Machiavelli's Three Romes by Vickie B. Sullivan

Author:Vickie B. Sullivan [Sullivan, Vickie B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Ancient, Rome, Religion, Religion; Politics & State, Philosophy, Political
ISBN: 9781501747854
Google: -w2aDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 2020-01-15T01:10:28+00:00

CHAPTER 6

OLD LANDS AND MACHIAVELLI’S NEW ONE

Machiavelli furnishes two contradictory characterizations of himself and his enterprise: on one hand, he declares with seemingly dispositive authority that he is merely a humble antiquarian who hopes the results of his dusty researches will impel the people of his time to undertake the task of imitating their forebears; on the other, he announces equally authoritatively that he is a bold pathfinder in the realm of politics, who hopes that others will have the fortitude to follow him into a territory he alone has explored. To understand Machiavelli’s enterprise, it is necessary to determine which characterization represents Machiavelli’s true understanding of himself.

If Machiavelli’s criticisms of ancient Rome indicate that he regards pagan Rome as furnishing the necessary foundation for the Christian Rome he so excoriates, then he cannot demand an imitation of ancient Rome, however sincere his appeals to antiquity appear at times. In other words, to provide a solution to the problem of the divided city that was inherent in ancient Rome and that became prominent in Christian times, Machiavelli must go beyond Livy’s depiction of Rome.

He offers indications that his embrace of Livy’s Rome is a calculated and provisional step to win the sympathy of his Renaissance readers, who are imbued with an abiding admiration of antiquity. His final destination is a new Rome that corrects the problems of ancient as well as of Christian Rome, and he arrives there by making changes in Livy’s account. The problems inherent in both ancient and Christian Rome are corrected by his sketching the outlines of a new, more resilient Rome. The solution he suggests is distinctively modern because it emerges from his own understanding of the manner in which the Christians defeated the pagans. In short, Machiavelli’s new Rome utilizes elements of both paganism and Christianity in order to subvert both.

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