Hi. Today, I found a little thing about Machiavelli and the Renaissance.

Modern political thought begins when Niccolo Machiavelli wrote the Prince. It marks new period of history. To completely understand why it do so, it seems we need to know the background in that era.

The era is called the Renaissance. It begins with Francesco Petrarch's discovery in 1345 of a copy of Cicero's letter's to Attics regarding to this field of study. The remarkable thing about his letter is, firstly, it is written in Lattin. Secondly, the letter caused thought about time and change. Not only language but also institutions, clothes, currency weights and measures, everything, had changed since Cicero's time. Third, the letter led a questioning of Christian values. The values which emphasized pride and courage rather than humility and guilt citizenship rather than salvation were very different from Christianity.

See you,

Misaki