Description
Book SynopsisMachiavelli is chiefly known for The Prince, but his main considerations on politics are found in his later work Discourses on Livy. Despite this book's historical and theoretical importance, its complexity, length and style have often discouraged new readers and interpreters of Machiavelli from engaging with it. For this reason, the Discourses has not been given the attention it deserves. This volume of newly commissioned essays by some of the world’s leading Machiavelli experts seeks to remedy this deficiency. It is the first collective volume dedicated specifically to this profound work, covering topics such as Machiavelli’s republicanism, the relation between liberty and tyranny, the role of religion, Machiavelli’s conception of history, his writing style, his view of society as a plural and conflictive body, his suggestion of how a free state should be organized, and his notions of people and virtù. Contributors: Jérémie Barthas, Thomas Berns, Alessandro Campi, J. Patrick Coby, Marie Gaille, Marco Geuna, Mark Jurdjevic, Cary J. Nederman, Gabriele Pedullà, Diogo Pires Aurélio, Fabio Raimondi, Andre Santos Campos, Miguel Vatter, and Camila Vergara.
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Abbreviations Notes on Contributors Introduction Diogo Pires Aurélio and Andre Santos Campos 1 ‘A Never Again Attempted Work’: The Discourse-Form and the Discourses on Livy Gabriele Pedullà 2 Machiavelli and the Lingering Mystery of Polybius VI Cary J. Nederman 3 Machiavelli on Liberty J. Patrick Coby 4 The Discourses on Livy: A ‘Commentary’ on the Effectual Truth of Civil Conflict Marie Gaille 5 Republic and Constitution in Machiavelli’s Discourses Fabio Raimondi 6 The Modes Taken by Saint Gregory: Machiavelli and the Violence of Religious Sects Marco Geuna 7 Machiavelli’s Republican Constituent Power Camila Vergara 8 Machiavelli and Thucydides on the Rhetoric of Immoralism Miguel Vatter 9 The ‘Discovery of the Masses’ and the Paradox of the Fatherland Diogo Pires Aurélio 10 The Poison and the Sword: Conspiracies and Struggle for Power in Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy Alessandro Campi 11 The Political Economy of Machiavelli’s Discourses Jérémie Barthas 12 Politics of Porosity: War and Freedom in Machiavelli’s Discourses Thomas Berns 13 Guicciardini’s Considerations on the Discourses of Machiavelli Mark Jurdjevic Index
