War, Politics, Castiglione, and Machiavelli During the Renaissance period, many great minds expressed their ideas and talents to their fullest potential. Neither Baldesar Castiglione nor Niccoló Machiavelli were exceptions. In Castiglione?s greatest work, The Book of the Courtier, he describes the qualities that should be possessed by the perfect courtier in a compilation of made-up conversations between the members of the court of Urbino. In arguably Machiavelli?s best work, The Prince, he sets a number of guidelines that, in his opinion, prospective leaders should follow in order to achieve ?greatness? as a ruler. After studying both of these important pieces, one can clearly see that Castiglione and Machiavelli do indeed possess their own specific views concerning war and politics. If each read the other?s book, Castiglione and Machiavelli would definitely have a response to the advice of one another regarding the topics purpose of war, how fair and honest a ruler should be to his people, and what the most effective type of government is.
Famous posthumous portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli...
English: Tomb of Niccolò Machiavelli in the Basil...
Santi di Tito’s famous portrait of Niccolò Mach...When concerning the idea of the overall purpose of war, Castiglione and Machiavelli would unquestionably have a response to the advice of one another. In The Book of the Courtier, Castiglione states,?It is wrong to always be at war and not to seek to attain peace as the objective?some rulers suppose that their principal aim must be to subjugate their neighbours...? (Castiglione, 303) What this statement basically means is that a leader should not intend to destroy their opposition in war, but that they should fight until peace can be realized. Castiglione gives an example of a society that did not agree with the same mentality which he did. He explained of the Scythians; a group of people who would ?not allow anyone who had not slain an enemy to drink from the...