Harvey Wallbangers and Tam O'Shanters. Martin Hannan
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him to be a writer and philosopher of note, Machiavelli’s supporters say The Prince was a satire aimed at upsetting Florence’s ruler, Lorenzo di Piero de Medici, grandson of Lorenzo ‘Il Magnifico’ de Medici. If so, why was the book written in 1513 not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli’s death and thirteen years after Lorenzo died from syphilis?
In his other works, such as The Discourses and The Art of War – his own favourite book – Machiavelli gave enough hints that he really did advocate a cynical approach to governance. In The Prince, he brought his undoubted talents as a playwright, poet and civil servant – he had been secretary of the chancery of the Florentine Republic – to bear on the question posed since the time of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, namely what was the best form of government for a city State.
The key point to know is that, before he wrote the book, Machiavelli was tortured by the Medici for his support for the Republic against the family. Given his self-acknowledged cunning, it is thus far more likely that he wrote The Prince and dedicated it to Lorenzo to get back into the ruler’s good books, which appears to have happened as Machiavelli was allowed to retire to his estate and write his books, which included his eight-volume Florentine Histories – paid for by the patronage of the Medici family who took his advice on many matters.
To go from rebelliously opposing the Medici to being their employee and counsellor – that was truly machiavellian.
What is also undoubtedly true of Machiavelli is the impact his thought had, both while he lived and ever since. His books were widely read by kings and politicians, and he was reviled and praised by commentators in his own lifetime. By the end of the 16th century, his name had become a byword for trickery – Schmidt’s Shakespeare Lexicon and Quotation Dictionary notes three usages in the Bard’s plays, particularly the line ‘Am I a Machiavel?’ in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Since then, every dictator from the Emperor Napoleon to Benito Mussolini has admitted to being influenced by Machiavelli.
There is proof in stone of the esteem in which Machiavelli was held, at least in his native Florence, and of the fact that ‘machiavellian’ had become a famous term in its own right. If you visit the Franciscan Basilica of Santa Croce (Holy Cross) in Florence, you will see that it is the Florentine equivalent of Westminster Abbey in that its monuments honour great people of the city. Not far from the monuments dedicated to Galileo, Michelangelo and locally born Florence Nightingale is the splendid monument to ‘Nickolaus Machiavelli’, erected in the 18th century. The splendid male figure in marble is not the man himself, but the allegorical figure of Diplomacy, for which he was also remembered.
The monument bears the Latin inscription ‘Tanto Nomini Nullum Par Elogium’, which roughly translates as ‘no eulogy would be enough for such a name’.
The inscription recognises that the eponym ‘machiavellian’ had long ago passed into the language. You get the feeling that Machiavelli himself would have liked that.
MAUDLIN
As one of Christ’s followers who may or may not have been a prostitute before she joined the Apostles, St Mary Magdelene is one of the more interesting people in the Bible. It was she who first encountered the risen Christ, and possibly for that reason she has always been of fascination to scholars and artists alike. The New Testament records Mary Magdalene cried and was sorry, and so being tearful and contrite came to be Magdelene-like, with the English pronunciation of her name eventually being rendered as it is spelled phonetically.
NAPOLEONIC
He was not as short as has been suggested and, as a figure in French history, Napoleon Bonaparte towers over everyone else. His name is associated with brandy, wars, the entire age. The wee Emperor couldn’t beat Wellington (see Chapter 7) and left us his name rather than a boot.
NIETZSCHEAN
Pertaining to the works and philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), who was the king of quotable quotes among 19th-century philosophers, his most famous statement being that ‘God is dead’. His thoughts on religion – best summed up in his saying ‘faith is not wanting to know what is true’ – scandalised Europe, while his theories on a ‘superman’ higher species are said to have influenced Nazism.
ORWELLIAN
His real name was Eric Arthur Blair (1903–50), but, writing as George Orwell, this English former colonial policeman got many things right about the society he was willing to predict in books such Animal Farm and especially 1984. In these days of omnipresent CCTV and text messages that read like Newspeak, too often we are living his Orwellian nightmare.
PALLADIAN
‘It’s all Greek to me’ is something Andrea Palladio (1508–80) probably never said, but the Italian created the style of Greek- and Roman-influenced architecture that bears his name. By going back to ancient Greece and Rome for his inspiration, Palladianism emphasised a formal style that became the most important architectural influence of the 16th–19th centuries. Every building he personally designed is located in Italy, but there are examples of Palladian architecture around the world.
PAVLOVIAN
The Pavlovian response or classic conditioning is one of the most important theories in physiology. It was proven by Ivan Petrovich Pavlov (1849–1936) in a famous experiment in which he showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the unconscious thought of food associated with a ringing bell. Pavlov, who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology in 1904, had trained to be a priest before taking up science with a lifelong wholeheartedness – even on his deathbed he was experimenting on himself as he prepared to die. Another little-known fact about Pavlov is that his wife Sara suffered a miscarriage through having to walk fast everywhere to keep up with her husband.
PLATONIC
Refers to Plato (c.452–347BC) who was the pupil of Socrates in Athens who recorded his master’s sayings and wrote about his trial and death. Plato himself became a great philosopher in his own right, and taught Aristotle, the three of them forming the great triumvirate who effectively invented western philosophy. Platonic philosophy very much centred on his theories of realism, while politically he outlined an ideal city ruled by a benevolent philosopher despot in his book The Republic.
Platonic relationships are so called because Plato outlined just such a form of love in his work Symposium, one of his Dialogues. The original meaning of a love inspired by spirituality nowadays sees ‘Platonic’ meaning sexless.
PROMETHEAN
Its normal sense meaning original and creative, this eponym derives from Prometheus, humanity’s first champion in Greek mythology. One of the Titans who fell out with Zeus of Olympus, he was the ultimate clever-clogs, who taught humans everything from medicine to writing. He also stole the secret of fire and gave it to mankind, for which Zeus conjured up a very nasty punishment for him, chaining him to a rock where an eagle ate his liver every day only for it to grow back again at night.
PROTEAN
We use this word to describe versatility. It derives from Greek mythology, from the Old Man of the Sea, otherwise known as the shape-changing god Proteus, the son of Poseidon. ‘Proteus Syndrome’ is a horrific, disabling disease which leads to multiple deformations in sufferers.
PYTHONESQUE
Bizarre, outlandish, but very, very funny, the Monty Python’s Flying Circus team revolutionised humour with their sketch-based, television comedy series. The Ministry of Silly Walks, ‘The Lumberjack Song’, the Dead Parrot sketch and their search on the big screen for the Holy Grail,