If we can trust a recent Rasmussen poll, nearly half the eligible voters in the United States believe the republic established by the mythical founding fathers has crumbled. Predictably, Republicans are more inclined to this gloomy opinion than Democrats, and perhaps surprisingly, women more than men.
If access to the sea determined the future of Pisa as a race of sailors and adventurers, Siena’s location in the arid mountains was equally significant. Despite the great beauty of the landscape, the fact is that Siena lacked water and was subject to serious droughts.
In this podcast we introduce Petrarch, speak briefly about his life and work, and proceed to discuss his recommendations on how to lead a private life.
Seeing an opportunity in the Pisan disaster, Florence and its Guelf allies struck, but after the fall of Ugolino, Pisan patriotism revived, and–short of men–in 1292 they secured a famous condottiere, Guido da Montefeltro, who trained the Pisan militia to use crossbows and recovered the city’s lost fortresses from both Lucca and Florence.
Machiavelli’s fourth chapter is devoted, at least ostensibly, to answering the question: Why did the Persians not rebel, after the death of Alexander the Great? The republican Machiavelli has a reasonable answer, but one that should be chilling to any American who can think dispassionately about his own country.
Attentive reading has become a lost art like the production of stained class and the painting of frescoes. Part of careful reading is being careful not to draw conclusions before examining the evidence.
What the Good Men of Pisa and their Archbishop had in mind was a duomo beyond the dreams of Theoderic or Charlemagne
Among the many reasons why a regime would wish to eliminate all knowledge of antiquity and the insights ancient writers offer is the desire to shield the subject masses from anything that might make them uneasy. We might view it as a kindness on the part of the ruling class.
Pico della Mirandola’s “Oration on the Dignity of Man” is celebrated by leftists and conservatives as a classic statement on human dignity. In fact, this confused product of a a brilliant young mind is one of the opening shots in the rebellion against God and human nature. There is, however, a happy ending.
As a rational and classically trained writer, Machiavelli begins with definitions. He first distinguishes the two types of government as republics and principalities.
