ABSTRACT
The Minuta combines the proposals for new procedures for the nomination and scrutiny of the arroti with an explanation of their aims. This explanation puts rhetorical emphasis on the necessity of broadening political participation, and concludes with the idea of preserving the vivere civile et politico, or, as the author puts it, 'to be consistent with a civic and political way of life'. The phrase vivere civile was used to define a governo largo – that is, a constitution that should be 'widely extended' – in the particular political framework of Florentine politics post-1494, as John Pocock explained. Maurizio Viroli explains that Machiavelli introduced a change in the meaning of vivere politico in his major works. According to Viroli, the meaning of vivere politico in the Discourses refers to a concept of the republic based on participation and tumultuous political conflict rather than to the humanistic idea of a peaceful community of citizens.
