I was actually going through a newspaper today in the morning,when i happened to encounter this word,machiavellianism . From the context of what i was reading,i could understand that the word is a negative one and was used as a metaphor to describe a person or an organization that exhibits cunning and duplicitous behavior.Let me put it more simpler.When someone says that a politician is like a machiavellian,they actually refer to say that this politician is not trust worthy,not reliable,ready to deceive and he always puts his interests in the first place before any other moral consecration .Machiavellians are calculated,astute,cunning like a fox.
I didn't stop with that.When i've gone through the etymology of this word,machiavellianism,i found that this word came after a man called Niccolo Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527),from Florence,was an Italian historian,diplomat,politician and a writer during the renaissance. Niccolo was a son of an unsuccessful lawyer unfortunately. I use the word unfortunate because lawyers during the renaissance in Florence were very rich and successful unlike his father.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a rationalist.He doesn't believe in the religious affairs.He fought for grand ideals.He fought many battles against the conventional political culture of his time.He was very passionate about politics. He was a teacher of grand politics. He is also an author for a political treatise named 'THE PRINCE'.
Niccolo wanted to teach on how to do great things in politics not how to gain power such as redeeming accountary,liberating people,restoring political life,emancipating republic from corruption etc. He was not a teacher of ordinary,mediocre and measurable politics.He was a teacher of grand politics. He was of the opinion that women are better than men in having adept handling situations and even running a political government. He says that women are more tender and have deeper compassion.
We actually do not know how this man,Niccolo Machiavelli looks like.The picture of Niccolo which the google shows is also an imaginary painting which was sketched by a painter after Niccolo's death.
Now,there is this man called Maurizio Viroli,who has to his credit the famous book which is the biography of Niccolo Machiavelli,named 'NICCOLO'S SMILE'. He is a professor at Princeton university in Texas.His subject is political theory.He started writing on Machiavelli since 1989 and it is said that he has done an extensive research for the book.
Now,you people must be wondering why is the word machiavellian negative,when Niccolo has nothing bad to his credit.
When the same question was asked by a person who was interviewing Maurizio Viroli,he said that
Niccolo Machiavelli was quite opposite to the today's meaning of machiavelli and he said that the misinterpretation comes because the scholars who read Niccolo's works were not apt to understand,they were prejudice and did not want to to make the effort to understand what Niccolo was saying.
In his research,Maurizio came across few letters belonged to Niccolo .They include letters written and received by Niccolo from/to his friends,wife etc.
He got to know many things from these letters which he later included in his work,Niccolo's smile.
FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK.
>Niccolo and his wife Mariotta had seven children.
>His wife was very fond of him and was sometimes angry on him as well because he used to spent more time on diplomatic missions.
>The fact that Niccolo was slim,reasonably tall and had dark eyes is known from a letter written by his wife to him describing how their new born baby resembled him.
>Niccolo had faced a lot of challenges before he served as secretary of republic of
Florence from 1498-1512,because of the aristocratic constitution there.
>Niccolo was a good father.He was tender and affectionate with his children.
>He is of the opinion that citizens are not there to enjoy the rights they have,but,have some duties and moral responsibilities as well.They have to share their intelligence,time and strength for the development of the nation and the well being of the society.
>He played pranks on monks,for he never believed in religious affairs.
But,however,there are few scholars who claim that at the end of his life in moral and religious crisis,he became religious.
>Niccolo Machiavelli described a dream of his on his death bed before he expired.The moral of the dream was that he wished to go to hell rather than to paradise after his death as he considered hell to be a more interesting place.
Finally,i would like to end this with a famous quote by NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI.
"HE WHO NEGLECTS WHAT IS DONE FOR WHAT OUGHT TO DONE,SOONER EFFECTS HIS RUIN THAN HIS PRESERVATION."
In short,he is saying that if you neglect what is going around you,and instead pursue that which is idealistic,you will fail.
sid...
I didn't stop with that.When i've gone through the etymology of this word,machiavellianism,i found that this word came after a man called Niccolo Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527),from Florence,was an Italian historian,diplomat,politician and a writer during the renaissance. Niccolo was a son of an unsuccessful lawyer unfortunately. I use the word unfortunate because lawyers during the renaissance in Florence were very rich and successful unlike his father.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a rationalist.He doesn't believe in the religious affairs.He fought for grand ideals.He fought many battles against the conventional political culture of his time.He was very passionate about politics. He was a teacher of grand politics. He is also an author for a political treatise named 'THE PRINCE'.
Niccolo wanted to teach on how to do great things in politics not how to gain power such as redeeming accountary,liberating people,restoring political life,emancipating republic from corruption etc. He was not a teacher of ordinary,mediocre and measurable politics.He was a teacher of grand politics. He was of the opinion that women are better than men in having adept handling situations and even running a political government. He says that women are more tender and have deeper compassion.
We actually do not know how this man,Niccolo Machiavelli looks like.The picture of Niccolo which the google shows is also an imaginary painting which was sketched by a painter after Niccolo's death.
Now,there is this man called Maurizio Viroli,who has to his credit the famous book which is the biography of Niccolo Machiavelli,named 'NICCOLO'S SMILE'. He is a professor at Princeton university in Texas.His subject is political theory.He started writing on Machiavelli since 1989 and it is said that he has done an extensive research for the book.
Now,you people must be wondering why is the word machiavellian negative,when Niccolo has nothing bad to his credit.
When the same question was asked by a person who was interviewing Maurizio Viroli,he said that
Niccolo Machiavelli was quite opposite to the today's meaning of machiavelli and he said that the misinterpretation comes because the scholars who read Niccolo's works were not apt to understand,they were prejudice and did not want to to make the effort to understand what Niccolo was saying.
In his research,Maurizio came across few letters belonged to Niccolo .They include letters written and received by Niccolo from/to his friends,wife etc.
He got to know many things from these letters which he later included in his work,Niccolo's smile.
FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK.
>Niccolo and his wife Mariotta had seven children.
>His wife was very fond of him and was sometimes angry on him as well because he used to spent more time on diplomatic missions.
>The fact that Niccolo was slim,reasonably tall and had dark eyes is known from a letter written by his wife to him describing how their new born baby resembled him.
>Niccolo had faced a lot of challenges before he served as secretary of republic of
Florence from 1498-1512,because of the aristocratic constitution there.
>Niccolo was a good father.He was tender and affectionate with his children.
>He is of the opinion that citizens are not there to enjoy the rights they have,but,have some duties and moral responsibilities as well.They have to share their intelligence,time and strength for the development of the nation and the well being of the society.
>He played pranks on monks,for he never believed in religious affairs.
But,however,there are few scholars who claim that at the end of his life in moral and religious crisis,he became religious.
>Niccolo Machiavelli described a dream of his on his death bed before he expired.The moral of the dream was that he wished to go to hell rather than to paradise after his death as he considered hell to be a more interesting place.
Finally,i would like to end this with a famous quote by NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI.
"HE WHO NEGLECTS WHAT IS DONE FOR WHAT OUGHT TO DONE,SOONER EFFECTS HIS RUIN THAN HIS PRESERVATION."
In short,he is saying that if you neglect what is going around you,and instead pursue that which is idealistic,you will fail.
sid...
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