Collector's Edition
Machiavelli is considered the perpetrator and the source of every cunning and brutality carried out for political reasons, as he is the only person credited with all the vices and disloyalty of governments. His axioms are not new, but old, as old as time itself, as old as states are. The works and examples he mentions are supported by history, and highly credible writings guarantee the truth and the lessons of his words.
He does not teach paradoxical or unheard-of things, but simply narrates what our contemporaries do in an advantageous, innocent, and inevitable way. He highlights the deceptive behavior of the powerful, without exaggeration or approval, in order to reveal their conspiracies, injustices, and deceptions. He does not endorse them but advises on how to protect oneself from them and how to defend against them.
If virtue were as strong as evil, and if people generally loved virtue as much as they love vice, undoubtedly Machiavelli would have used a different style and language. However, considering the lives and actions of the wicked, and seeking to depict them faithfully, he could only employ the same methods and language as those individuals. In fact, he should not be considered deserving of any disapproval for recounting the crimes of others, without approving of them in turn.
