Machiavelli Quotes

“By the time Machiavelli entered the chancery there was a well-established method of recruitment to its major offices. Besides giving evidence of diplomatic skills, aspiring officials were expected to display a high degree of competence in the so-called humane disciplines. This concept of the studia humanitatis had been derived from Roman sources, and especially from Cicero, whose pedagogic ideals were revived by the Italian humanists of the 14th century and came to exercise a powerful influence on the universities and the conduct of Italian public life. The humanists were distinguished by their commitment to a particular theory about the proper contents”
― Quentin Skinner, Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction