his202 essay proper

Machievelli was born in to a wealthy family. He used his knowledge to write a social critique of the problems he saw in society circa 1513, this critique has become widely known due to it's interesting and powerful concepts developed within a context that fully supports the conclusions drawn by Machiavelli.

Without a doubt the Renaissance is a highly interesting era of history. Many scholars debate vigorously about varying aspects of the many different ideas, social movements and changes that took place during this time. Within this forum lies a question. A question that addresses Machievelli and the social milieu of the time. What does Machiavelli's famous work, The Prince, tell us about his attitude towards the Church? How dies his attitude reflect Renaissance thought circa 1514, when The Prince was written? In answering these questions one will come to a richer understanding of the Renaissance as a complex and interesting period in time when many different ideas, beliefs and theories were thrown together in the metaphorical melting pot, and what came out of this pot is still of high importance in academic circles today.


To answer this question one must take into account the total social milieu of the time. We must look back to the 13th century when 'rinascita' become known. Working our way up from here one will be able to see just how Machiavelli's The Prince, and the Renaissance thought at the time of writing, became so anti-Papal, pro-education, pro-development of the mind, body, soul and thus, of society itself. It will be evident how sayings such as, "Human beings are made "in the image of God," meaning that each one has the possibility of being a person of creativity and moral excellence.", or "we are able to "determine our own destiny.", or "we are "creators, second only to God; we are the God-appointed governors of the world." and "we may "achieve fame - the personal glory attained by an individual who thrusts himself or herself forward in some important, heroic, or prominent way." came to be promulgated throughout society.

It starts with the rinascita, the rebirth of ancient thought. This rebirth entitled anybody to now ask questions, to make judgements, and to come up with their own ideas. It pushed people to undertake learning in the Ancient thought and to improve upon it. It inspired strong passions about the human spirit, about civic duty, eventually leading to a Republic and strong debate between the Church and the layiety.

In the 15th century, the rinascita grew into humanitas. The humanitas was the name given to a social movement inspired to uphold the importance of human emotions, the importance of a solid, virtuous society, the importance of the liberal arts and the foundational idea of virtue as knowledge. This new way of thinking played a huge role in forming the Italian Republic. This new governmental system appreciated the Ancients, it advocated a desire to learn, it held up the importance of the human spirit and inspired civic values within the people. Cicero created the humanitas to describe a decent human being. In his eyes it was a necessary move to better the education in Classical studies. From another, yet similar point of view, Pliny the Younger associated humanitas as 'the capacity to win the affections of lesser folk without impinging on greater'.

This then led to the creation of thought that challenged the Church's position on scripture and truth. Documents such as the Decameron, a medieval allegorical work, were created. Certain stories within the Decameron provide good examples of popular thought of the time; such stories explicate and illuminate issues within the Church such as corruption and infidelity.

These stories came to be well known at the same time that the contemporary thought was delving into hermetic, mystical devotion. The appreciation of education, and the power of knowledge played a huge role in the development of the aforementioned thought. People believed that they were empowered by knowledge, and that this knowledge led them to question the Church's role, the truth of the truth and the validity of the Church's teachings. Thus mystical, hermetic devotion became popular as it was believed to hold the answers to the questions being addressed at the time.
Whilst people were learning more and more about the hypocrisy of the Church they were also learning to think for themselves, furthermore and more importantly, they were learning that it was virtuous to acquire knowledge. This thought spurred them on. As such, it is obvious that the scene was set to be a fertile ground for future dissension against the Church.

In the next few years tensions were high. Prosperity was not always guaranteed. Leadership was failing. War was draining the resources. Obedience to a foreign pope annoyed the patriotic people. The Church was becoming richer and richer in the face of people, the majority of whom were doing it tough during this time. As such, the Church became a perfect victim for the angst and hatred of the pressured society. It is well known that the life of the Italian people was once a "story cast around self-determing city-states" and that this story came to an end when Charles VIII of France rode in to claim the kingdom of Naples in the autumn of 1494. Large parts of Italy fell to the French and the Spanish and by 1503 the north and south were occupied by the invading countries. This turmoil 'coloured all of life'. There was no escaping the harsh reality that Italy had fallen to other countries. Lauro Martines puts it well, "Italy had become the playground of the most cynical game that Europe had ever known. No wonder that Machiavelli and poets such as Berni, Folengo, and Aretino came from its midst."

It is at this momentous occasion in time when Machiavelli sat down and wrote his defining work, The Prince. The extreme suggestions for socio-political development mirror the the extremely difficult situations occurring all around Machiavelli at the time of writing. All of Machiavelli's thoughts and actions can be linked back to this context. Thoughts such as:

'A prince also wins prestige for being a true friend or a true enemy, that is, for revealing himself without any reservation in favour of one side against another.' colour Machiavelli's opinion about leadership, and such an opinion has in no doubt been influenced by the taint of the Church. Machiavelli also states that one should 'strive to demonstrate in his actions grandeur, courage, sobriety, strength' here he is obviously showing that he has become disenchanted with the deceitful actions of the Church. He also states that one should 'endeavour to escape being hated', and to 'honour his word and to be straightforward'. These thoughts provide much depth to the context of his time. It paints a vivid picture of a man thoroughly discouraged with the deceitfulness and eventual failure of the leadership of both Church and State. Machiavelli ponders just how the Church could be deceitful for so long, and he comes to the conclusion that 'religion institutions, so powerfully mature that, no matter how the ruler acts and lives, they safe-guard his government'.

Without a doubt, Machiavelli would certainly be pleased to know just how significant his work became, not only in his time, but in times after. The Prince shows a clear picture of a society based on harsh realities, developed out of difficult times, however the foundations of the ideas are truth, knowledge, understanding and virtue as a whole. Machiavelli's work, when considered in context, provides a very telling description of his thoughts and feelings at a time when the society in which he lived had fallen from grace and was undergoind a tumultuous period of upheaval. Without a a doubt Machiavelli's attitude towards the Church is less than positive and such an attitude and opinion is clearly a reflection of the attitude of the Renaissance society in italy, circa 1514.