Virtù and the Example of Agathocles in Machiavelli's Prince

Negotiating the lines between war and politics: Machiavelli’s gendering of war and peace

“…Later feminist work on Machiavelli followed Pitkin in identifying gender as fundamental to the ways Machiavelli explains and evaluates the world (Freccero, 1993;Kahn, 1993;Brown, 2004;Snyder, 2004). As with Pitkin's argument, a regular feature of this work is the identification of the fundamental gender binary between masculinity and femininity as driving his political analysis and prescriptions.…”

Machiavelli and the liberalism of fear

“…Of Agathocles of Sparta Machiavelli writes in a famous passage that it is not virtue ‘to kill one’s fellow citizens, to betray one’s friends, to be treacherous, murderous and irreligious; power may be gained in such ways but not glory…[H]is appallingly cruel and inhumane conduct, and countless wicked deeds, preclude him being numbered amongst the finest men’ ( Machiavelli, 1988 : 31; cf. Kahn, 1986 , and on glory see Owen, 2017 ). Cruelty is always bad; but worst of all when endemic.…”

Mawardi and Machiavelli: Reflections on Power in their Mirrors for Princes

“…She writes that it strips the concept of virtue of any moral meaning and instead defines it as "a faculty of deliberation about particulars" that allows a ruler to adjust his actions and character to what is demanded by the times. 19 The second story Machiavelli tells in chapter eight is much more contemporary and relates how Oliveretto of Fermo destroyed the "free institutions" of Fermo, setting himself up as ruler instead, by outrageously murdering his uncle who had raised him, massacring all the leading citizens of the city who might oppose his rule, and intimidating the judges into submission. 20 Again, this story shows his reader that there is nothing conventionally moral, virtuous, or even fortunate in the rise of this man.…”