Niccolo Machiavelli's philosophy in brief. Philosophical views of niccolo machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) Born in the village of San Casciano, near the city-state of Florence, in 1469, the son of Bernardo di Nicolo Machiavelli (1426-1500), a lawyer, and Bartolommei di Stefano Neli (1441-1496). He had two older sisters - Primavera (1465), Margarita (1468), and a younger brother Totto (1475). In his youth, Niccolò did not receive a wide education, unlike most other humanists, but he made up for these shortcomings on his own - on the one hand, through self-education, and on the other hand, observing the real life of contemporary Florence and analyzing in detail the results of his observations. His education gave him a complete knowledge of Latin and Italian classics. He was familiar with the works of Titus Livy, Josephus Flavius, Cicero, Macrobius, he did not study Ancient Greek, but read the Latin translations of Thucydides, Polybius and Plutarch, from whom he drew inspiration for his historical treatises.
This real life experience turned out to be, perhaps, the main source of all the creativity of Machiavelli. No wonder, speaking about himself, he once wrote: "First live, then philosophize."
Already in his youth, he was close to the republican authorities of Florence. Occupying the post of secretary of the Commission of Ten - the de facto government of the Florentine Republic - Niccolo Machiavelli found himself in the thick of European politics, repeatedly carrying out various political and diplomatic assignments. In this post, Machiavelli showed remarkable organizational and diplomatic abilities, already then becoming famous, so to speak, as a "man of action." Machiavelli natural philosophy mor humanist
In 1512, after the overthrow of the republican system in Florence, Machiavelli fell into disgrace, and the next year, 1513, on suspicion of participation in a conspiracy, he was even arrested and tortured.
As a result, Niccolo Machiavelli was banned from living in Florence and he was removed to his modest estate. Being in a forced inaction, he took up literary and philosophical creativity, writing several works - "Discourse on the first decade of Titus Livy", "History of Florence", as well as a treatise called "The Sovereign", which became the most famous of all his works and brought him posthumous world fame. Machiavelli's works were published only after the death of the thinker in the early 30s. XVI century
Machiavelli's works must be considered as a natural expression of his era. The conditions in which he lived were determined by contradictions in three areas: within the Florentine Republic (the need for the development of the city-state), inside Italy (the internecine struggle between the Italian states and the papacy), within Europe (trade competition, the participation of Italian republics in big European politics ).
What was the state of Italy at that time? It ceased to be a state. All its parts have won sovereignty, many have become lords. With this system, the external forms of the republican system were preserved, but in fact the city-states were ruled by representatives of one noble family, which transferred power according to a purely dynastic principle. Italy turned into a disorderly mixture of independent states, within which, by chance, monarchical, aristocratic or democratic rule was established. Italy became the arena of wars that foreign powers began to wage over her lands. The Germans, French, Swiss constantly attacked and plundered Italy.
It was during these terrible years that Niccolo Machiavelli's work "The Sovereign" appeared, the reading of which must be approached from the point of view of those historical events. In his work, which caused a lot of controversy, Machiavelli does not follow the lead of those who offered the touching ideal of a sovereign who possesses only excellent positive qualities. He paints a picture of the realistic qualities that real rulers possessed and possess. And he gives advice - what a new sovereign should be in real life - with arguments, referring to the actual events of world history. The new Emperor Niccolo Machiavelli is not just a person with a set of qualities and properties, not just an ideal image. Machiavelli thoroughly, carefully, carefully and thoughtfully constructs a visible, lively and attractive image of the New Sovereign. Machiavelli examines in detail such categories and concepts as generosity and frugality, cruelty and mercy, love and hatred.
Considering generosity and frugality, Machiavelli notes that those princes who sought to be generous spent all their wealth in a short time. After the depletion of the treasury, they were forced to raise existing ones and establish new taxes, which led to the hatred of their subjects. Therefore, Machiavelli advises the sovereign not to be afraid of being reputed to be stingy. But right there the author considers some possible situations when such advice will not be useful, but harmful. And, as throughout the entire work, he gives specific historical facts that illustrate his statements.
Speaking about such qualities as cruelty and mercy, Machiavelli immediately writes that "every sovereign would like to be branded as merciful and not cruel." Another thing is that often, in order to retain power, the ruler has to be cruel. If the country is threatened with disorder, then the sovereign is simply obliged to prevent this, even if he has to commit several reprisals. But in relation to numerous subjects, these executions will become an act of mercy, since the disorder would bring grief and suffering to them.
It is because of this part of the work that Machiavelli was accused of calling for cruelty and indiscriminate choice of means. "Sovereign" is a treatise on the role, place and significance of the head of state, and he was declared a manual for absolute monarchs and dictators. But Machiavelli was not a propagandist of cruelty and hypocrisy, but a researcher of the methods and essence of autocracy. In addition, the accusers “did not notice” in the same chapter such words of the author: “However, the new sovereign should not be gullible, suspicious and quick to punish, in all his actions he should be restrained, prudent and merciful”. Machiavelli justified the use of brutal measures only under unavoidable circumstances. At the same time, as a true ideologue of the bourgeoisie, Machiavelli declares the inviolability of private property, homes and families of citizens. Everything else depends on the sovereign himself, whom Machiavelli advises to rely only on what depends on himself.
Advises sovereign Machiavelli not to be a romantic in politics. You have to be realistic. This also applies to whether the ruler needs to keep his word. It is necessary, but only if it does not run counter to the interests of his state. The sovereign must act as circumstances dictate to him. "So, of all the beasts, let the sovereign be like two: a lion and a fox." That is, let him be strong, like the king of beasts, and at the same time, cunning and resourceful, like a fox. Machiavelli calls on the sovereign to be vigilant.
The predominance of general state interests over private, general political goals over any others determines the nature of the psychology of the new sovereign. Machiavelli pays much attention to the relationship of the new sovereign with the people.
First of all, he warns that the ruler does not commit acts that could arouse the hatred or contempt of his subjects. The sovereign can cause contempt for himself by inconstancy, frivolity, effeminacy, cowardice.
It is in this chapter that Machiavelli clearly articulates the inviolability of private property. In no case should the sovereign violate these sacred rights, as this will, faster than anything, lead to hatred of the ruler on the part of the people.
The ruler, according to the author of The Sovereign, can only face two dangers: from without and from within. One can defend against danger from the outside with weapons and valor. And against conspiracies from within there is one most important means - "not to be hated by the people."
Machiavelli clearly divides the subjects of the sovereign into nobility and people. He considers the achievement of balance between these groups one of the most important tasks of a wise ruler. Moreover, it is not unreasonable that the people are much more powerful than noble subjects.
Machiavelli taught not only to establish power, but also attached great importance to how to maintain this power. The author gives advice not abstract, but confirmed by real historical events. In the matter of maintaining power after its conquest, Machiavelli considers a large number of suitable methods: choosing friends and advisers, building or, conversely, destroying fortresses, maintaining an army, etc.
Honoring and respecting the sovereign by his subjects is one of the main conditions for his preservation of power in the country. "Nothing can inspire such respect in the sovereign, as military undertakings and extraordinary deeds," - says Machiavelli. In essence, he sets out a kind of code of conduct and actions for the new sovereign, which should be aimed at increasing his authority within the country and abroad, at glorifying his name, virtues and valor.
“The sovereign is also respected if he openly declares himself an enemy or friend,” that is, he does not hesitate if it is necessary to speak out for or against. Machiavelli paints the many-sided appearance of the new sovereign.
The author does not bypass such an important issue as the ruler's advisers - his closest circle. Whether they are good or bad, "depends on the prudence of the sovereigns." It is the kind of people the ruler brings to his person that speaks of his wisdom. Machiavelli believes that the first mistake, or, conversely, the first success of the ruler, is the choice of advisers.
Having chosen good counselors, the sovereign should try to maintain their loyalty with the help of wealth and honor.
In one of the chapters of his work, Machiavelli tries to warn the sovereign against flatterers. Keeping safe from them, not falling under their influence, without losing respect, is not as easy as it seems.
Machiavelli also refutes the widespread belief that the wisdom of the sovereign largely depends on good advice. This is not so, on the contrary, "it is useless to give good advice to a sovereign who himself does not possess wisdom."
Endowing the new sovereign with unlimited power, Machiavelli, in strict accordance with this, assigns to him all responsibility for the state of the state, for the preservation and strengthening of power. The author advises the ruler to rely less on fate, and to pay more attention to the government, wise and skillful. The sovereign must rely primarily on his ability to govern the state and on the created army, and not on fate.
Although Machiavelli admits that fate is "guilty" of half of the events that take place, he hands over the other half into the hands of man.
More than once or twice, in various chapters on various topics, Machiavelli returns to the question of the sovereign's army. Any army can be attributed, in his opinion, to one of four groups: own, mercenary, allied and mixed. And constantly, considering various historical situations, the author comes to the conclusion that mercenary and allied troops are dangerous for the ruler. Machiavelli believes that his own strong army is simply necessary for any ruler who does not want to lose power. The author considers his own army "as the true basis of any military enterprise, because you cannot have better soldiers than your own."
One of the most important achievements of Machiavelli is the isolation of politics into an independent science. Politics, according to Machiavelli's convictions, is a symbol of human faith, and therefore it should occupy a dominant position in the worldview.
Based on the requirements of his time, Machiavelli formulates an important historical task - the creation of a single unitary Italian state. In the course of his thought, Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that only the sovereign can lead the people to build a new state. Not a concrete historical person, but something abstract, symbolic, possessing qualities that, in their totality, are inaccessible to any living ruler. That is why Machiavelli devotes most of his research to the question: what should be a sovereign in order to fulfill the historical task of building a new state.
The research is structured strictly logically and objectively. Machiavelli proceeds from real life experience and tries to build his theoretical constructions on the basis of this experience. "The Emperor" is a living picture of that time.
All mentioned persons of the work are real. The author's contemporaries or historical figures are displayed in the "Sovereign" in order to prove or disprove something. In the choice of names, events, places of battles, Machiavelli has nothing accidental, everything performs a certain function.
The style of the "sovereign" is unusual for scientific works of that time. This is not the style of treatises, but the style of a person of action, a person who wants to cause action.
Machiavelli's works are an expression of a personality who wants to intervene in the politics and history of their country. Machiavelli is a person who comprehends and reveals the main trends of his era, its main requirements and aspirations, who decided to radically change the further development of his country.
Chapter IX on the civil principality is very indicative in this respect. In it, Machiavelli reveals the relationship between the sovereign, the nobility and the people among themselves, their interests and goals. Power is acquired through the disposition of the people or the nobility. The nobles want to oppress the people, but the people do not want to be oppressed. As a result, either the noble ones nominate a ruler from their ranks, or the people present this title to their chosen one. The power received from the people, Machiavelli considers much more durable, since the sovereign can protect himself from the nobility, but not from the people who are hostile to him.
Machiavelli convincingly advises the sovereign never to incur the anger and hatred of the people. On the contrary, a wise sovereign will always find a way to win the people over to his side. Thus, the alignment of class forces, the structure of political power form the strategy and tactics of all participants in the political life of the state.
Niccolo Machiavelli is an outstanding Italian politician, thinker, historian, Renaissance writer, poet, military theorist. He was born on May 3, 1469 in an impoverished noble family. His small home was the village of San Casciano, located near Florence. Machiavelli received a good education, thanks to his excellent knowledge of Latin, he could read ancient authors in the original, had an excellent idea of the Italian classics, but did not share the admiration of the humanists for the era of antiquity.
The political biography of Niccolo Machiavelli dates back to 1498, he plays the role of secretary of the Second Chancellery, in the same year he was elected secretary of the Council of Ten, who was to be responsible for the military sphere and diplomacy. Over the course of 14 years, Machiavelli carried out a large number of government orders, traveled as part of the embassies to various Italian states, as well as to Germany and France, compiled inquiries and reports on current political issues, and conducted extensive correspondence. Acquaintance with the heritage of the ancients, the experience of the state, diplomatic service became invaluable help in the subsequent creation of social and political concepts.
In 1512, Machiavelli had to resign because of the Medici who came to power, he was expelled from the city as a republican for a year, and the next year he was arrested as an alleged participant in the conspiracy and tortured. Machiavelli firmly defended his innocence, in the end he was pardoned and sent to the small estate of Sant'Andrea.
The most eventful period of his creative biography is connected with his stay at the estate. Here he writes a number of works on political history, military theory, philosophy. So, at the end of 1513, the treatise "The Emperor" was written (published in 1532), thanks to which the name of its author entered world history forever. In this work, Machiavelli argued that the end justifies the means, but at the same time the "new sovereign" should pursue goals related not to personal interests, but to the common good - in this case, it was a question of uniting politically fragmented Italy into a single strong state. It was the unlimited power of the ruler, in the opinion of the convinced patriot Machiavelli, that could become the only way to end the troubles of his native country. For the sake of this good goal, justice and morality, the interests of citizens and the church can be neglected.
Machiavelli's works were received with enthusiasm by his contemporaries, and enjoyed great success. According to his name, a system of politics was called Machiavellianism, which does not neglect any of the ways to achieve the goal, regardless of their compliance with moral norms. In addition to the world famous "Sovereign", the most significant works of Machiavelli are considered "Treatise on the Art of War" (1521), "Discourse on the first decade of Titus Livy" (1531), and "History of Florence" (1532). He began writing this work in 1520, when he was summoned to Florence and appointed historiographer. Pope Clement VII was the customer of the History. In addition, being a versatile person, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote works of art - short stories, songs, sonnets, poems, etc. In 1559, his works were included by the Catholic Church in the "Index of Forbidden Books".
In the last years of his life, Machiavelli made many unsuccessful attempts to return to the stormy political activity. In the spring of 1527, his candidacy for the post of Chancellor of the Florentine Republic was rejected. And in the summer, on June 21 of the same year, while in his native village, the outstanding thinker died. The place of his burial has not been established; the Florentine church of Santa Croce has a cenotaph in his honor.
Niccolo Machiavelli is a Renaissance philosopher famous for his socio-philosophical and political views. Among the works that characterize philosophical activity, the most popular are "Sovereign" and "Discourse on the first decade of Titus Livy", "On the art of war", as well as plays, novels, lyrics and several philosophical discourses.
Niccolo Machiavelli - philosophy in brief
The Renaissance era deeply revised the established views of the Middle Ages. Using the example of the philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli, one can delve into the changes: the concept of divine predestination of human destiny, which occupied a central place in philosophical and religious teachings, was pushed into the background. It is being replaced by the concept of fortune or the strength of circumstances, thereby changing the role of a person - from now on he is in control of his fate and is obliged to enter into battle with the prevailing circumstances.
Basic concepts of the philosophy of Niccolo Machiavelli:
- Virtu: talent, human energy, which are on a par with fortune as the driving force of history.
- Fate. It is contradicted by human valor and labor.
- Free will, which is embodied in politics.
Niccolo Machiavelli's political philosophy in brief
The politician received primacy among other teachings in the philosophy of Niccolò Machiavelli. According to the thinker, the rules and natural reasons that are embedded in it allow a person to express himself. Opportunities are revealed, it is possible to take measures in the struggle against the coincidence of circumstances, even to foresee the further course of events, without blindly relying on fate or divine conduct, as was characteristic of the previous era.
Niccolo Machiavelli outlined his political views in the work "The Emperor". Politics, according to the thinker, is the basis in practice - actions determine the real outcome of the case, and theoretical premises and empty chatter that took place earlier, only create illusions from scratch. It is in the philosophy of N. Machiavelli that politics forever parted with a moral background, thereby moving on to specifics and actions, considering the real actions of people instead of eternal thinking about how they should act.
The policy is based on:
- Research on the quality of man and his nature;
- Study of the correlation of public interests, forces and passions;
- Explaining the real state of affairs in society;
- Avoiding utopian dreams, dogmatism;
Socio-philosophical views of Niccolo Machiavelli
The social and philosophical views of Niccolo Machiavelli are based on the principle of human nature. According to the characteristics of the thinker himself, this principle is universal, since it applies to all citizens of the state, regardless of class.
Human nature, according to N. Machiavelli, is not sinless: all people are ungrateful, fickle, hypocritical, deceitful, they are attracted by profit. The egoistic essence of a person must be controlled by a strong hand, which the philosopher wrote more specifically about in The Sovereign. Since the author excludes the divine principle, moving away from religious views, only a true ruler, in his opinion, can lead the people.
A wise ruler, according to N. Machiavelli, is familiar with evil as the basis of human nature, but, at the same time, he may not move away from good. It combines qualities at the same time lion and foxes - dignity, honor, valor and cunning, sophistication of reason.
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Niccolo Machiavelli, a short biography and interesting facts from the life of the Italian thinker, philosopher, writer, politician are set out in this article.
Niccolo Machiavelli biography briefly
Niccolo Machiavelli was born in the village of San Casciano, near Florence, on May 3, 1469 in an impoverished noble family. The young man received an excellent education. He was fluent in Latin, so he read ancient authors in the original and understood the Italian classics.
In 1498 he received the post of secretary of the Second Chancellery, later, but in the same year - the job of secretary of the Council of Ten. Machiavelli was in charge of diplomacy and the military. For a long time, as much as 14 years, the thinker carried out various orders of the government: together with members of the embassy he traveled to the Italian states, France and Germany, compiled reports and information on current political issues, was responsible for correspondence. But such work, the experience of the diplomatic and public service became the basis for the subsequent creation of political and social concepts.
When the Medici came to power in 1512, Machiavelli resigned due to differences of opinion and controversy. He, an ardent Republican, is expelled from the city for a year. A year later, the thinker is arrested as a possible participant in the conspiracy and tortured. Finally Niccolo was pardoned and sent to the estate of Sant'Andrea.
On the estate, he had the most fruitful period of creativity. He wrote many works on the topic of political history, philosophy and the theory of military affairs. In 1513, a work was written that immortalized his name in world history - "Sovereign". The slogan of this treatise is that the end justifies the means. In it, the author touched upon the issues of uniting politically fragmented Italy into one strong state.
In 1520, Pope Clement VII summons Niccolo Machiavelli and appoints him as a historiographer. The pope commissioned him to write the history of Florence. He also wrote songs, short stories, poems and sonnets.
In the last years of his life he tried to return to politics, but inconsolably. In the spring of 1527, his candidacy as Chancellor of the Florentine Republic was rejected. And on June 21, 1527, while in his native village, the thinker and philosopher lost consciousness.
The famous works of Machiavelli- "Sovereign", "Treatise on the art of war", "Discourse on the first decade of Titus Livy", comedy "Mandragora", "History of Florence".
Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was born in Florence into the family of a poor lawyer. In his youth, Niccolò did not receive a wide education, unlike most other humanists, but he made up for these shortcomings on his own - on the one hand, through self-education, and on the other hand, observing the real life of contemporary Florence and analyzing in detail the results of his observations.
This real life experience turned out to be, perhaps, the main source of all the creativity of Machiavelli. No wonder, speaking about himself, he once wrote: "First live, then philosophize."
The main difference between Machiavelli and all the thinkers of the Renaissance that preceded him is that he was guided in his writings not by abstract ideas of the triumph of good and God, but by the real experience of concrete life, ideas of benefit and expediency. “With the intention to write something useful for people who understand,” he wrote in “Sovereign,” “I preferred to follow the truth, not imaginary, but real, unlike those many who portrayed republics and states that no one really knew. and have never seen. " And then he continued: "... The distance between how people live and how they should live is so great that the one who rejects the reality for the sake of what is due, acts, rather, to harm himself than for the good, since wishing to confess goodness in in all cases of life, he will inevitably perish, colliding with a multitude of people who are alien to good. "
In this sense, Niccolo Machiavelli showed himself to be a supporter of the most rigid realism, because he believed that complacent dreams of a wonderful future only interfere with the life of an ordinary person.
Observations of life led Machiavelli to the deepest conviction that man is a purely egoistic being, guided only by his own interests in all his actions. In general, according to Machiavelli, interest is the most powerful and almost the only stimulus for human activity. The expressions of interest are quite different, but the most important interest is related to the preservation of property, property and the acquisition of new property and new property. He argued that "people would rather forgive the death of their father than the loss of property." One of the works also contains such a rather sharp passage, emphasizing the ineradicable egoism of human nature: "... About people in general, we can say that they are ungrateful and fickle, prone to hypocrisy and deceit, that they are frightened off by danger, attracted profit." In other words, Machiavelli shows that man is an endless combination of good and evil, and evil is as inherent in human nature as good.
A person, according to Machiavelli, is not only selfish, but also free in his actions. If the Christian understanding of the essence of man asserted that man in everything is subject to the highest Divine Providence, the fate predetermined by God, then Machiavelli formulates a completely new understanding of human fate. He says that a person's fate is not "fate" (fate, inevitability), but "fortune". Fate-fortune can never completely determine a person's life. Moreover, in The Sovereign, the Florentine thinker even tries to calculate the ratio - how much a person's life depends on higher circumstances, and how much on himself. And he comes to the conclusion that "fortune controls half of our actions, but it leaves us to manage the other half or so."
And it is not for nothing that, asserting the free will of man, Machiavelli calls on people "to be brave than cautious," because "fortune is a woman, and whoever wants to cope with her must beat her and kick her."
Being himself a "man of action", Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that the main thing in a person is the ability to act, the will, striving to achieve great goals, based on selfish interest. He called this ability for activity "valor" ("virtue"). "Virtu" is not inherent in all people, which is why they vegetate in their miserable life. However, there have always been and always are individuals in history, whose "valor" makes them perform outstanding deeds and thereby move the entire history of mankind. And Machiavelli encourages to take an example from these people who are aware of the needs of their time and are able to do what is necessary in this moment.
From this point of view, in the works of Machiavelli, as it were, all previous humanistic discussions about the essence of the human person receive their realistic completion. Rejecting purely religious and philosophical considerations on these topics, he soberly and rigidly formulates certain rules and norms of human society, which, in his opinion, determine the life of each individual person. The individual person appears in the writings of Machiavelli in all his unadorned, soberly evaluated reality, with his inherent good intentions and evil deeds.
These ideas were most vividly expressed by the Florentine thinker in discussions on the topic of power and the importance of the sovereign. The state itself, in the understanding of Machiavelli, arose as a result of the same selfish nature of man. The state is a supreme force capable of setting a fairly strict limit to the selfish aspirations of individuals and thereby saving them from self-destruction. People, guided by the interest of self-preservation, create the state.
Speaking about the forms of the state, Machiavelli, despite all his republican convictions, comes to the conclusion that the most expedient and useful state system is still the monarchy. Hence his idea of a "new sovereign" arises. The "new sovereign" must rely not on theories and philosophical ideas about life, but on real life itself. People cannot be only kind and good, they are both good and bad at the same time. The sovereign, if he wants to rule for a long time, is obliged in his reign to rely on both good and bad. In other words, in the hands of the sovereign should be not only the carrot, but also the whip. Moreover, as soon as the sovereign releases the whip from his hands, all order is immediately violated.
Niccolo Machiavelli, saying that the wise ruler of the state is obliged "to stay away from good, if necessary, but not to shy away from evil," in fact admits that real government is impossible without violence, without the most sophisticated actions. No wonder, characterizing the "new sovereign", he writes that such a ruler must combine in one person the qualities of a lion, capable of overthrowing any enemy, and a fox, capable of deceiving the greatest cunning.
However, Machiavelli does not have a glorification of violence and cruelty. Moreover, from his point of view, cruelty and violence are justified only when they are subordinated to state interests, when the purpose of their application is state order. Cruelty is designed to correct, not destroy, says the Florentine thinker.
In his treatise The Sovereign, Machiavelli devotes much space to specific recommendations sent to political leaders. By and large, "Sovereign" is a real textbook of power, a manual that very realistically tells about how to get power, how to exercise power and how to maintain power. Subsequently, in political science even a special term arose - "Machiavellianism", which characterizes such a form of government when any means are used to preserve power. In principle, the content of this modern term has nothing to do with what Machiavelli himself wrote. After all, for him, power is not an end in itself, but a means of ensuring state order. Power for the sake of power, cruelty for the sake of cruelty Machiavelli condemned.
The philosophical and political teaching of Niccolo Machiavelli caused an ambiguous reaction in Europe at that time. His preaching of a free egoistic person, reflections on the rights and possibilities of secular rulers was the reason for a sharp rejection by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1559 his books were included in the "Indict of Forbidden Books".
At the same time, outwardly condemning Machiavelli, many European politicians in fact, in their own reign, used all the means about which the Florentine wrote. This does not mean that they were based on the works of Machiavelli, but only about how realistic he was in analyzing the essence of power and the laws of governing society.
And until now, science has not developed an unambiguous assessment of the work of the Florentine thinker. In some works, he is criticized for immoralism, in others, on the contrary, he is praised for realism. Probably, it is impossible to give an unambiguous assessment of the work of Niccolo Machiavelli.