ABSTRACT
Death , which in the end usually brings men peace and the reputation they deserve, at first brought Machiavelli only violent attacks and ill fame. Misfortune, after having ravaged so great a part of his life, now burst into flames over his ashes like a funeral pyre. The background of the times had rapidly changed, while the quality of men remained the same, and the Florentine Secretary was ‘made a symbol of wickedness, because he was a great man and because he was unfortunate’ 1 ; the immortal pages, printed with the grace and privilege of one pope, were condemned and forbidden by another. 2
