Niccolo Machiavelli

Andrew Mousley (University of De Montfort)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.1: Italian Writing and Culture, 453-present.
Vol. editors: Carla Bregman (Independent Scholar - North America), Jo Ann Cavallo (Columbia University)

Dates

Born 3 May 1469
Died 21 Jun 1527
Activity 1498-1527

Places

Born in Italy
Active in Italy

Activities

Primary

Political Philosopher

Other

Biographer
Playwright / Dramatist
Statesman

Resources

Machiavelli's Works

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“I count religion but a childish toy, / And hold there is no sin but ignorance” (Marlowe, 1978: “Prologue”, 14-15). So speaks the stage villain “Machevil” in Christopher Marlowe's

The Jew of Malta

. Marlowe's tragedy is one of several English Renaissance plays featuring Machiavellian characters, such as Shakespeare's Iago, Richard III and Prince Hal, who contributed to the construction of Machiavelli's scandalous reputation. Today, the term Machiavellian is still synonymous with the deceit and ruthlessness deemed necessary for, or endemic to, effective politics. What was and still is shocking about Machiavellianism is its banishment of ethics from political life, a banishment which has the effect of instrumentalising religion, sanctioning the immoral means deemed necessary to…

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2274 words

Citation: Mousley, Andrew. "Niccolo Machiavelli". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2852, accessed 16 October 2024.]