Machiavelli and Livy

Abstract

After a brief examination of interest in Livy up to the Trecento, the first chapter considers the use of Livy in the Quattrocento and by contemporaries of Machiavelli: firstly, the attention probably given to the Decades in education, and then their use in works dealing wholly or partly with Roman institutions and in works of ethical, historiographical and political reference. The second chapter discusses the use of Livy in works written by Machiavelli before the Discorsi sulla prima deca di Tito Livio and then considers questions arising out of the Discorsi themselves: the extent of the importance of the meetings in the Orti Oricellari in the development of Machiavelli's use of Livy; the structure of the Discorsi; Machiavelli's choice of Livy; the use of Livy in various topics of the Discorsi and the development of Machiavelli's thought on the state; errors in his reading of Livy; the texts of the Decades probably used by him. The final chapter deals first of all with the position of Livy among the sources of the Arte della guerra, and after examining the attitude of Machiavelli towards antiquity in the Vita di Castruccio Castracani and other works of 1520 goes on to consider the extent of the influence of Livy on Machiavelli 's technique in the Istorie fiorentine and references to antiquity in the introductory chapters to each book. It is suggested in conclusion that Machiavelli's admiration for ancient Rome has now been put in perspective, but still leads to a feeling of strong contrast between the ancient and the contemporary world.