Here she expertly blends Machiavelli’s words from letters, diaries, and other writings with striking passages from The Prince to prove her point. Benner stands firmly in the latter camp, calling Machiavelli’s infamous volume a “masterwork” of irony. Historians have spent centuries debating whether to take Machiavelli at face value in The Prince, or whether to read him instead as employing irony aimed at the ruling Medicis. Benner ( Machiavelli’s Prince : A New Reading) successfully rehabilitates the image of the highly quotable and oft-maligned Machiavelli, portraying him as an accessible voice of reason even when his fortunes sank during the heights of Medici influence.
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