The Prince | Page 6

the study of statecraft I have neither slept
nor idled; and men ought ever to desire to be served by one who has
reaped experience at the expense of others. And of my loyalty none
could doubt, because having always kept faith I could not now learn
how to break it; for he who has been faithful and honest, as I have,
cannot change his nature; and my poverty is a witness to my honesty."
Before Machiavelli had got "The Prince" off his hands he commenced

his "Discourse on the First Decade of Titus Livius," which should be
read concurrently with "The Prince." These and several minor works
occupied him until the year 1518, when he accepted a small
commission to look after the affairs of some Florentine merchants at
Genoa. In 1519 the Medicean rulers of Florence granted a few political
concessions to her citizens, and Machiavelli with others was consulted
upon a new constitution under which the Great Council was to be
restored; but on one pretext or another it was not promulgated.
In 1520 the Florentine merchants again had recourse to Machiavelli to
settle their difficulties with Lucca, but this year was chiefly remarkable
for his re-entry into Florentine literary society, where he was much
sought after, and also for the production of his "Art of War." It was in
the same year that he received a commission at the instance of Cardinal
de' Medici to write the "History of Florence," a task which occupied
him until 1525. His return to popular favour may have determined the
Medici to give him this employment, for an old writer observes that "an
able statesman out of work, like a huge whale, will endeavour to
overturn the ship unless he has an empty cask to play with."
When the "History of Florence" was finished, Machiavelli took it to
Rome for presentation to his patron, Giuliano de' Medici, who had in
the meanwhile become pope under the title of Clement VII. It is
somewhat remarkable that, as, in 1513, Machiavelli had written "The
Prince" for the instruction of the Medici after they had just regained
power in Florence, so, in 1525, he dedicated the "History of Florence"
to the head of the family when its ruin was now at hand. In that year the
battle of Pavia destroyed the French rule in Italy, and left Francis I a
prisoner in the hands of his great rival, Charles V. This was followed
by the sack of Rome, upon the news of which the popular party at
Florence threw off the yoke of the Medici, who were once more
banished.
Machiavelli was absent from Florence at this time, but hastened his
return, hoping to secure his former office of secretary to the "Ten of
Liberty and Peace." Unhappily he was taken ill soon after he reached
Florence, where he died on 22nd June 1527.

THE MAN AND HIS WORKS
No one can say where the bones of Machiavelli rest, but modern
Florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in Santa Croce, by the side
of her most famous sons; recognizing that, whatever other nations may
have found in his works, Italy found in them the idea of her unity and
the germs of her renaissance among the nations of Europe. Whilst it is
idle to protest against the world-wide and evil signification of his name,
it may be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine which
this sinister reputation implies was unknown to his own day, and that
the researches of recent times have enabled us to interpret him more
reasonably. It is due to these inquiries that the shape of an "unholy
necromancer," which so long haunted men's vision, has begun to fade.
Machiavelli was undoubtedly a man of great observation, acuteness,
and industry; noting with appreciative eye whatever passed before him,
and with his supreme literary gift turning it to account in his enforced
retirement from affairs. He does not present himself, nor is he depicted
by his contemporaries, as a type of that rare combination, the successful
statesman and author, for he appears to have been only moderately
prosperous in his several embassies and political employments. He was
misled by Catherina Sforza, ignored by Louis XII, overawed by Cesare
Borgia; several of his embassies were quite barren of results; his
attempts to fortify Florence failed, and the soldiery that he raised
astonished everybody by their cowardice. In the conduct of his own
affairs he was timid and time-serving; he dared not appear by the side
of Soderini, to whom he owed so much, for fear of compromising
himself; his connection with the Medici was open to suspicion, and
Giuliano appears to have recognized his real forte when he set him to
write the "History of Florence," rather than employ him