“The interest in Machiavelli always resurfaces when storms are anticipated, because he is the one who knows how to philosophize in turbulent times. And if we read him again today, it is because there is reason to worry. He returns: wake up.”

“Machiavelli is an awakener, because he is a writer. He writes by dipping his pen into the wound. He writes to bring back to life not the glamour of words, but the truth of things.” Patrick Boucheron

Machiavelli has been read continuously since his death in 1527. But what do we know about him aside from Machiavellianism, this collective anxiety in the face of evil in politics? To seek the man behind the mask that distorts him, we must first bring to light the contradictions that torment this fiery spirit of the Florentine Renaissance: the creator of The Prince and the man of action, the foul-mouthed poet and the humorist, the man who draws inspiration from both painters and the mechanics of human passions and interests.

Is the wisdom of Machiavelli ultimately found in the “subtle art of playful provocation”?

“But, as my intention is to write something useful for anyone who is capable of understanding, it seemed to me more useful to reach the real truth of the matter than to remain in its fantasy.” N. Machiavelli, The Prince