December 18, 2018 at 5:03 pm
We’ve known our share of allegedly misunderstood literary figures (lookin’ at you, Nietzsche). But is Machiavelli one of them? In The Prince, Machiavelli argues that leaders shouldn’t be objectively virtuous or truthful, but rather effective at preserving their reign. Hence a just end can excuse a leader’s horrendous acts, or “the ends justify the means.” […]
October 31, 2013 at 10:30 am
Earlier this week we discussed Machiavelli’s potent shock-value. Now, Arts & Letter Daily has linked us to The New Criterion’s post on Machiavelli’s philosophical musings of truth. The claim is that they are just as important as his political work. ALDaily writes: “I depart from the orders of others.” With that, Machiavelli reconceived both politics and philosophy. […]
October 29, 2013 at 10:00 am
CC201 has started off the semester by dabbling, among other things, in Machiavelli’s The Prince. Many were acquainted with the work from their high school years, and many were not – all admit it remains potent and relevant today. This post for The National Interest highlights the way in which The Prince still shocks today. A sample: […]
August 13, 2013 at 8:03 pm
Relating to CC201’s study of Niccolo Machiavelli’s the Prince, is an article discussing his ideas on whether law can supplant politics. Here is an extract: One of the peculiarities of political thought at the present time is that it is fundamentally hostile to politics. Bismarck may have opined that laws are like sausages – it’s best […]
October 21, 2011 at 10:57 am
Arrange to have garlic and onions cast into hot oil. The carrot and celery you must divide against themselves. Ground beef, too, shall turn upon the burner; crush any coherent resistance with a spoon of wood. Sautee until no hint of blood remains to stain your hands. Perhaps, in a dark place without witnesses, the […]
September 21, 2011 at 10:30 am
Last Tuesday, Prof. Michael Corgan delivered a lecture to the students of CC201: The Renaissance, on the topic of The Prince by Machiavelli. To provide context for his lecture in the intellectual arc of the course, Prof. Jennifer Formichelli introduced Prof. Corgan with the following remarks. Last week Professor Ricks made a salient distinction between […]
February 1, 2011 at 5:15 pm
Whoever examines in detail the actions of Severus, will find him to have been a very ferocious lion and an extremely astute fox, and will find him to have been feared and respected by all and not hated by the army; and will not be surprised that he, a new man, should have been able […]
September 30, 2010 at 2:35 pm
It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be both. – Niccolo Machiavelli, in Chapter XVII of The Prince. NB: A pundit writing at Politics Daily criticized President Obama by pointing out his failure to adhere to Machiavelli’s advice in being feared and loved. Conclusion: what Machiavelli wrote 500 years ago still […]
