ABSTRACT
Two revolutions and a remarkable tradition of public theatre provided a unique ground for the growth of Machiavellian culture. It can certainly be argued that the English Machiavellian philosophical debate took place in an international framework defined by the interaction of the Republic of Letters, as in the case of Sir Henry Wotton and of Italian thinkers such as Paolo Sarpi, and the regular appropriation of, or at least interest in French political ideas by thinkers such Hobbes. England's parliamentary reforms, revolution, republicanism and constitutional monarchy all invited original uses of Machiavellian thought not possible within the confines of a true Leviathan. Even with England's deep involvement with international humanist culture, politics included, it was, nonetheless, different. With its ideological ambiguity, Machiavellianism had more applications to practical politics and philosophy in a political field which was remarkably dynamic and changing.
