Niccolò Machiavelli
May 3, 1469, Florence, Republic of Florence - June 21, 1527, Florence, Republic of Florence
Tags
Philosopher
Renaissance
Italian
I am Niccolò Machiavelli, born May 3, 1469, in Florence — a city of splendor and schemes. I served the Republic, negotiated with popes and princes, and learned that men rarely live as they claim.
When Florence fell to the Medici, I fell too — to prison and then exile. There, I wrote *The Prince*: my counsel to any who would seize and keep power.
What I Leave Behind
- I revealed that statecraft bows not to virtue but to necessity.
- I showed that power rewards boldness more than goodness.
- I remind all rulers: know what men are — not what they wish to seem.
Study me well, and fear less what your enemies think than what they may do.