Although even the term "Machiavellian" has come to mean "cunning, deceit, and bad faith" in the arena of politics, The Prince (the book that earned these connotations, derived mostly from the Church at that time) offered a genuine means to create a strong state that could hold Italy together against foreign influence. In many cases, Machiavelli is misquoted or taken out of context. Although he said that it would be better for a leader to be feared than loved, he idealistically thought that both were preferable if possible (although they often were not). Rather than attacking religion and other moralizing influences, The Prince merely disregarded them, focusing on the practical means by which one person could maintain an efficient and stalwart government.

And Machiavelli was very specific in how power was supposed to be used. Rather than supporting virtual dictatorship, Machiavelli considered a republic the most evolved form of government. In the meanwhile, the role of the strong and seemingly ruthless "dictator" was to not to serve his own ends but to direct his energies and opportunities to provide political stability in which all citizens could prosper.

Villari describes Machiavelli as bearing "the impress of a very acute observer and thinker, but not that of one able to wield much influence over others. He could not easily rid himself of the sarcastic expression continually playing around his mouth and flashing from his eyes, which gave him the air of a cold and impassible calculator..."

• Machiavelli Online Resources, a list of Machiavelli links
  
• Religion in Machiavelli, need Acrobat Reader to read the actual text
  
• The Prince, online!

___Coming Soon!___________

Ludwig Wittgenstein
Friedrich Nietzche
Carl Jung
Hegel
Jean-Paul Sartre
Bertrand Russell
Soren Kirkegaard
David Hume
Carl Sagan
Andre Descartes