Machiavelli's "The Monarchy" Historical Background and Comments - Political theory by a Florentine contemporary of da Vinci. A great book to read after knowing the historical background.
I would like to introduce "The Theory of the Monarch" written by Machiavelli around 1513. I have read the 31st edition of "The Theory of Monarchs" translated by Takeshi Sasaki, published by Kodansha in 2004.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
The Theory of Monarchies is a classic of modern political science. The author, Machiavelli, was the secretary of the republican city of Florence during the Renaissance in Italy, a country of many city-states. In the midst of the stormy waves of international politics, he spent his days scrambling east and west in military and diplomatic affairs. This is the full translation and commentary by a leading political scientist of this famous book, which he wrote as a method of governing based on the ecology of power, drawing on his rich experience. (Kodansha Gakujutsu Bunko)
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Although "Monarchism" is so well-known that the term Machiavellianism is used to describe it, the book itself is quite difficult to read and a formidable work.
Perhaps most of the world reads the famous "The Theory of Monarchs" by itself. I did, too.
I wonder what kind of book the famous "The Monarchist" is. It seems to be a bestseller, so let's give it a try."
I have bitter memories of picking it up with such a light heart, but as expected, I failed.
But the previous article, by Takashina ShujiThe Fate of Early Renaissance Art in Florence.When I read "The Monarchist" again after reading "The Monarchist", it showed a completely different face! It was just so interesting! When I read it after understanding the historical background, Machiavelli's words came to me more easily.
Plus, by Somerset Maugham, mentioned in the previous article.Then and now."is a historical novel starring Cesare Borgia and Machiavelli, who were also the models for the strong monarchs in "The Monarchy". It is also highly recommended.
The translator of "Then and Now" describes Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia in the commentary at the end of the book as follows
The protagonists in "Then and Now" are Niccolò Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli was a brilliant and astute bureaucrat in the service of the Florentine Republic, a comedian, and above all, the author of "The Theory of Monarchs," which today is considered the founder of modern political science.
Cesare Borgia, on the other hand, has long been known in history as the "poison pill of the Borgia family," a treacherous power fugitive, the author of Machiavellianism, who would stop at nothing to achieve his ends.
Machiavelli, in his "Treatise on Monarchs," says that a monarch must be as fierce as a lion and as cunning as a fox, that he must not be bound by the virtues and reputations of the world, but must be willing to commit cruel acts at the drop of a hat and to venture into evil, as the occasion may require. He also said of Cesare Borgia, who died in the middle of a heroic act, "He was a man of great courage and strength. He was a man of great courage and strength, and he knew how to tame or destroy the people" ("The Theory of Monarchs," translated by Ren Ikeda).
However, because of its language that challenged Christian virtues, "The Monarchy" was impeached as a "work of the devil" by a prominent churchman shortly after Machiavelli's death, and his entire oeuvre was eventually placed on the papal catalog of forbidden books.
Chikuma Shobo, Somerset Maugham, translated by Takashi Amano, "Then and Now" p366-367
Some line breaks have been made.
Just by reading this passage, you can get an idea of the kind of people Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia were.
The author then continues. In the next section, the historical background of Italy at that time is explained.
In Machiavelli's time, Italy was a divided country with city-states of various sizes, which allowed the intervention and plunder of the French and Spanish powers that had established an absolute monarchy. The time when the two powers maintained a balance of power by hiring and being hired by mercenaries and fighting "eight hundred wars," and enjoying the splendor of Renaissance culture, was passing away. Since the invasion of King Charles VIII of France in 1494, Italy had been in a precarious situation with brutal fighting and rampant looting throughout the country.
In this turbulent era, Cesare Borgia appeared. He was a young and sturdy monarch, only twenty-seven years old. Although he was the bastard son of Pope Alessandro VI, he created a national army with the aim of unifying the country and strove to eliminate the petty lords in order to seize real power in the papal territories.
Faced with his ambitions, Florence, Venice, Siena, and Bologna were unsettled. For them, Italy's divided state and balance of power were the conditions for their own prosperity. If Cesare's radical actions were allowed to continue, the very existence of the metropolitan states would be threatened. Its freedom and prosperity would be lost.
At the same time, Cesare's mercenary captains rebelled, fearing that they, too, might be sacrificed to their master's ambitions. This was Florence's best chance for the Republic to survive. If the greedy soldiers would cannibalize each other, it would be Florence who would benefit. Thus, the Florentine government sent Machiavelli, a man of many tongues and hands, as an envoy to Cesare, who was seeking a huge mercenary contract. The plan was to dodge Cesare's contrarianism with a three-pointed tongue until the result of the rebellion could be seen.
The story is thus told through the warp of the bickering between these two geniuses, and the weft of the womanizing Machiavelli's skillful play with the flames of love. Machiavelli is a 33-year-old man in his prime, a bureaucrat loyal to the Republic as well as a passionate, flesh-and-blood man. Upon arriving in Imola on business, he falls in love at first sight with the young wife of a powerful merchant, and struggles to win her over during his hectic diplomatic negotiations. His desperate political activities and serious romantic endeavors are depicted with the light touch that is characteristic of Maugham.
The story of Machiavelli's tearful activities can be found in this book, but the comical storyline is inextricably linked with Machiavelli's and Maum's keen observations of human nature, which will delight readers at every turn. If you pick up "The Monarchist" after reading "Then and Now," you will probably be greatly stimulated in your interest and reading will go on.
Chikuma Shobo, Somerset Maugham, translated by Takashi Amano, "Then and Now" p367-369
Some line breaks have been made.
It is surprising to learn that Cesare Borgia was the bastard son of Pope Alessandro VI. Moreover, he was a man of tremendous ambition who wanted to use his position to seize control of all of Italy.
And as this work preaches, Cesare Borgia was not just a man who took advantage of his birth, he was also an incredibly brilliant man. One can only be amazed at his keen mind, his charisma, and his power and intrigue.
Now, when we think of Machiavelli's "The Theory of the Monarch," as the word Machiavellianism suggests, we inevitably get the image of ruthlessness, intrigue, and all-around realism in order to win in the face of harsh reality.
It is true that such things are discussed in "The Monarchist".
However,Why did Machiavelli have to state such a thing?"This background is often overlooked.
The political situation in Italy at that time was quite unique. As mentioned above, Italy was a country of many city-states, each of which operated under a seemingly democratic system of republicanism. Although the country was formally run as a republic, a seemingly democratic system, it was in reality a corrupt and dysfunctional system.
Moreover, this was a time when powerful absolute monarchical states such as France and Spain were moving to invade Italy, and the Ottoman Empire was also overrunning the Mediterranean region.
A group of city-states that were corrupt and dysfunctional. It was the Italy in which Machiavelli lived that was full of skirmishes between such small countries based on a token democracy. If France, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and other great powers had not invaded, they could have continued their farcical skirmishes within Italy.
But in a situation where major powers attack without question, a strong national system is needed. It is a situation that can no longer be handled by a corrupt democracy.
Machiavelli would have hoped that his beloved Florence would prosper under a healthy democracy. But in these times of crisis, a small group of corrupt people continue to display their incompetence in the name of the republic...
It was in this context that Machiavelli wrote The Monarchy.
In this light, it is easy to see that this work is an opinion piece based on a rather unique situation.
The Monarchy and Machiavellianism are often discussed in business and various books.
Machiavellianism is sometimes spoken of in the nuanced sense that "Machiavellianism is useful for living in a harsh world," but is it really appropriate to apply it directly in today's society?
In the first place, "Monarchism" isKing in a Time of War.This is a work that examines what a "king" should be. Moreover, it is a thought submitted under the even narrower condition of "a king of a small country in danger of invasion by a great power.
Therefore, Machiavellianism, with its "win-win" attitude and its "anything goes" approach, is an ideology that is inherently very narrowly applicable.
It is still impossible to apply this to all people in the world.
But why has it become so popular around the world?
I think this is because it was still a very beneficial idea for those who had an upward mobility as a backstop. To win, one must use any means necessary. Machiavellianism, which fully affirms this, was very reassuring and probably provided various measures.
Indeed, if we look at the world realistically, Machiavelli's words are exactly right. The world does not revolve only around beautiful things.
Recent Taiga DramaThe Thirteen of Kamakura-dono.I was watching the "The Emperor Go-Shirakawa" and he was portrayed as a cunning man who had mastered Machiavellianism. He is a cunning man who has mastered Machiavellianism. Unlike Cesare Borgia, he did not explicitly use force, but he was ruthless in his political skills, eliminating all pretense. As a result, his power was tremendous. And he was a powerful man who reigned over the country. The way Minamoto no Yoritomo established his power and the hero, Hojo Yoshitoki, who falls to the dark side every time the drama progresses, is truly Machiavellian.
However, I believe that this was also due to the need for strong leadership in a turbulent age. When a country is in turmoil and chaos, everything will collapse if there is only a mob. However, with a strong leader, order could be maintained and crises could be averted. We must not forget this aspect. History also reminds us that in times of crisis, we need a strong presence, a king.
And what about modern society, especially in Japan?
The present era is not the dangerous age of a single flashpoint, as in the warring states period of the past. Of course there are foreign threats and domestic political turmoil. And now, with the war in Russia and Ukraine, we cannot ignore crises between nations. We also know that the business world is a world of tremendous competition.
However, Japan is not a world where people are suddenly put to death with swords or captured and tortured. It is a country ruled by the rule of law, after all. Although there are various problems, the situation is completely different from that of Italy, where Machiavelli lived.
And most of us, of course, are not "monarchs".
When you are a "monarch," it's not enough to be pretty. But we are different. We do not have to be ruthless and ruthless in accordance with "monarchism. We don't have to be ruthless and ruthless to conform to "monarchism. Fortunately for us, we don't have to live without it.
Of course, we cannot live only by being beautiful. However, this does not mean that we have to take the initiative to be ruthless, outwit, outwit, and outwit our opponents by making full use of our own schemes.
It is only that Machiavelli's "The Theory of the Monarch" examined "what is the ideal king in the war-torn world of medieval Italy," and what we think through that. I think this is important. If we take what Machiavelli says and apply it to our daily lives, we will not be happy.
I doubt that our daily lives will be any better when we have thoroughly defeated them by deceiving them. The social system is different from that of those days. Even back then, there was a tremendous amount of hatred between those who did and those who were beaten. After all, Cesare Borgia, the model for "The Monarchist," died a tragic death in the end.
Rather, the modern system demands how to cooperate with others to make social activities and businesses prosper. Would you want to work with a person who is ruthless, reckless, and capable of anything? There may be times when this is necessary, but I believe that in the long run it will cause suffering for both parties.
In my opinion, there is absolutely no need for you to be ruthless and conniving. However, I think it is very important to know that such people exist in order to protect oneself.
Machiavelli also states in this book
Human beings are so simple and so dependent on immediate needs that those who seek to deceive will always find someone to be deceived.
Kodansha, Machiavelli, translated by Takeshi Sasaki, Monarchism, p. 143
He who seeks to deceive men will always find men to be deceived."
It's a frightening word, isn't it? But I think this is the truth.
People who try to deceive others sniff out those who are likely to be deceived.
Well, as is often said in religious discourse, "A person who is naive enough to be deceived is happier in life and is a good person," but the truth is that it is difficult to say so.
This is again a difficult question, so I will not discuss it here, but by reading "The Monarchy" we can learn about various aspects of Italy's unstable political situation, the dysfunction of democracy, and the strengths of absolute monarchy (although of course absolute monarchy is not a panacea).
It is also very interesting to read about why Machiavelli had to preach "all kinds of intrigue and intrigue".
I would like to conclude this article by giving you some pointers on how to read this book.
I read the Kodansha edition, 31st printing in 2022, and I recommend this one anyway. I recommend this one anyway because, first of all, this book is a "capitalized" edition, which means that the text is simply easy to read. I think it is very important to have easy-to-read text. I think there are many people, especially in the case of classic works such as this, who are turned off by the small letters. I am sure there are many people who are annoyed by small letters, especially in such a classic work. I am one of them. It takes a lot of determination to start reading. In this respect, I am very grateful for this "capitalized" edition.
In addition, there is a "Foreword" by the translator at the beginning of this book, in which he explains the historical background and key points in reading this book. This is also easy to understand and will be a great help in reading through "Monarchism," which tends to be frustrating.
And as for "Monarchism" itself, to be honest, the first half of the book is not very interesting. The contents are hard to grasp, and the reading continues to be painful. However, after enduring it, you will reach the middle part of the book, which is about the sixth chapter, and it becomes interesting all at once. So, please bear with the first half of the book. If it is too hard for you, you can skip reading. Once you get to the middle part of the book, it becomes easier to read at once. It becomes so interesting that you may think it is a different work.
I am one of the people who had been frustrated with "Monarchism" in the past, but I stumbled in the first half of the book and was completely unaware of the development from the middle section. If I had been able to reach the middle part of the book at that time, I might have been able to finish it without falling behind. The development from the middle part is that interesting, so please look forward to it.
And again, before reading "Monarchism", please read the book by Takashina Shuji.Florence.and by Somerset Maugham.Then and now."I hope that you will read "The Monarchist". If you read these two works, you will understand that "Monarchism" is a tremendously meaningful and interesting work. I definitely recommend it.
In this article, I dared to introduce few of the specific words preached in "Monarchism". This is because I thought that it is more important to first understand the historical background of the time than the words spoken there.
Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were indeed contemporaries of Machiavelli and Cesare Borgia. These artists were valued as powerful tools of these politicians. The previously mentioned book by W. IsaacsonLeonardo da Vinci."Cesare Borgia was also mentioned in the biography called
It was very interesting to think that da Vinci and Michelangelo also lived in close relation to these political situations.
In that sense, I feel very grateful to have been able to read "Monarchism" at this time. For me, too, it was a very pleasant reading experience to finally get a good taste of this book.
The above is a summary of "Machiavelli's "The Monarchy": a political theory by a Florentine contemporary of da Vinci. It is a great book to read after knowing the historical background".
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