The Prince (15 13) was written shortly after his exile. It is a little book giving advice to the monarch, with the focus on how to liberate Italy from foreign rule in the last chapter. Although some writers (especially Spinoza and Rousseau) think this book is a satire on the monarchy, The Theory of Kings is obviously a flattering article written for self-recommendation. After living in exile, Machiavelli managed a farm and wrote a treatise on titus livius's top ten books ([1532], 1950). ≌? ? ? Wei Ji sang it? Cough? What's the problem? What happened to Guangdong? Is it wrong to rob a tomb in Meibu? Is it annoying to unload miscellaneous things? What's wrong with breastfeeding alone? Is bed spring poisonous? Punishment? Hey hey? Hey? In 520, he wrote The Art of War and began to write the history of Florence. His comedy Mandrake is still one of the classic works of Italian literature. 1527, medici family was overthrown and the Republic was restored, but the newly established regime did not recruit him; Machiavelli died in June of the same year.
Machiavelli criticized previous writers for only talking about ideals and imaginary countries when talking about politics, and declared that the political problems he dealt with were really effective. Machiavelli, who thinks deeply about the tradition of citizen humanism, is extremely concerned about the constitutional system of the city and the glorious deeds of heroes. His contribution to the harsh realistic style of this period is that he realized that heroes with politician feelings don't have to follow Christian moral precepts, but in fact, the result of some old-fashioned moral aphorisms suppressing the king is likely to directly lead to their demise. He believes that, therefore, a king must know how not to be a good person and use this knowledge according to the situation. In addition, he also believes that the king who is consolidating power must know how to control people's imagination. Cesare Borgia can achieve this state; Machiavelli negotiated with him when he was in the Republic of Florence. Borgia once sent his general Ramilo Dalka to appease the newly conquered Romagne); By necessary cruel means; Then he sent someone to kill Okay, beheaded his body and dumped it in cesena Square. This move is to appease the local complaints, which is undoubtedly manipulating people's imagination. Machiavelli wrote in the seventh chapter of Kings that this cruel scene "brought people satisfaction and surprise at the same time". It is often said that Machiavelli believes that the moral life of private people and the morality of politicians are two different things. However, despite his cynical style, he never wavered in his clear determination of good and evil. Rulers are not endowed with different moral principles; Only the ruler is interpreted as the guardian of morality itself and can violate moral norms when necessary. Replacing the language of admonishing the king with the description of the characteristics of the emerging modern country (which he has keen observation) has become the concept of national rationality.
Machiavelli never encouraged any crime. Politicians are creators of civilization, and their ambitions have no glory except public welfare. He has reservations about the proper use of cruel means in political activities. The criterion for judging the necessity of using cruel means is that it cannot be abused. Moreover, this combination of effectiveness and honor ethics is his extremely unique attitude. Machiavelli wrote in a passage that is usually translated as "rationalization of purpose": "When an action accuses him, the result of the action should be forgiven". But what he cares about is not the rationalization of morality, but the legitimate judgment made by subjects and historians. From this technical point of view, religion is important because it can make people brave in dedication and strengthen virtue. Machiavelli, in Latin style, strongly opposed the priest's interference in politics, and often bluntly opposed Christianity, because its humility weakened the government and prevented serious military atrocities. He only praises the heroes of this world, not the pious devotees in the afterlife.
Machiavelli, who wrote "On Li Wei's Ten Works of Roman History", is little known, but more immortal. In this book, we found a theory of social conflict: people struggle with each other to maintain national unity and avoid collapse. He left a classic thought to later thinkers, that is, any lasting regime must keep a balance among the three elements of monarch, nobility and democracy. Creating and maintaining a country beyond personal and family paranoia in the public sphere is the highest achievement of mankind, but it has its ultimate doom. Because the country creates peace and peace brings prosperity, when people gradually get used to the days of prosperity and peace, they lose public morality and indulge their personal desires; In Machiavelli's words: Freedom succumbs to corruption. This tradition of emphasizing citizen participation has not been cut off even in the early modern European absolute monarchy countries, but has become the mainstream since the French Revolution. It constitutes many contents of modern so-called "democracy".
But in the public's imagination, Machiavelli has always been a spokesman who delights in manipulation and is the writer who is best at describing Machiavellian tactics. Many revolutionary adventurers found an excuse from him to hide their instinctive behavior tendency. Social psychologists also remember Machiavelli's role when making questionnaires to measure personality manipulation tendency. People who get high marks in the test are called "high Mach", while people with poor maneuverability are called "low Mach"