Machiavelli - The First Century: Studies in Enthusiasm, Hostility, and Irrelevance (Oxford-Warburg Studies)

Between 1513 and 1525 Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a series of works dealing with political, military, and historical matters. One of these (the'Arte della guerra') was published in 1521, but the rest of his major writings were not published until 1531-2, nearly five years after his death. They continued to be reissued regularly, well into the early seventeenth century. The popularity of Machiavelli's books, the variety of his themes, the different contexts within which he was studied, the range of readers'interests, and the fact that his name entered the vocabulary of every European language - all make his early reception a fruitful field of enquiry. Historians of ideas have tended to tidy up the past in order to make it comprehensible but Sydney Anglo is concerned with heterogeneity, and with the often irrational and emotional aspects of sixteenth-century thought. Basing his research entirely upon primary sources he quotes extensively in the conviction that, in a battle of words, the words themselves and their tone convey more than summaries of intellectual abstractions. Authors - hostile, enthusiastic, and indifferent - are closely examined; and many different contexts, political and intellectual, are considered. Sometimes Machiavelli was influential, sometimes not, but in this history of his reception, silences often prove significant. Written in a lively and trenchant style, this new interpretation of the impact of Machievalli is an original contribution of high quality by a leading expert in the field of Renaissance studies. Between 1513 and 1525 Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a series of works dealing with political, military, and historical matters. One of these (the 'Arte della guerra') was published in 1521, but the rest of his major writings were not published until 1531-2, nearly five years after his death. They continued to be reissued regularly, well into the early seventeenth century. The popularity of Machiavelli's books, the variety of his themes, the different contexts within which he was studied, the range of readers' interests, and the fact that his name entered the vocabulary of every European language - all make his early reception a fruitful field of enquiry. Historians of ideas have tended to tidy up the past in order to make it comprehensible but Sydney Anglo is concerned with heterogeneity, and with the often irrational and emotional aspects of sixteenth-century thought. Basing his research entirely upon primary sources he quotes extensively in the conviction that, in a battle of words, the words themselves and their tone convey more than summaries of intellectual abstractions.; Authors - hostile, enthusiastic, and indifferent - are closely examined; and many different contexts, political and intellectual, are considered. Sometimes Machiavelli was influential, sometimes not, but in this history of his reception, silences often prove significant. Written in a lively and trenchant style, this new interpretation of the impact of Machievalli is an original contribution of high quality by a leading expert in the field of Renaissance studies Written In A Lively And Trenchant Style, This New Interpretation Of The Impact Of Machievalli Is An Original Contribution Of High Quality By A Leading Expert In The Field Of Renaissance Studies. Introduction : Problems Regarding Method -- 1. The Earliest Readers Of Machiavelli : Miscellaneous And Military -- 2. Creative Plagiarism : Agostino Nifo's De Regnandi Peritia -- 3. Early Readers Of Machiavelli : Comment And Discourse -- 4. A Hostile Cardinal : Reginald Pole And His Apologia -- 5. Osorio And Machiavelli : From Open Hostility To Covert Approbation -- 6. Machiavelli And The Index Of Prohibited Books -- 7. Machiavelli's Keenest Readers : The Early Translators -- 8. In Praise Of The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre -- 9. Innocent Gentillet And Machiavelli's 'maximes Tyranniques' -- 10. In The Wake Of Gentillet : Evolution Of The 'machiavel' Stereotype In France And England -- 11. More Machiavellian Than Machiavel : The Jesuits And The Context Of Donne's Conclave -- 12. Gentillet's Final Assault : The 'contre-machiavel' Of 1585 -- 13. From Sublime To Ridiculous : Some Serious Readers Of Machiavelli -- 14. Writers On The Art Of War -- 15. Paradoxes On The Reception Of Machiavelli's Military Thinking -- 16. Systematic Immorality : The Courtier's Art -- 17. Systematic Fragmentation : The Vogue Of The Political Aphorism. Sydney Anglo. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [681]-734) And Index. "This is a history of how twentieth-century Britons came to view themselves and their world in psychological terms, and how this changed over time. It examines the extent to which psychological thought and practice could mediate, not just understanding of the self, but also a wide range of social and economic, political, and ethical issues that rested on assumptions about human nature. In doing so, it brings together high and low psychological cultures; it focuses not just on health, but also on education, economic life, and politics; and it reaches from the start of the century right up to the 1970s. Mathew Thomson highlights the intense excitement surrounding psychology at the start of the century, and its often highly unorthodox expression in thought and practice 'England On Edge' traces the collapse of the government of Charles I, the disintegration of the established church, and the accompanying cultural panic that led to civil war. Focused on the years 1640-1642, it examines social and religious turmoil and the emergence of an unrestrained popular press