Machiavelli's Virtue

Uniting 30 years of authoritative scholarship by a master of textual detail, "Machiavelli's Virtue" is a comprehensive statement on the founder of modern politics. Harvey C. Mansfield begins by analyzing Machiavelli's radical concept of virtue. Rejecting customary morality, Machiavelli teaches that the prince must set his own terms for politics and morality in the state. Mansfield argues that Machiavelli intended to rule the world through his thought; as a prince without a state, his subjects were the princes who followed his writings on founding and ruling. Mansfield explores the importance of sects in Machiavelli's politics, his endorsement of indirect government, and the ultimately nonrepublican character of his thought. Following the method of Leo Strauss, he takes up Machiavelli's individual works as wholes and shows how his innovations remain disturbingly relevant for modern politics. Interpretation explains the puzzles and reveals the ambition of Machiavelli's thought.