Niccolo Machiavelli And Humanism

The Renaissance began in Italy sometime in the 14th century. It was a rebirth of art, literature and culture. New ways of thinking arose, one of the most important being humanism. Humanism stresses the belief in reason and investigation and somewhat discards the importance of God (“Humanism” par.1). Basically, God put a brain in our heads for a very simple reason – to use it. The center of the Renaissance was located in Florence, Italy and Humanism grew directly out of it. Niccolo Machiavelli was at the center of it all.
Machiavelli was born in 1469 in Florence, Italy. He attended the University of Florence and was given a full humanist education. He got a job as the secretary to the Second Chancery in Florence and became a diplomat. He traveled …show more content…
418). His peers considered him one and appointed him Chancellor of Florence, a position that was held by humanists (p.418). “Machiavelli never puts forth a vision of what society would be like without civil government, he nonetheless presents a coherent, although not particularly comprehensive, vision of human nature,” writes Cary Nederman from Stanford University (Nederman par. 13). He/She is saying that Machiavelli puts forth an effort to explain what the world would be like without proper rule and explains what humans think are important in one another. Humans seek certain integrity. People are self-interested and happy as long as they avoid abuse, they are trustworthy, they can be self-absorbed or dishonest. People admire generosity and being brave, although Machiavelli insists that many people have none of these virtues. He believes that these are the foundations of being a …show more content…
Not only did he become an important political figure but also wrote one of the most important pieces of political literature to ever exist. He gives an outline on how to be a good prince and what to do or what not to do with power. He talks about how to gain and keep power but also doing it the right way. He believed that politics could be changed and shaped. He also outlines what virtues someone should have to be a good ruler. Machiavelli was extremely intertwined in politics and only hoped to grow even greater in the world. Although he was trying to change the Medici family, he would never see it happen. Machiavelli passed away before he could see any change. He left behind a very powerful legacy and a big imprint in the political