machiavelli's dream
have you heard of 'machiavelli's dream'?
legend has it that machiavelli, on his deathbed told his friends about his dream. he dreamt that he saw a group of men looking dishevelled and all. they were the saintly and the blessed, on their way to heaven.
then he saw a group of well-dressed people, with the likes of plato in it.they were the damned of hell.
machiavelli said he would be much happier in hell, discussing politics with the great ancients.
but this pretty much sums up what sort of person machiavelli was. having read virtually nothing about him before, armed with only the vague impression that his ideas were sort of used to justify tyrannism, i didnt have a wonderful impression of him.
but after reading niccolo's smile, i realise he is not that sort at all. i admire his wit, his intellect and guts. above all, i admire the way he puts himself above the system, and hence above judgement. here is someone who really is himself, and goes about doing things his own way. although he was hugely involved in politics, he was never stained by it.
"the best way to get information is to give it, because a man who wants others to tell him what they know must tell them what he knows."
"it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret."
but i disagree with him on one thing. maybe he is right; but i don't want to accept it.
anyway, i like the way maurizio viroli wrote this. i love the organisation as well as the writing itself. i think the whole work is very coherent. all based on the idea of "niccolo's smile", and using his smile to paint a picture of machiavelli. that there is so much in a smile, isn't it amazing?
veni, vidi, fugi
i came, i saw, i fled.
legend has it that machiavelli, on his deathbed told his friends about his dream. he dreamt that he saw a group of men looking dishevelled and all. they were the saintly and the blessed, on their way to heaven.
then he saw a group of well-dressed people, with the likes of plato in it.they were the damned of hell.
machiavelli said he would be much happier in hell, discussing politics with the great ancients.
but this pretty much sums up what sort of person machiavelli was. having read virtually nothing about him before, armed with only the vague impression that his ideas were sort of used to justify tyrannism, i didnt have a wonderful impression of him.
but after reading niccolo's smile, i realise he is not that sort at all. i admire his wit, his intellect and guts. above all, i admire the way he puts himself above the system, and hence above judgement. here is someone who really is himself, and goes about doing things his own way. although he was hugely involved in politics, he was never stained by it.
"the best way to get information is to give it, because a man who wants others to tell him what they know must tell them what he knows."
"it is better to act and repent than not to act and regret."
but i disagree with him on one thing. maybe he is right; but i don't want to accept it.
anyway, i like the way maurizio viroli wrote this. i love the organisation as well as the writing itself. i think the whole work is very coherent. all based on the idea of "niccolo's smile", and using his smile to paint a picture of machiavelli. that there is so much in a smile, isn't it amazing?
veni, vidi, fugi
i came, i saw, i fled.
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