Machiavelli — a man for our time?

“It is much safer to be feared than loved”, wrote Niccolò Machiavelli in his celebrated 1513 text The Prince.

Which may seem an exceptionally definitive proposition for a political philosopher whose name is now synonymous with the flexible relationship between right and wrong.

After all, Machiavelli is the man who declared that “torture and assassination should be avoided – unless absolutely necessary”, that the word of The Prince should be taken as gospel and, more broadly, argued that personal virtue may in fact lead to poor government. 

In the world of The Prince, very little is absolute – perhaps only the need to be flexible with one’s absolutes. 

The Prince was written about Machiavelli’s immediate surroundings (1500s Florence) and is even dedicated to the city-state’s then ruler, Giuliano di Lorenzo de’ Medici. 

It’s most definitely not a text designed to be read in the abstract.

“We are much beholden to Machiavelli and others,” wrote English statesman Francis Bacon in the early 1600s, praising Machiavelli for writing “what men do, and not what they ought to do.

“If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.”

This brutal and timeless exploration of realpolitik is what helps Machiavelli and The Prince maintain their modern relevance. The text is still used today, not only as a rich historical record but as a guilty pleasure of serious political theorists and armchair tragics alike.

Its lasting popularity has also led to inclusion in the University of Melbourne’s 10 Great Books masterclass series.

The series allows members of the public to be guided through some of the most influential works in history by leading academics. The texts range from classic novels to philosophical and political treatises, from antiquity to modernity.

University of Melbourne Vice-Chancellor Glyn Davis, himself a Professor in Political Science, will lead discussion on Machiavelli’s master work.

Of course, The Prince is much more than a collection of pithy one-liners. Its rich philosophical content is often credited with laying the foundations for modern political science and political ethics.

The text traverses broad questions of morality, free will, ethics and the very purpose of governance.

But if The Prince was written as an instruction manual for the restoration of Florence or even as an application for employment with the ruling De Medici family – as many scholars suggest – then Machiavelli’s most famous text was a spectacular failure.

The Prince failed to impress Florence’s ruling elite and was later perceived as evil and blasphemous, even earning a spot on the Vatican’s Index Librorum Prohibitorum (or Index of Banned Books) in 1559.

Machiavelli died without title or influence.

But despite his personal failure in the pursuit for power, Machiavelli’s words remain instructive when assessing political motivations and strategy. 

His legacy stretches further than those of the rulers he sought to impress.

More more information visit 

www.arts.unimelb.edu.au/masterclasses/10-great-books