Sin City
Augustine and Machiavelli’s Reordering of Rome
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6385677 |
|---|---|
| Authors | John M Warner (University of California, Davis, corresponding author), John T Scott (0000-0003-4260-0090, University of California, Davis) |
| Year | 2011 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 857-871 |
| Publication date | 2011-07-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3816 • E-ISSN: 1468-2508 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s002238161100051x |
| OpenAlex | W2014962110 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 21 |
We examine Machiavelli’s critical appropriation of Augustine’s analysis of Rome’s decline and fall in order to understand his own interpretation of Rome and the lessons it offers for a successful republic. If Machiavelli’s departure from Augustine is obvious, as seen for example in his exculpation of Romulus for the fratricide Augustine condemns, equally illuminating is what Machiavelli borrows from him. For Augustine, Romulus’ fratricide discloses the limits of pagan virtue and politics and reveals that the civic republican view of an early virtuous republic is nostalgic if not impossible. Machiavelli agrees with Augustine about the character of Rome, yet embraces the ambitious and acquisitive politics Augustine rebuffs. Machiavelli not only excuses Romulus’ fratricide in “ordering” Rome, but makes it the archetypal act that must be repeated through “reordering” to sustain the state against the perennial problem of corruption. We thereby address two of the primary issues in Machiavelli scholarship—the character of his republicanism and the nature and extent of his innovation with regard to his ancient sources—and suggest that the “civic republican” or “neo-Roman” interpretation of Machiavelli is incorrect in its conclusions concerning his republicanism as well as his relationship to his ancient sources
Appropriation · Art · Character (mathematics · Epistemology · Interpretation (philosophy · Literature · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · Scholarship · State (computer science · The Republic · Virtue · Augustinian Studies and Theology · Classics · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Law · Philosophy · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory
Thoughts on Machiavelli
Between form and Event
Barbarism and Religion
Augustine through the Ages
Machiavelli's Momentary “Machiavellian Moment
Machiavelli Against Republicanism
Augustine’s Contribution to the Republican Tradition
Amazing Grace
Republicanism, Religion, and Machiavelli's Savonarolan Moment
Love of Country and Love of God
Patricide and the Plot ofThe Prince
The Machiavellian Moment
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,7 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2021 (6) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |