III.

Other Important Works

Machiavelli's formulation of the historical principles inherent in Roman government may be found in his Discourse on the First Ten Books of Titus Livius (1531; trans. 1636), a commentary on the History of Rome by the Roman historian Livy. In this study Machiavelli departs from medieval theocratic concepts of history, ascribing historical events to the demands of human nature and the effects of chance. Among his other works are Dell'arte della guerra (On the Art of War, 1521), which describes the advantages of conscripted over mercenary troops. The Istorie Fiorentine (History of Florence, 1525) interprets the chronicles of the city, in terms of historical causality. Machiavelli was also the author of the biography Vita di Castruccio Castracani (Life of Castruccio Castracani, 1520), a number of poems, and several plays, of which the best known is Mandragola (The Mandrake, 1524), a biting satire on the corruption of contemporary Italian society. Many of his writings anticipated the growth in succeeding periods of strong nationalistic states.

Machiavellianism, as a term, has been used to describe the principles of power politics, and the type of person who uses those principles in political or personal life is frequently described as a Machiavellian.