Why Should You Read MachiavelliBlog?

Why should you read this blog over countless others?

Simple. You should read it because—if you are at all interested in Machiavelli—it will provoke you into seeing Machiavelli’s work from new perspectives.

MachiavelliBlog accomplishes this in two ways. First, it represents a novel approach to Machiavelli’s works. It considers them chapter-by-chapter, beginning with the Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livy, commenting upon each before passing on to the next. It does not aim to provide an exegesis of every one; rather, it aims to ferret out an interesting topic or two per chapter to stimulate thought and discussion. I do not know of anyone else who has examined Machiavelli in this manner, and have found that the process has opened my eyes to subtleties in the text that I had not perceived before.

Second, I am a lawyer, not an academic, and am writing about Machiavelli simply because I enjoy his work. I therefore have not been trained to read Machiavelli through any particular set of critical lenses. This does not mean that I think that the humble effort of this dilettante can eclipse the nuance, detail, or importance of Machiavelli scholarship. Instead, I merely hope that by not being planted firmly in the footsteps of others, I might accidentally stumble upon a few ideas that lie off the trails already blazed.

To that end, I encourage comments on everything that you read here. The only requirement is that you keep those comments respectful to other readers and to me. I also hope that some scholars will take the time both to critique what I have written and to add their depth of knowledge to this website.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy MachiavelliBlog.

-Jeff