Machiavelli's Three Romes

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

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)

• AcknowledgmentsNote on Texts CitedIntroductionPart I: Christian Rome1. The Church and Machiavelli's Depiction of Italy's Historical Situation2. The Ravages of ChristianityPart II: Pagan Rome3. The Foundation for Tyranny in Rome4. Corruption, Youth, and Foreign Influences5. Machiavelli's Ambiguous Praise of PaganismPart III: Machiavelli's New Rome6. Old Lands and Machiavelli's New One7. A Temporal Christianity and the Princes of the Republic8. Machiavelli's Rule and Human LibertyNotesWorks CitedIndex