Machiavelli's Virtue

388 Pages·1996·23.526 MB·English

by  Harvey C. Mansfield

MACHIAVlLLI'S VIRTUE
A C H I
C.
HARVEY
MANSFIELD
,
A V E L L I S
V I R T U E
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS
CHICAGO & LONDON
The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 60637
The University of Chicago Press, Ltd., London
© 1966 by The University of Chicago
All rights reserved. Published 1996
Paperback edition 1998
Printed in the United States of America
05 04 03 02 01 00 99 98 2 3 4 5
ISBN: 0-226-50368-2 (cloth)
ISBN: 0-226-50369-0 (paperback)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mansfield, Harvey Claflin, 1932-
Machiavelli's virtue I Harvey C. Mansfield.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Machiavelli, Niccolo, 1469-1527-Contributions in political
science. 2. Machiavelli, Niccolo, 1469-1527-Ethics. I. Title.
]CI43.M4M355 1995
320.1'092-dc20 95-24115
CIP
8 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992.
CONTENTS
Abbreviations
Vll
Preface ix
PART ONE
MACHIAVELLI THE PRINCE
I Machiavelli's Virtue 6
PART TWO
MACHIAVELLI'S BEGINNINGS 53
2 Necessity in the Beginnings of Cities 57
3 Burke and Machiavelli on Principles in Politics 79
4 Machiavelli and the Idea of Progress 109
PART THREE
MACHIAVELLI'S BOOKS 123
5 An Introduction to Machiavelli's Florentine Histories 127
6 Party and Sect in Machiavelli's Florentine Histories 137
7 An Introduction to The Prince 176
8 An Introduction to Machiavelli's Art of War 191
9 Strauss's Machiavelli 219
PART FOUR
MACHIAVELLI'S POLITICS 231
10 Machiavelli's New Regime 235
I I Machiavelli's Political Science 258
12 Machiavelli's Stato and the Impersonal Modern State 281
13 Machiavelli and the Modern Executive 295
Notes 315
Bibliography 351
Index 361

ABBREVIATIONS
In both my documentation and parenthetical text references, page
numbers citing the works of Niccolo Machiavelli (NM) refer to his
Tutte Ie opere, ed. Mario Casella and Guido Mazzoni (Florence:
G. Barbera, 1969). His works are abbreviated as follows:
AW Art of War
D Discourses on Livy
FH Florentine Histories
P The Prince
All translations are my own.
vii

PREFACE
Machiavelli as the principal character in his own thought: that is
the theme of this collection of articles and essays. The articles are
presented in formal dress, supported by footnotes, and the essays
were written for occasions when the textual proof of one's state
ments is not expected or desired, and when arguing with authority
is otiose. All begin from or come to Machiavelli's "strange sugges
tion that he was a prince." In describing princes, which he does in
all his writings and not only in his most famous book, called The
Prince, Machiavelli was explaining himself and his undertaking.
That "strange suggestion" is distinctive, but it is not original
with me. It can be found in Leo Strauss's Thoughts on Machiavelli,
published in 1958, a work whose reception is related in chapter 9.
I have followed out Strauss's general suggestion and some of the
many, many specific points contained in that marvelous book.
Strauss combined two opposite reactions to Machiavelli's work.
The anti-Machiavellians, who after the publication of Machiavelli's
major works (posthumously, in 153 I) sprang up angrily to defend
morality and religion in politics, saw well enough that Machiavelli
was the first philosopher not merely to lack respect for the just, the
noble, and the sacred or even to show his lack of respect-but actu
ally to advise all others to act without respect. Modern philosophers
following Machiavelli, such as Bacon, Spinoza, Montesquieu, and
Rousseau, showing regard like Machiavelli himself for the power of
moral outrage, cautiously took notice of his responsibility for initiat
ing the escape of philosophy, and thereafter society, from the super
intendence of Christianity. But Strauss was the first to argue the
point in detail while never losing sight of the question raised by
Machiavelli's immoralities and blasphemies.
IX