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The Problem of The Prince – Machiavelli and his Discontents

Glenn Statile

Annual McKeever Lecture at St. John’s University -  02/15/03

Introduction

 Julius Caesar opens the book in which he describes his conquest of Gaul (France) with the famous sentence: “All Gaul is divided into three parts.”  The major problem in understanding The Prince is the determination of the extent to which Machiavelli really was or was not a proponent of evil.  It has been said that it takes a lot of gall to talk about Machiavelli.  In an attempt to conform to such a Caesarean sensibility I will divide my gall into three main parts.  In part 1 I will consider some significant aspects of The Prince in the context of Machiavelli’s life, time, and other works.  In part 2 I will visit the issue of Machiavelli’s vast influence upon posterity, an influence which is split right down the middle between disciples and discontents.  Finally, in part 3, I will briefly examine one of the myriad interpretations of The Prince, transposing it however into a slightly unusual key.  I shall then close with a farewell toast.

I

Niccolò Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 and died on June 21, 1527.  Biographers of Machiavelli, such as Ridolfi and Viroli, record a dream that the dying Machiavelli is reputed to have told to his friends.  It seems to be a reinterpretation of the famous dream of Scipio as reported by Cicero in his treatise on the republic.  Machiavelli claims that he would rather spend an intellectually invigorating eternity in hell discussing affairs of state with the great political thinkers of history than be bored to tears in paradise by the saints.   It is interesting to note that, despite his lifelong disregard for Christianity, Machiavelli ended his life by availing himself of the sacrament of confession.  Since that time many interpreters have tried to put the problem of The Prince to rest, but to no avail.  Machiavelli continues to bury his undertakers.
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Niccolo Machiavelli, the first great political philosopher of the Renaissance, was born in Florence, Italy at a time when the country was in political upheaval. Since 1434 Florence was ruled by the wealthy Medici family.

Their rule was temporarily interrupted by a reform movement, begun in 1494, in which the young Machiavelli became an important diplomat. When the Medici family regained power in 1512 with the help of Spanish troops, Machiavelli was tortured and removed from public life.

For the next 10 years, he devoted himself to writing history, political philosophy, and even plays. He ultimately gained favor with the Medici family and was called back to public duty for the last two years of his life. Machiavelli's greatest work, written in 1513 and published after his death in 1532, is The Prince, which stands apart from all other political writings of the period insofar as it focus on the practical problems a monarch faces in staying in power, rather than more speculative issues explaining the foundation of political authority. The work immediately provoked controversy and was soon condemned by Pope Clement VIII. Its main theme is that princes should retain absolute control of their territories, and they should use any means of expediency to accomplish this end.