political allegiance to no one. It was a center of learning and of considerable artistic creativity. In the 15th members of the Medici family ruled it. The Medici family was temporarily expelled from Florence in 1494, and was replaced by a friar named Savonarola who carried on with campaigns against corruption. In 1497 he was excommunicated by the pope, and later executed. A month after his execution Machiavelli was appointed as secretary to the Second Chancery. His duties involved mire than merely keeping the records. He was called to handle the municipal problems and was frequently asked to participate in diplomatic negotiations with foreign powers. He held this position for 15 years. In 1512, the Medici family came back into power in Florence. With the return of the Medicis Machiavelli lost his post in the Florentine government and accused of conspiring to overthrow the government, and consequently he was thrown in prison and tortured. After his imprisonment, and until his death, he wrote prolifically for 14 years. At this time he saw politics as survival of the fittestMachiavelli also introduces for concepts that a good leader should possess: virtue, ability, skill, and cleverness. Virtue is a quality that people have. Virtue is described as strength, courage, manly fortitude, and the idea that someone can do what is needed when it is needed in order to secure power. The idea is different than Plato and Aristotle who talked of reason and good citizens. A good leader can not be a good person b/c he will have to lie, kill, deceive, be cruel and destroy. Fortune is described not a human quality, it is something that humans have to deal with. Fortune is essentially faith. Fortune can be overcome by virtue if everything is done the right way. Appearance is also emphasized. He emphasized appearance over reality. A ruler should appear stronger and more compassionate than he really is. There are 5 qualities that a prince should have some o...
