The first great political philosopher of the Renaissance was Nicolo Machiavelli His famous treatise, The Prince, stands apart from all other politicalwritings of the period insofar as it focus on the practical problems a monarchfaces in staying in power, rather than more speculative issues explaining thefoundation of political authority. As such, it is an expression of realpolitik, that is,governmental policy based on retaining power rather than pursuing ideals. Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy at a time when the country was inpolitical upheaval. Italy was divided between four dominant city-states, and eachof these was continually at the mercy of the stronger foreign governments ofEurope. Since 1434 Florence was ruled by the wealthy Medici family. Their rulewas temporarily interrupted by a reform movement, begun in 1494, in which theyoung Machiavelli became an important diplomat. When the Medici familyregained power in 1512 with the help of Spanish troops, Machiavelli was torturedand removed from public life. For the next 10 years he devoted himself to writinghistory, political philosophy, and even plays. He ultimately gained favor with theMedici family and was called back to public duty for the last two years of his life.Machiavelli's greatest work is The Prince, written in 1513 and published after hisdeath in 1532. The work immediately provoked controversy and was sooncondemned by Pope Clement VIII. Its main theme is that princes should retainabsolute control of their territories, and they should use any means of expediencyto accomplish this end, including deceit. Scholars struggle over interpretingMachiavelli's precise point. In several section Machiavelli praises Caesar Borgia, aSpanish aristocrat who became a notorious and much despised tyrant of theRomagna region of northern Italy. During Machiavelli's early years as a diplomat,he was in contact with Borgia and witnessed Borgia's rule first hand. Some believethat Machiav...
