Overview

Machiavelli's ambiguous treatment of religion has fueled a contentious and long-standing debate among scholars. Whereas some insist that Machiavelli is a Christian, others maintain he is a pagan. Sullivan mediates between these divergent views by arguing that he is neither but that he utilizes elements of both understandings arrayed in a wholly new way. In this illuminating study, Sullivan shows Machiavelli's thought to be a highly original response to what he understood to be the crisis of his times.

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9781501747847

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Reviews

[Sulllivan's] rhetorical stance is one of revaluation, and her rhetorical methodology is one of close, painstaking textual analysis. * The Sixteenth Century Journal * While surely original, Sullivan's thesis fails to convince, primarily because she does not adequately establish the idiosyncratic interplay of Christian and pagan elements that is central to her argument.... Throughout, Sullivan attends insufficiently to the literary, personal, and political contexts in which Machiavelli wrote. * Catholic Historical Review * She advances the novel proposition that Machiavelli is the enemy of all religion.... an important new study, cogently argued and beautifully written * The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science * Sullivan's reading of the texts is isolated from their cultural and linguistic context (even when her argument depends on understanding exactly what particular words might have meant to Machiavelli).... It is also isolated from much of the richest and best modern scholarship on Machiavelli; Sullivan's bibliography is curiously limited to works in English, when in fact most of the serious work on the Discourses is by French and Italian scholars. * American Historical Review * Rather than reading Machiavelli's works rhetorically, Sullivan prefers to put her own questions to his texts and too often for comfort derives her own answers.... It is too bad that Sullivan let herself slip into ahistorical modes of analysis because her ingrained tendency to think dialectically, or at least in terms of immanent critique, produces a number of insights. * Law and History Review * Vickie Sullivan's book is an important and useful contribution to this literature. It combines meticulous scholarship with provocative and insightful analysis. While issuing directly from this literature, and thus in a sense the intellectual heir of these debates, it attempts to overcome their dualistic character by presenting an alternative and original interpretation. * American Political Science Review *

Vickie Sullivan's book is an important and useful contribution to this literature. It combines meticulous scholarship with provocative and insightful analysis. While issuing directly from this literature, and thus in a sense the intellectual heir of these debates, it attempts to overcome their dualistic character by presenting an alternative and original interpretation. In the process Sullivan provides a novel and intriguing perspective to both the Straussian and civic republican interpretations of Machiavelli. * American Political Science Review * [Sulllivan's] rhetorical stance is one of revaluation, and her rhetorical methodology is one of close, painstaking textual analysis. * The Sixteenth Century Journal * Machiavelli's three Romes, according to Vickie B. Sullivan's nicely argued book, are Christian Rome, ancient Rome and his own - a critique and appropriation of the first two. * Times Literary Supplement * Her incisive and clever analysis, comparable to Victoria Kahn's Machiavellian Rhetoric, deserves a place on a shelf that include Sebastian DeGrazia, Felix Gilbert, Harvey Mansfield, Jr., J.G.A. Pocock, Leo Strauss, and Quentin Skinner. Although clearly intended for a discerning audience of graduate students and faculty, Sullivan's clear prose and powerful insight will captivate upper-division undergraduates and general readers of political philosophy. * Choice * She advances the novel proposition that Machiavelli is the enemy of all religion.... an important new study, cogently argued and beautifully written * The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science *

Vickie Sullivan's book is an important and useful contribution to this literature. It combines meticulous scholarship with provocative and insightful analysis. While issuing directly from this literature, and thus in a sense the intellectual heir of these debates, it attempts to overcome their dualistic character by presenting an alternative and original interpretation. In the process Sullivan provides a novel and intriguing perspective to both the Straussian and civic republican interpretations of Machiavelli. (American Political Science Review) She advances the novel proposition that Machiavelli is the enemy of all religion. This is an important new study, cogently argued and beautifully written. (The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science) Her incisive and clever analysis, comparable to Victoria Kahn's Machiavellian Rhetoric, deserves a place on a shelf that include Sebastian DeGrazia, Felix Gilbert, Harvey Mansfield, Jr., J.G.A. Pocock, Leo Strauss, and Quentin Skinner. Although clearly intended for a discerning audience of graduate students and faculty, Sullivan's clear prose and powerful insight will captivate upper-division undergraduates and general readers of political philosophy. (Choice) [Sulllivan's] rhetorical stance is one of revaluation, and her rhetorical methodology is one of close, painstaking textual analysis. (The Sixteenth Century Journal) Machiavelli's three Romes, according to Vickie B. Sullivan's nicely argued book, are Christian Rome, ancient Rome and his own—a critique and appropriation of the first two. (Times Literary Supplement) Throughout the book, Professor Sullivan's writing style is inviting and accessible. Her treatment of the subject evinces a tremendous knowledge of not only Machiavelli's works, but also of writers who have analyzed and critiqued his ideas. Moreover, her book is well-organized, ensuring that the reader can readily follow her argument. Those with an interest in Machiavelli are likely to enjoy Machiavelli's Three Romes. (The NYMAS Review)

Rather than reading Machiavelli's works rhetorically, Sullivan prefers to put her own questions to his texts and too often for comfort derives her own answers.... It is too bad that Sullivan let herself slip into ahistorical modes of analysis because her ingrained tendency to think dialectically, or at least in terms of immanent critique, produces a number of insights. * Law and History Review * [Sulllivan's] rhetorical stance is one of revaluation, and her rhetorical methodology is one of close, painstaking textual analysis. * The Sixteenth Century Journal * While surely original, Sullivan's thesis fails to convince, primarily because she does not adequately establish the idiosyncratic interplay of Christian and pagan elements that is central to her argument.... Throughout, Sullivan attends insufficiently to the literary, personal, and political contexts in which Machiavelli wrote. * Catholic Historical Review * Vickie Sullivan's book is an important and useful contribution to this literature. It combines meticulous scholarship with provocative and insightful analysis. While issuing directly from this literature, and thus in a sense the intellectual heir of these debates, it attempts to overcome their dualistic character by presenting an alternative and original interpretation. * American Political Science Review * She advances the novel proposition that Machiavelli is the enemy of all religion.... an important new study, cogently argued and beautifully written * The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science * Sullivan's reading of the texts is isolated from their cultural and linguistic context (even when her argument depends on understanding exactly what particular words might have meant to Machiavelli).... It is also isolated from much of the richest and best modern scholarship on Machiavelli; Sullivan's bibliography is curiously limited to works in English, when in fact most of the serious work on the Discourses is by French and Italian scholars. * American Historical Review *

Author Information

Vickie B. Sullivan is the Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science at Tufts University.

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