The Machiavellian Cosmos

by Anthony J. Parel

In this highly original interpretation of Machiavelli's thought, Anthony J. Parel identifies a theme generally neglected in the scholarship of this sixteenth-century political Machiavelli's belief in the occult forces of heaven and humors. Challenging the current tendency to view Machiavelli as a pioneer of modern political science, Parel argues instead that a premodern cosmology and anthropology underlie Machiavelli's political works. Parel shows that Machiavelli's world picture owes more to the astrological cosmology prevalent in the Renaissance than to the Aristotelian or Platonic or Christian world picture. This astrological determination significantly affects Machiavelli's conceptions of history, politics, and religion and shapes his notions of virtu and fortuna . It also has considerable impact on his ethical the Machiavellian cosmos has no room for a Ruling Mind or for the Sovereignty of the Good, and humans are left to pursue their appetites for riches and glory as best they can. In a similar fashion, says Parel Machiavelli's political anthropology is influenced by the ancient idea that body humors determine a person's temperament and behavior, for he believes that humors compromise human autonomy and rationality. According to Parel, the theory of humors also affects Machiavelli's view of the body politic and his characterization of republics, princedoms, and licenzia , and Parel explicates this in new readings of The Prince , the Discourses , and the Florentine Histories.

Genres: History

216 pages, Hardcover

First published March 25, 1992

Reviews

[Katie]

This is an interesting book, but I think that it sometimes overstates its case. Anthony Parel states that Machiavelli's political theory cannot be understood without accounting for the scientific underpinnings of his thought: more specifically, that his thought was founded on ideas found in astrology and the medical humors. This allows him to offer a nice explanation for the discrepancies between The Prince and The Discourses on Livy: the former offers advice for a body politic whose humors are out of whack, the latter offers advice for a healthy body (one whose 'humors' - the popolo and patricians - are kept in balance). Transitioning between the two requires active engagement with the heavens.

This is all pretty interesting, and it's a good corrective to the idea that Machiavelli was akin to a modern political scientist who appeared out of nowhere in 16th century Florence. Sometimes Parel goes a bit far though - he'll occasionally seem to suggest that an astrological worldview negated a belief in the Christian cosmos. That may be true today, but astrology and Christianity existed side-by-side (though somewhat uneasily) for centuries. He also suggests that Machiavelli was a "neo-pagan" due to his God-favors-the winners attitude. I think this really underestimates the flexibility of pre-Trent Christianity - Machiavelli's promotion of activism probably wasn't an assault on Christianity, but an assault on the current state of the Church. I think these ideas get conflated too often. If Machiavelli was really a neopagan or an atheist, you'd think that some of his enemies would have mentioned it in passing.

Still, it's an interesting book. I like the idea of mixing political theory and scientific theory.