![]() ![]() Building on ancient views of freedom and human agency found in writers such as Cicero and Sallust, Machiavelli elaborated a republican theory of liberty, especially in the Discourses. But Machiavelli's relationship to the humanist and classical traditions was not simply negative. Both in The Prince and in the Discourses, virtù encompasses those skills necessary for holding on to your state. While drawing on ancient ideas of virtus, Machiavelli separated his own modern virtù from the traditional virtues. ![]() In short compass, and with impressive clarity, Skinner explains how a relatively unknown minor humanist became second chancellor of the Florentine republic, how his early diplomatic experience formed his mature political views, and how these views involved "an attack on the prevailing moral assumptions of his age." Trained in the humanist tradition, Machiavelli came to have a satirical and deeply critical relation to this tradition. Skinner's Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction is an exemplary instance of its genre. ![]()
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