Comments on: Niccolo Machiavelli - Works http://rarebookfinds.com/2007/05/21/niccolo-machiavelli-works/ Learn about rare books from the experts Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:08:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Bauman http://rarebookfinds.com/2007/05/21/niccolo-machiavelli-works/#comment-5004 Bauman Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:43:14 +0000 http://rarebookfinds.com/2007/05/21/niccolo-machiavelli-works/#comment-5004 Thanks for your question. From our research, Machiavelli brought to light the double-dealing, hypocritical world of politics in a serious, rather than satirical, treatise. According to Machiavelli, moral principles must yield entirely to the requisites of each unique political circumstance. Therefore, it is imperative that the Prince be willing to do anything necessary to maintain power. However, Machiavelli asserts strongly that above all, the Prince must not be hated, yet the Prince should gain from being feared rather than loved. In addition, his observations on the behavior of the rich and powerful led him to the conclusion that humanity is basically corrupt, and that men and women will, when given the chance, always turn toward evil and self-gratification. This interpretation was different from the doctrine of original sin. For Machiavelli, the claim that humanity is ruthless, blindly abandoning itself to lust for pleasures, power, and profit was a plain, observable fact. The Papacy, being the major political power in Machiavelli’s time, naturally took offense at these ideas—not taking kindly to the separation of morality from politics, nor to the corrupt nature of power. In 1559 the Church placed The Prince, and all of Machiavelli’s other works, on the Index Prohibitorum, in the “banned absolutely” category. The Prince stayed there through all the new editions of the Index right up to its discontinuation in 1966. Thanks for your question. From our research, Machiavelli brought to light the double-dealing, hypocritical world of politics in a serious, rather than satirical, treatise. According to Machiavelli, moral principles must yield entirely to the requisites of each unique political circumstance. Therefore, it is imperative that the Prince be willing to do anything necessary to maintain power. However, Machiavelli asserts strongly that above all, the Prince must not be hated, yet the Prince should gain from being feared rather than loved. In addition, his observations on the behavior of the rich and powerful led him to the conclusion that humanity is basically corrupt, and that men and women will, when given the chance, always turn toward evil and self-gratification. This interpretation was different from the doctrine of original sin. For Machiavelli, the claim that humanity is ruthless, blindly abandoning itself to lust for pleasures, power, and profit was a plain, observable fact.

The Papacy, being the major political power in Machiavelli’s time, naturally took offense at these ideas—not taking kindly to the separation of morality from politics, nor to the corrupt nature of power. In 1559 the Church placed The Prince, and all of Machiavelli’s other works, on the Index Prohibitorum, in the “banned absolutely” category. The Prince stayed there through all the new editions of the Index right up to its discontinuation in 1966.

]]> By: HLI http://rarebookfinds.com/2007/05/21/niccolo-machiavelli-works/#comment-4949 HLI Sun, 16 Sep 2007 16:07:52 +0000 http://rarebookfinds.com/2007/05/21/niccolo-machiavelli-works/#comment-4949 I appriciate the printing information, but why was it censored in the first place? examples? I appriciate the printing information, but why was it censored in the first place? examples?

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