The personal website of Timo Laine.
Machiavelli on the Net: Secondary literature
Much has been written about Machiavelli. However, there is a lot of
unoriginal and superficial material on the web, and it takes time to go through
it all. But eventually you end up with a few gems.
- Berlin,
“The Question of Machiavelli”.
This intelligent essay by Isaiah Berlin was originally published in Studies
on Machiavelli (1972, Sansoni, Florence) titled “The Originality of
Machiavelli”. Berlin discusses the different interpretations of Machiavelli
and expounds his own thesis about Machiavelli as a radical questioner.
- Bloom,
“Machiavelli lectures”.
Audio recordings of Allan Bloom’s 1983 “Philosophic Perspectives” lectures
on Machiavelli given at Boston College. In five parts.
- Johnston,
“Lecture on Machiavelli”.
The text of a lecture on The Prince given by Ian
Johnston.
- Macaulay,
“Machiavelli”.
In this essay Thomas Babington Macaulay writes about Machiavelli’s works and
life and the historical circumstances in which he lived. The author paints
Machiavelli as a republican. While the views presented in the essay are a
bit dated, they represent a historically important interpretation of
Machiavelli.
- MacDonald, “Machiavelli”.
An exceptional piece of work by Don MacDonald, a constantly updated online
graphic novel on Machiavelli.
- Nederman,
“Niccolò Machiavelli”.
Cary Nederman wrote the entry on Machiavelli for Stanford Encyclopedia of
Philosophy, and it is an excellent starting point.
Last updated: 13 May 2010.