Machiavelli in Context | Discourses: The Workings of a Good Republic (Lecture 14)

Lecture 14: As Machiavelli looks at the Roman Republic, he sees that it emerged out of a monarchical state that he traces back to Romulus. Machiavelli does not think that a republic can simply spring up or be a creation of a committee. It takes a strong man who is unafraid to act boldly. To dramatize this point, he even praises Romulus for killing his brother Remus.

Machiavelli also has high praise for Rome’s second king, Numa. It was he who established a moral structure by appealing to and manipulating religion. In fact, having a code to discipline individuals’ conduct is perhaps more important than laws and institutions.

While looking back at this earliest period of Rome’s history, Machiavelli also looks forward. He asks what will happen to a republic when its citizens become morally corrupted. He contrasts Numa’s “good” way of using religion with the way the leaders of the Catholic Church use it in his day.

Recommended Readings:
Machiavelli, Discourses on Livy, translated by Julia Bondanella and Peter Bondanella, Discourse I, chapters 7–33.