPTER VI
(CONT.)

….it is necessary to order things so that when [the people] no
longer believe, they can be made to believe by force. Moses,
Cyrus, Theseus, and Romulus would not have been able to keep
their constitutions observed for so long had they been
disarmed, as happened in our own time with Fra Girolamo
Savonarola, who failed entirely in his new rules when the
multitude began to disbelieve in him, and he had no means of
holding fast those who had believed nor of compelling the
unbelievers to believe….


III.B.War & Peace 1. French intervention (chap.3)

1489-Pope Innocent viii, being at odds with
Ferdinand i of Naples, offered Naples to
Charles, King of France

Charles VIII
1470-83-98



1494-Charles entered Italy with 25,000 men
(including 8,000 Swiss mercenaries) and the Charles VIII
1470-83-98

ﬁrst artillery train of Europe



1470-83-98

1495-his easy conquests provoked an Italian
alliance which drove him back to France



1470-83-98

1495-his easy conquests provoked an Italian
alliance which drove him back to France
1499-his successor invaded once again, with
the help of the Venetians, to capture Milan

Louis XII
1462-98-15


In the Italian War of 1499–1504, [French king Louis XII] successfully
secured Milan itself in the year 1499 from his enemy, Ludovico Sforza, and
it remained a French stronghold for twelve years.* His greatest success
came in his war with Venice, with the victory at the Battle of Agnadello in
1509. Things became much more difﬁcult for him from 1510 onwards,
especially after Julius II, the great warrior Pope, took control of the
Vatican and formed the "Holy League" to oppose the ambitions of the
French in Italy. The French were eventually driven from Milan by the Swiss
in the year 1513.
Wikipedia


Louis XII entering Genoa in 1507. Miniature by Jean Bourdichon


CHAPTER III
CONCERNING MIXED
PRINCIPALITIES

But let us turn to France and inquire whether she has done any of the things mentioned. I
will speak of Louis (and not of Charles) as the one whose conduct is the better to be
observed, he having held possession of Italy for the longest period; and you will see that
he has done the opposite to those things which ought to be done to retain a state
composed of divers elements.
King Louis was brought into Italy by the ambition of the Venetians, who desired to
obtain half the state of Lombardy by his intervention. I will not blame the course taken by
the king, because, wishing to get a foothold in Italy, and having no friends there--seeing
rather that every door was shut to him owing to the conduct of Charles--he was forced to
accept those friendships which he could get, and he would have succeeded very quickly
in his design if in other matters he had not made some mistakes. The king, however, having
acquired Lombardy, regained at once the authority which Charles had lost: Genoa
yielded; the Florentines became his friends; the Marquess of Mantua, the Duke of
Ferrara, ... the Lucchese, the Pisans, the Sienese--everybody made advances to him to
become his friend. Then could the Venetians realize the rashness of the course taken by
them, which, in order that they might secure two towns in Lombardy, had made the king
master of two-thirds of Italy.


III.B.2.a--Paolo Vitelli-the condottieri (warlords)

1494-when Charles invaded Italy, Pisa
claimed its independence from Florence
and proclaimed a Second Pisan Republic

1498-Machiavelli came as liaison to the
siege of Pisa conducted by the
mercenary condottiere Vitelli

1499-after much blood and treasure had
been expended victory seemed at hand

Vitelli “went on strike” for more money

Depiction of Farinata deglai Uberti by Andrea del Castagno,
showing a 15th century condottiero's typical attire.


CHAPTER XII
HOW MANY KINDS OF SOLDIERY
THERE ARE & CONCERNING
MERCENARIES
...Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state
based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited,
ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before
enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is
deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war
by the enemy. The fact is, they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the
field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.
They are ready enough to be your soldiers whilst you do not make war, but if war
comes they take themselves off or run from the foe; which I should have little trouble
to prove, for the ruin of Italy has been caused by nothing else than by resting all her
hopes for many years on mercenaries, and although they formerly made some
display and appeared valiant amongst themselves, yet when the foreigners came they
showed what they were. Thus it was that Charles, King of France, was allowed to
seize Italy with chalk in hand;(*) and he [Savonarola]who told us that our sins were
the cause of it told the truth, but they were not the sins he imagined, but those which
I have related….


CHAPTER XII
HOW MANY KINDS OF SOLDIERY
THERE ARE & CONCERNING
MERCENARIES
...Mercenaries and auxiliaries are useless and dangerous; and if one holds his state
based on these arms, he will stand neither firm nor safe; for they are disunited,
ambitious, and without discipline, unfaithful, valiant before friends, cowardly before
enemies; they have neither the fear of God nor fidelity to men, and destruction is
deferred only so long as the attack is; for in peace one is robbed by them, and in war
by the enemy. The fact is, they have no other attraction or reason for keeping the
field than a trifle of stipend, which is not sufficient to make them willing to die for you.
They are ready enough to be your soldiers whilst you do not make war, but if war
comes they take themselves off or run from the foe; which I should have little trouble
to prove, for the ruin of Italy has been caused by nothing else than by resting all her
hopes for many years on mercenaries, and although they formerly made some
display and appeared valiant amongst themselves, yet when the foreigners came they
showed what they were. Thus it was that Charles, King of France, was allowed to
seize Italy with chalk in hand;(*) and he [Savonarola]who told us that our sins were
* thecause of it is that he didn’t need they wereto conquer, only aimagined, but to markwhich
the implication told the truth, but the sword not the sins he piece of chalk those the
doors where his troops would be billeted in the cities which surrendered without a fight
I have related….


III.B.3--Mission to Louis XII
Machiavelli’s diplomatic career

1498-(age 29)shortly after Savonarola’s
execution, he was elected head of the
second chancery of the now secular
republic

this chancery was responsible for military
and diplomatic affairs

he went on missions to France, to
Ferdinand in Spain, to Germany, the
Papacy and to lesser Italian states

this ﬁrst-hand experience forms one of
Detail of a portrait by Santi di Tito
the two pillars of his experience for writing


NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI
TO
LORENZO THE MAGNIFICENT*
SON OF PIERO DI MEDICI

...to offer to Your Highness some humble testimony of
my devotion, I have been unable to find among my
possessions anything which I hold so dear or esteem so
highly as that knowledge of the deeds of great men
which I have acquired through a long experience of
modern events and a constant study of the past.

________
* using this title “Magnifico” is flattery on Machiavelli’s part. This Lorenzo is
the nephew of the famous “il Magnifico”


THE NEW MONARCHIES

Next the seignoria sent Machiavelli on a diplomatic mission to King Louis of France.
France, England and Spain were examples of the phenomenon known as the new
monarchies. As the medieval social order was breaking down due to the Commercial
Revolution, these monarchs created nation states. This complex phenomenon
involved an alliance between the emerging urban bourgeoisie and the crown. The
monarchs developed a monopoly of justice and power at the expense of their
feuding nobility. It was paid for by taxes on commerce (which bought those artillery
trains which Charles had used in 1494). Nobles could no longer safely rebel in their
castles. The bourgeoisie paid in order to have better business conditions: relative
peace, uniform taxes and regulations over the larger areas of the new nation states.
Printing encouraged the trend from Latin to the vernaculars. Regions began to
consider themselves part of a greater polity. French rather than Burgundian.
Machiavelli was painfully aware of Italy’s wasteful divisions and repeated civil wars.
He began to dream of a new Italian monarchy with Florence as its capital. The seed
was planted during this mission.--jbp


born in Catalonia to an “ecclesiastical family.” His
uncle was bishop of Valencia

1455-adopted his maternal family name, Borgia,
when his mother’s brother became Pope Calixtus iii

1457-became vice chancellor at the Vatican

1492-having served under ﬁve popes was elected
to the papacy. Allegedly, one vote cost four mule
loads of silver

Pope Alexander VI
1493-conﬁrmed Spain’s new possessions
born Rodrigo Lanzol;
1431 – 1492--1503





loads of silver

Pope Alexander VI
1431 – 1492--1503
a major “player” in the military diplomacy of the
era





loads of silver

Pope Alexander VI
1431 – 1492--1503

second-to-last a major “player” in the military diplomacy of the
non-Italian pope era
until John Paul ii


CHAPTER XVIII
IN WHAT WAY PRINCES MUST
KEEP FAITH

I will only mention one modern instance, Alexander VI did
nothing else but deceive men, he thought of nothing else,
and found occasion for it; no man was ever more able to
give assurances, or afﬁrmed things with stronger oaths, and
no man observed them less; however, he always succeeded
in his deceptions, as he well knew this aspect of things.


Pope Alexander’s Family
1470-Vannozza dei Cattanei, age 28, one of many
mistresses of then cardinal Borja, age 39. Her
relationship lasted the longest. Mother of:



1475-Cesare, later made cardinal, renounced to
become the family’s condottiere




1475-Giovanni, became Duke of Gandia





1480-Lucrezia, of the multiple husbands






1481 (or ’82)-Gioffre, married the king of Naples’
daughter Sancha of Aragon






1481 (or ’82)-Gioffre, married the king of Naples’
daughter Sancha of Aragon

1493-her place in his (age 62)affections was
taken by the beautiful Gulia Farnese, age 19


Cesare changes careers
1490-age 15, made bishop of Pamplona

1492-elevated to cardinal after his father bought
the papacy. His younger brother Juan (Giovanni)
was made commander of the papal army

1497-Juan’s body was found in the Tiber. Some
ﬁngered Cesare. They both had been “doing”
their younger brother’s wife

1498-Cesare became the ﬁrst person to resign as
1475-1507 cardinal. He took over as the family’s consigliere,
anonymous head of the papal army: Italian mercenaries & 300
painter
cavalry plus 4,ooo Swiss mercenaries


Cesare changes careers
1490-age 15, made bishop of Pamplona

1492-elevated to cardinal after his father bought
the papacy. His younger brother Juan (Giovanni)
was made commander of the papal army

1497-Juan’s body was found in the Tiber. Some
ﬁngered Cesare. They both had been “doing”
their younger brother’s wife

1498-Cesare became the ﬁrst person to resign as
1475-1507 cardinal. He took over as the family’s consigliere,
anonymous head of the papal army: Italian mercenaries & 300
painter
cavalry plus 4,ooo Swiss mercenaries

he then began to conquer the Romagna


Cesare expands the family business
1500-the pope sent Cesare to Romagna to subdue the
turbulent local despots, and with the help of the French
king, carve a principality for himself out of those territories
owing nominal allegiance to Rome

Malatesta of Rimini and Sforza of Pesaro ﬂed, but
Manfredi, “a handsome and virtuous youth of 18” held out

1501-when he surrendered on the promise of his life,
“Cesare broke his word, sent him as prisoner to Rome
where he was afterwards foully outraged and put to death”

1502-Cesare similarly lulled the suspicion of two rebellious
nobles and had them strangled at Senigallia (III.C.1.b.)

observe how Machiavelli describes his “hero”


CHAPTER VII
OF NEW DOMINIONS ACQUIRED
BY THE POWER OF OTHERS OR
BY FORTUNE

Cesare Borgia...acquired the state by the influence of his father and lost it when
that influence failed, and that although every measure was adopted by him and
everything done that a prudent and capable man could do to establish himself
firmly in a state that the arms and the favors of others had given him….I know of no
better precepts for a new prince to follow than may be found in his actions….
In wishing to aggrandize the duke his son, Alexander VI had to meet very great
difficulties….It was, therefore, necessary to disturb the existing condition and bring
about disorders in the states of Italy….The king [Louis of France] came thus into
Italy with the aid of the Venetians and the consent of Alexander...the pope
obtained troops from him for his enterprise in the Romagna…. [Cesare] had
recourse to stratagem. He dissembled his aims so well that the Orsini made their
peace with him, being represented by Signor Paulo whose suspicions the duke
disarmed with every courtesy, presenting him with robes, money and horses, so that
in their simplicity they were induced to come to Sinigaglia and fell into his hands.


CHAPTER VII
OF NEW DOMINIONS ACQUIRED
BY THE POWER OF OTHERS OR
BY FORTUNE

It is seen that his foundations were good, for the Romagna awaited him for
more than a month. In Rome, although but half alive, he remained secure; and
whilst the Baglioni, the Vitelli, and the Orsini might come to Rome, they could
not effect anything against him. If he could not have made pope him whom he
wished, at least the one whom he did not wish would not have been elected.
But if he had been in sound health at the death of Alexander [his father],
everything would have been different to him. On the day that Julius the
Second was elected, he told me that he had thought of everything that might
occur at the death of his father, and had provided a remedy for all, except
that he had never anticipated that, when the death did happen, he himself
would be on the point to die.


III.C.1.a--Lucrezia Borgia
1little is known with certainty. Her reputed
poisonings and incest with her brother
Cesare were imputed by Borgia enemies

she was married three times to advance the
ambitions of her father

1493-to Giovanni Sforza, annulled after he’d
served his purpose

1498-to Neapolitan Alfonso of Aragon, half-
brother of Sancha, her sister-in-law

1500-Alfonso was murdered, reputedly by
1480-1519 Cesare
by Pinturicchio
fresco in the Borgia rooms of 1501-married Alfonso I d’Este, gave him eight
the Vatican children


III.C.1.a--Lucrezia Borgia
1little is known with certainty. Her reputed
poisonings and incest with her brother
Cesare were imputed by Borgia enemies

she was married three times to advance the
ambitions of her father

1493-to Giovanni Sforza, annulled after he’d
served his purpose

1498-to Neapolitan Alfonso of Aragon, half-
brother of Sancha, her sister-in-law

1500-Alfonso was murdered, reputedly by
1480-1519 Cesare
by Pinturicchio
fresco in the Borgia rooms of 1501-married Alfonso I d’Este, gave him eight
the Vatican children
one of numerous paintings where she
represents the Virgin Mary

III.C.2 Pope Julius II


III.C.2 Pope Julius II
1471-elevated to bishop after his uncle became Pope Sixtus iv

then made Cardinal of San Pietro in Vincula and given
another seven bishoprics

1492-able papal legate to France, he gained great inﬂuence
in the college of cardinals and rivaled Roderigo Borgia, whom
he accused of simony when he lost the election to him

1503-after Alexander II died he became pope at last

the only pope to lead his troops in battle, he is even more
famous as a patron of the arts--Michelangelo & Bramante (here a cardinal, age 34)
nicknamed "The Fearsome
Pope" (Il Papa Terribile) and "The
1505-his celebrated tomb was commissioned but only Warrior Pope" (Il Papa Guerriero),
born Giuliano della Rovere,
completed forty years later on a much reduced scale 1443-1503-1513


1510-T Augustinian monks from Erfurt went to Rome to see Pope
wo
Julius regarding a matter that required settlement.
'Disillusionments of various sorts set in at once. ...The abysmal
ignorance, frivolity, and levity of the Italian priests stupefied him.
They could rattle through six or seven masses while he was saying
one. And when he was only at the Gospel, they had finished and
would say to him "Passa! Passa!" - "Get a move on!" ....Some of the
Italian clergy however were flippantly unbelieving and would
address the sacrament saying "Bread thou art and bread thou wilt
remain." T a devout believer from the unsophisticated Northland
o
such disclosures were truly shocking.

'...He need not have been a scandalmonger to know that the
district of ill fame was frequented by ecclesiastics. He heard there
were those who considered themselves virtuous because they
confined themselves to women. The unsavory memory of Pope
Alexander VI was still a stench. Catholic historians recognize
candidly the scandal of the Renaissance popes, and the Catholic
Reformation was as greatly concerned as the Protestant about
such abuses.'

Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, quoted at
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/
What_did_Martin_Luther_witness_in_Rome_that_upset_him


III.C.3 Pope Leo X
1513-the last non-priest (only a deacon) to be
elected pope. The second son of Lorenzo the
Magniﬁcent

he gained the triple tiara the year following his
family’s overthrow of the Florentine Republic

1516-as he continued Julius’ hugely expensive
reconstruction, he turned to the sale of
indulgences. Dominican Johann Tetzel was sent to
Germany

31 October 1517-Martin Luther posted his famous
Pope Leo X Ninety-Five Theses
born
Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici
1475-1513-1521 1521-Leo excommunicated Luther


III.D Exile

August 1512-with the help of Pope Alexander ii and Spanish troops,
the Medici defeated the Florentine Republic at Prato

Machiavelli’s patron resigned as head of state

1513- Machiavelli was accused of conspiracy by the Medici forces,
imprisoned; despite “torture by the rope” (hung by his arms), he
refused to confess.

he was exiled from the city and spent the rest of his life at his
country estate writing Il Principe, History of Florence, poetry, plays

Wikipedia


Machiavelli on Morality and Power

Machiavelli on Morality and Power

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