Machiavelli in Context

by William R. Cook

12 audio cds, 24 thirty-minute lectures by William R. Cook, professor at State University of New York at Geneseo.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Politics, Audiobook, Biography, Literature

Audio CD

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Dr. William R. Cook is the Distinguished Teaching Professor of History at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where he has taught since 1970. He earned his bachelor’s degree cum laude from Wabash College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa there. He was then awarded Woodrow Wilson and Herbert Lehman fellowships to study medieval history at Cornell University, where he earned his Ph.D.

Professor Cook teaches courses in ancient and medieval history, the Renaissance and Reformation periods, and the Bible and Christian thought. Since 1983 Professor Cook has directed 11 Seminars for School Teachers for the National Endowment for the Humanities.

His books include Images of St. Francis of Assisi and Francis of Assisi: The Way of Poverty and Humility. Dr. Cook contributed to the Cambridge Companion to Giotto and edits and contributes to The Art of the Franciscan Order in Italy.

Among his many awards, Professor Cook has received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 1992 the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education named him New York State’s Professor of the Year. In 2003 he received the first-ever CARA Award for Excellence in the Teaching of Medieval Studies from the Medieval Academy of America.

Reviews

[Beauregard Bottomley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read a David Brooks column where he was comparing Machiavelli to the better parts of Ted Cruz. It struck me as an incoherent column. He clearly didn't understand who Machiavelli was beyond a comic book characterization, and I'm still searching for anything good to say about Ted Cruz.

Anyways, it got me to thinking that I really didn't understand Machiavelli well enough to articulate my full disgust with that David Brooks column and that led me to this superb lecture and I'm glad for this Great Course Lecture. (Often, from a true negative, namely David Brooks, a positive can come about, namely learning about Machiavelli).

This lecturer also gave a Great Course on Dante (which I listened to and really enjoyed), and I'm currently working my way through a Yale Course on Dante, and to properly understand Machiavelli, one must understand the influence that Dante had on him (both this lecture and the Yale Course on Dante's Comedy make that point).

Machiavelli can be argued to be the first modern man. He undoes the paradigms for which Aristotle and Cicero and the other early thinkers had instilled in to the zeitgeist of the thought of the middle ages and through the Renaissance. By that I mean, for example, Cicero would have said it is most important to be a good person in order to be a a good (virtuous) leader. Machiavelli stands that thought on its head.

The David Brooks of the world always like to create the other (see Donald Trump or Ted Cruz for their special brand of otherism and hate). Brooks and his ilk will always try to bring the conversation back to lack of Community, Character, and Culture and then hide behind their superficial brand of Christianity (or their specific brand of Religion in Brooks' case). This lecture makes me realize the supreme irony that Brooks was accidentally employing because of all the people in the world, Machiavelli did more to change the world view Brooks (and his ilk) cling to.

Overall, a very good lecture. Machiavelli's most important work probably is "The Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy". I ended finding a free copy through google books and it's turning into a real find. The book really illustrates how Brooks was misusing Machiavelli and how history is necessary for understanding our current place in history but the context should never be ignored, and shows that the way the world works is the exact opposite from the comic book characterization that Brooks uses in his twice weekly columns. History is a wonderful thing and Machiavelli knew what to do with it and how to use it and how we need to get the meaning from the past not just the stories.

[Mohamed al-Jamri · Rating 4 out of 5]

مكيافيلي ضمن السياق للبروفيسور وليام كوك

تتميز شركة الكورسات العظيمة (ذا جريت كورسيس) بسلسلة محاضراتها القوية، والتي تشبه في تقديمها الكتب المسموعة، فهم يختارون مختصًا في مجال معين ليقدم سلسلة محاضرات حول مجال تخصصه. سمعت لهم عن مواضيع كثيرة، وهذه المرة عن مكيافيلي ولم يخيبوا ظني

كم مرة سمعت عبارة "الغاية تبرر الوسيلة"؟ هل تعلم أن مكيافيلي لم يقلها مطلقُا؟ معظم ما نعرفه من أفكار مكيافيلي ناتجة إما عن تحريف أو سوء فهم أو اقتباس خارج السياق، ولهذا وضع البروفيسور عنوان محاضراته بهذه الصورة: مكيافيلي ضمن السياق. إنه لمن سخرية القدر أن أحد أكثر الكتاب اهتمامًا بتوفير السياقات المختلفة لفهم الأحداث (كما فعل بشكل مبالغ فيه في كتابه عن تاريخ فلورنسا) يتعرض في النهاية لاقتباس أفكاره خارج سياقها!

إذا سمعت بإسم نكولو مكيافيلي فلا بد أنك سمعت عن كتابه الأشهر وهو الأمير، ولكن هذا هو أول وأصغر كتاب له، وكتبه خلال فترة وجيزة جدًا بعد أن سقطت جمهورية فلورنسا وقامت مكانها إمارة تحت حكم عائلة ميديجي. يبدو أن هدف مكيافيلي كان تقديم نفسه وخبراته للحاكم الجديد، خاصة وأنه قبل هذا كان يشغل منصبًا مقاربًا لوزير الخارجية في جمهورية فلورنسا ولديه خبرة تمتد لأكثر من عقد من الزمن التقى خلالها أهم أمراء أوروبا. هو إذًا قريب لكونه سي في للحصول على وظيفة ولهذا كان مقتضبًا وقصيرًا

لمعرفة فكر مكيافيلي بصورة كاملة، لا بد من الاطلاع على كتابه الآخر: نقاشات حول ليفي، والذي تحدث فيه بشكل مسهب عن أفكاره السياسية والتي تميل بشكل صريح لنظام الحكم الجمهوري. إن هذا الكتاب لا يناقض الأول، بل يشرحه بصورة أكبر، وعلى أغلب الظن فإنه بدء في كتابتهما في نفس الوقت، حيث يشير في كتاب الأمير إلى أنه سيقتصر على الحديث عن نظام الإمارة وسيترك الحديث عن الجمهورية لكتابه الثاني. استغرق هذا الكتاب منه عددًا من السنوات، ففيه إشارات لأحداث وقعت بعد خمس سنوات من تاريخ بدء كتابته

سيطول تعليقي إن بدأت بسرد ما تعلمته من جديد في هذه السلسلة، لذلك سأختم كلامي بذكر أن مكيافيلي مفكر أعمق وأعقد بكثير من أن يختصر في عبارة ويستحق أن يفهم بشكل جيد، ولا غلو إن وصف ابن النهضة الإيطالية بأول مفكر سياسي في العصر الحديث

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many, the adjective "Machiavellian" conjures negative behavior patterns or even antisocial personality disorders (i.e. the ends justify the means). This meaning of the word does a disservice to the sixteenth century Italian writer who said that an effective leader is one who knows how to use cruelty well. In modern terms... you might be a Machiavellian if you believe that order in society is better than chaos and that a forceful (sometimes despotic?) leader is essential to curing chaos. I couldn't help thinking of Abraham Lincoln.... These lectures were an enjoyable and accessible reminder that history and, in particular, thinkers from the past are much more interesting in context than in sound bites

[Letitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed these lectures. They are segmented into units about the length of a home-from-work commute, and the lecturer is an engaging speaker who uses conversational vernacular. You definitely don't need a PhD in PoliSci to follow this guy, which is great. It's approachable, but thorough. That said, I'm not sure this would be of much interest or relevance to anyone other than PoliSci nerds like me. There's not much application to personal life or policy. It's nice to understand Machiavelli better (one of the most complex political philosophers to date, and oft-misunderstood), but it's not a vital part of anyone's life...unless they just like learning crap like that. Like I do.

[David Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enlightening, and highly recommended. I shared the most prevalent impression of Machiavelli as a 'Machiavellian' model for an evil villain (refreshed when I recently saw a rerun of his appearance on 'Time Tunnel'), but this is an impression we get from only knowing snippets from his most famous work "The Prince". Thorough appreciation of the WHOLE work, and especially in the CONTEXT of its writing (the need for a tough ruler to straighten out the chaos then prevalent in Florence). The lecturer (who authored a book on Francis of Assisi), surveys some of Machiavelli's other works, esp the "Discourses on the First 10 Books of Livy (Roman history), which was likely his most ambitious and thoughtful work, and which better characterizes his views as favoring a republican government for the good of free people, rather than a monstrous dictatorship. What made him new, and still makes him hard to take, was his view (NOT stated by him) that the end justifies the means in government. His political science, and methodical historic analysis, differed from that of Aristotle and Cicero, in describing what government & mankind truly IS, rather than what it SHOULD BE.
He much preferred the republic government (modeled on Rome), and quoted by Americans ('for which it stands'), which combined Royalty/Executive + Aristocracy/Senate/Lords + Democracy/House/Commons to provide a very stable mix, incorporating 'checks & balances' (again, NOT quoted from him).
While NOT my area of expertise/learning, this seems essential to those interested in History/Poli Sci, maybe a side of Sociology.
The lecturer is also an expert/resident of Florence, and threw numerous fascinating tidbits that might be of interest to those looking to Florence/Italy/Renaissance.
Highly recommended.
Sorry if this included 'spoilers', but otherwise less people would want to pick it up (just SOS).

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Cook's lectures on Machiavelli assess the Renaissance diplomat and historian's thought and impact.Cook does a thorough job and tries his best to rehabilitate Machiavelli by emphasizing his Discourses on the Roman Republic as much (or even more )than the amoral but famous Prince.Cook makes the case that Machiavelli contributes much to our understanding of how republics can emerge and survive.But this defence of Machiavelli's republican credentials downplays the fact that Machiavelli was quite happy to forget his republican beliefs in the hope of getting a job with the Medici dynasty which had just overthrown the Florentine republic.Having been deposed by the Medici family in 1513 ,Machiavelli spent the rest of his life trying to curry favour with the new rulers. He partially succeeded as they gave him a commission to write the History of Florence plus a few minor diplomatic jobs.Machiavelli lived a life as amoral as the advice he gave in the Prince.He was a lover of history as Cook argues and his Discourses offer many insights.But his significance is due to the Prince a book that shocked in his time and still shocks today.Stalin had an annotated copy of the Prince pleased no doubt that Machiavelli posits that morality need not apply to wielders of power.Bertrand Russell, the noted philosopher said that the Prince was" a handbook for gangsters " and that sad fact is why Machiavelli matters.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredibly excellent course. VERY highly recommended.

Students usually read Machiavelli's "The Prince". It is short, and easily taught in a one semester course. Sadly, Machiavelli wrote a set of books, "Discourses" on the first 10 books of Livy's history of Rome, and also a set of books on the "Florentine Histories". These books are hardly ever taught and hardly ever read. To read the Discourses, it is worthwhile to have read Livy's histories... so you have to read alot before you really understand Machiavelli. But how worthwhile it would be to do that!

The principles outlined in "The Prince" are scarcely a complete of Machiavelli's thoughts and ideas. In the "Discourses", he amazingly addresses how republics are formed, compares the republics of Rome and Athens, and discusses how best to create a government that provides stability and safety and equality and participation from its citizens. Topics that are as current today as they were when he wrote.

So highly recommended. I am motivated to find Livy's histories so I can step into Machiavelli's discourses on them!

[Sean Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent lecture series. I only knew Machiavelli by reputation and from The Prince. After listening to Machiavelli in Context by Professor William R. Cook, I have a fuller understating of his ideals and his works. Professor Cook goes over Machiavelli's personal history, the historical context in which Machiavelli wrote, his histories, his Discourses on Livy, and even some of his personal correspondence. By the end, after learning about all of his works, Cook proposes the question, was Machiavelli even Machiavellian as we understand the term? Machiavelli in Context is a fascinating lecture series, and would highly recommend to anyone one interested in political or military theory, history, or the Italian Resistance

[Chris Aldrich · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of this is in fact its overarching thesis, and such a good one at that. Dr. Cook does and excellent job doing an overview of Machiavelli's surrounding times and immediate history to frame as much of both him and his thought as possible in such a short span of time. I had known that Machiavelli was more maligned than he deserved, but didn't know just how much. Cook provides some excellent topics for thought. I'm fascinated enough that I want to go back and read both Livy and The Discourses now.

I'd highly recommend this to anyone and honestly every citizen of the world should know what's in this excellent short set of lectures.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was familiar with the idea that Machiavelli was misinterpreted before this lecture series, but my knowledge was mere trivia, like how “the ends justify the means” was a mistranslation. Not so after this series. I gained a greater knowledge of the man behind The Prince and his other works. I had never heard of Machiavelli’s books about the Roman Republic before this lecture series, and now I believe they were more like Machiavelli’s actual beliefs than The Prince.

Additionally, I learned more about the Florentine culture that influenced Machiavelli. The lecture series was a bit dense at times, but I got the gist of it. The Prince was cold, pragmatic, and necessary in backstabbing Renaissance politics. The Prince might not have been a work of satire, a view which this Great Courses series possibly dwells too much on, but it certainly didn’t align with Machiavelli’s actual views. He preferred the Roman Republic.

After this lecture series, I became annoyed whenever someone referred to cutthroat politics or sociopathic personality traits as “Machiavellian”, a habit which I still have today. I am grateful to this lecture series for introducing me to the man beyond the myth. I still have not read any of Machiavelli’s works, but somehow I think I don’t need to. At least, The Prince isn’t worth applying to modern life. This lecture series dissuaded me from following the path of young men who apply The Prince to their daily lives.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cook does well in showing his audience that Machiavelli was more than the sum of his seminal book The Prince. And, yes, Machiavelli may not deserve the reputation to which The Prince has endured him. So poor Machiavelli may have been a swell guy handed a bum rap all these years. But what is perhaps more relevant, and unfortunately not discussed by Cook, is the impact on the world of what might be called Machiavellian philosophy, as extracted from The Prince, irrespective of the “real Machiavelli”. Machiavellian philosophy, as such, has been an ostensibly pivotal point in the history and development of morality. And thereby hangs a tale. There is even a MACH-IV Test, which supposedly measures a person’s level of Machiavellianism, i.e., personality traits centered on manipulativeness, callousness, and indifference to morality. For me, the point of interest isn’t whether Machiavelli was a Machiavellian, but rather how and to what extent the precepts introduced in The Prince have changed our concept of what is “good” and what is acceptable behavior.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been binging on Machiavelli lately...reading 'The Prince', listening to Landon's "Books That Matter-The Prince", reviewing portions of 'The Discourses'...even visiting Florence! It seems that Machiavelli's gotten a bad rap over the years. Then along comes Dr Cook, with his (fairly) well organized set of lectures that finally puts things...and Niccolo...in their contextual places.

In Cook's enthusiastic lectures, we find that Niccolo is far from the scheming skeptic as he is often depicted, rather he seems to be a dedicated republican sometimes much too eager to gain a patron. We find that he is also an historian, first and foremost, seeking ways to improve society in general.
These lectures make to hungry to learn a little more about how literature and historians can truly affect societies.

[T. Laane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up to this date I have always kept away from “The Great Courses” books, because I have always thought that recording a “university seminar” could never be as great as a real book - because how on earth could an (old) guy keep up reading such lengthy material with good pronunciation and without errors AND have it all very tightly packed. But, but - HE DID. The author is really a very smart person AND a great orator, not just a random professor. So the book could be well compared to ANY history book, yet there are none out there talking about Machiavelli in this depth. So I’m surprised to say: i do recommend it to any Machiavelli fan (and if You’re not one yet, this book might tip the scale). I didn’t took a lot of notes, so it’s rather a repetition, or rather it’s explaining the WHY behind Machiavelli’s texts. And of course all the great ideas get a lot of reinforcement by this depth.

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started reading the Prince, but a lot of the passages there make reference to some historical events which I was not familiar with. This book provides that context, and more, linking the Prince with Machiavelli's other works. The title of the book is an homage to Machiavelli's belief that history without context will be misunderstood; and so, the more the better. A great course, indeed!

[LemontreeLime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was excellent. I gained a deeper appreciation for the whys and hows of this author. Context is everything, even Machiavelli wasn't Machiavellian, he was just the first guy to write it down point blank.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction into Machiavelli and his world. After these introductions, the course goes on to close-read three of Machiavelli's most interesting works, The Prince, the Discourses on Livy and the History of Florence. The course ends by trying to think of how understandings of Machiavelli have evolved to the present day.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The course is helpful to understand Machiavelli in historical context, especially the discussion on his other writings certainly helped. 3stars was given because of the lecturer's teaching style: a bit too passionate, too loud, and too repetitive. Sorry for being picky.

[MissDaniBoo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info but the lecturer sounds like he’s always got a mouthful of spit and in excited parts, I imagined spit flying everywhere. If you’re sensitive to the speaker’s voice, I would skip this one. Very detailed info and background info about Machiavelli’s life works.

[Igor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to add more compliments to this author.

The audio class is great. I am looking foward to listen other classes of him.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this professor

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fair treatment of a much-maligned philosopher

[John Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great review of Machiavelli and his major works and influences. It goes well beyond the Prince to look at his world, works, and influences in the modern world.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

[Abhishek Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story & perspective of the first modern man.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was Machiavelli machiavellian? After listening to this interesting Great Course, I found out that Niccolo Machiavelli was actually a pretty interesting political thinker and was not nearly as machiavellian as I had thought. Professor William Cook narrates a fast paced and interesting series of lectures that cover Machiavelli's background, the history of Florence, Italy where he grew up, and three of the major works that Machiavelli wrote. Cook starts with The Prince (Lectures 5-11) which as all political science majors know contains the philosophy that "The end justifies the means". Except I learned that Machiavelli never actually says that, even once, in The Prince. It could be inferred from the book perhaps, but Machiavelli was actually giving a discourse on what it would take to successfully lead a people if you were a local ruler or a conquering ruler based on his study of modern history (meaning the Renaissance period in which he lived) and classic history (Greek, Roman etc.) In context, the Prince didn't seem nearly as harsh as I was led to believe.

The main focus of the course was Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy, a Roman historian. (Lectures 12-20) Cook goes into great detail on Machiavelli's praise of Republics and the Roman type of government. The series ends with a brief look at Machiavelli's history of the Florence. (Lecture 21-22).

There are 24 lectures in all, each about half an hour. The ones not discussing his books cover the background in which he grew up, a brief biography of the man himself, and an overview of Machiavelli's political views. It inspired me to go back and read the Prince, (available for free at many sites, as a book or an audio book).

Professor Cook reminded me a lot of Wallace Shawn's character Vizzini, in the Princess Bride. He has a slight lisp, and a rapid shrill speaking style but it is quickly forgotten as he rattles off his impressive knowledge of Niccolo Machiavelli. I was soon captivated in the politics of 15th century Florence and how one of the most well known political thinkers viewed the world. I would listen to another course by Professor Cook, I enjoyed his delivery style, his presentation, organization and knowledge of the subject.

If you are fascinated by Florence, (My girlfriend and I actually saw where Machiavelli was buried at Santa Croce, one of Florence's many beautiful churches), the Renaissance, philosophy or politics, or perhaps if you yourself are thinking of invading a neighboring land and ruling it, I would recommend, Machiavelli in Context by the Great Courses.

[Muneel Zaidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Machiavelli's impact on our society is easily recognizable; the word Machiavellian is still in our dictionary. But, the impact he made isn't the impact people think he made. People think that Machiavelli's major contributions are phrases like "The ends justify the means" or "It is better [for leaders] to be feared than loved". However, these misquote, although not off base, do a disservice to the man many consider one of the first modern men. These lectures do a great job of analyzing his writings (The Prince, First Ten Discourses on Livy, and others) and putting them in context with the world he lived in. His ideas on order, republics, and how the world works are modern, even in our times. A lot of the ideas he writes about are things the founding fathers of America used to develop the country and are now basic axioms of leadership. Machiavelli does not concern his writing with how the world should work, but with how the world does work. This has a attached a negative connotation to his name, but after this lecture series, I feel it is not deserved. His main goal was to help develop a strong, ordered, republic through effective leadership; I'd say that's a pretty noble cause.

[R. August · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview Machiavelli, of particular interest to those who have only read The Prince, of which I'm guilty, as Machiavelli ultimately wasn't Machiavellian - tough luck becoming a byword for something you didn't actually support. I was surprised that given his views on republicanism that The Prince as satire wasn't brought up since it would have fit in pretty well with the Machiavellian thought as a whole, though Cook was making a point that Machiavelli felt that the ideas in The Prince were useful, but as only one minor stage in the development of a truly worthy government based on the worthiness of proles...er...people.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent summary and overview of the period and the writings. Dr. Cook was very enthusiastic about the material and easy to follow. In aprallel with this course, I read The Pince, The Discourses on Livy, and The Florentine Histories. While I think that Dr Cook did not cove some aspects ofinterpreting the writings in light of the 21st century, I do believe that he set the stage for people to work through that interpretation on their own.

[Paul Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

A balanced view on Machiavelli as an advocate for republican government.

[Mario Russo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This course is one of the best in literary criticism. Machiavelli from inside out. It was a real pleasure to listen and the more I get to know Machiavelli the more I find it relevent today...