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3 6 INTRODUCTION.
alquante altre operette (viz. la Vita di Castruccio Castracani:
I1 modo che tenne il Duca Valentino etc. : I Ritratti de le Cose
de la Francia, et de la Alamagna) il suo Principe: et volendo
quello, secondo il costume nostro, sotto il nome d' una qualche
honorata persona publicare; ne occorse subito k la mente
V. S. R. la quale (anchor che forse non ben degno de la sua
grandezza) lo pigliera non dimeno volentieri; et con quello
animo, ch' io glielo porgo ; et lo difendera da quegli, che per
il soggetto suo lo vanno tutto il giorno laeerando si aspramente :
non sapendo, che quegli, che 1' herbe et le medicine insegnano ;
insegnano parimente anchora i veleni; solo accioche da quegli
ci possiamo cognoscendogli guardare: ne s' accorgono anco,
che egli non _ arte, ne scientia alcuna ; la quale non si possa
da quegli, che cattivi sono, usare malamente ; et chi dira mai,
che il ferro fusse trovato pitt tosto per ammazzare gli huomini,
che per difendersi da gli animali ? Certo, che io creda, niuno _.'
It is clear that when this was written the opposition had
already become very bitter : but it contains, what for us is far
more important, the first sign of a new departure in the
criticism of The Prince. The reference to the doctors, who
teach not only the methods of cure, but discuss poisons also
that men may be on their guard against them, is very significant.
Whether Bernardo Giunta himself regarded The Prince
as the exposd of political poisons, or not, is comparatively unimportant
; it is enough that the idea had been started--an elastic
idea, as subsequent criticism proved, which admitted of almost
infinite modifications, and soon became very popular; indeed
The Prince is still for many critics the drunken Helot of
literature s. Now it is by no means impossible that, in the
above quoted letter, Bernardo Giunta was only repeating what
was the common talk at Florence; indeed there is curious
evidence in support of such a supposition.
Cardinal Pole, travelling in Italy a couple of years later, found
a story still current among the Florentines that Machiavelli had
written the book with the secret intention of ruining the house of
x This letter is copied from the second Gmnta edition, ' in Firenze_ Nel _I)XXXX.'
The concluding portion, which is not quoted, merely contains the praises of Gaddi,
and recounts the obligations which readers of Machiavelli owe him. It concludes,
' di Firenze de li. vfil di Maggio, de l'Anno _I)XXXlI.'
A new turn was given to this idea by Ranke, who believed that Machiavelli,
recognising the desperate disease of Italy, had the courage to prescribe poison.