The Discourses on Livy (, ) is a work of political history and philosophy written in the early 16th century () by the Italian writer and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli, best known as the author of The Prince. The Discourses were published posthumously with papal privilege in 1531.
The title identifies the work's subject as the first ten books of Livy's History of Rome, also known as Ab urbe condita,Livy, Ab urbe condita libri which relate the expansion of Rome through the end of the Third Samnite War in 293 BC, although Machiavelli discusses what can be learned from many other eras including contemporary politics. Machiavelli saw history in general as a way to learn useful lessons from the past for the present, and also as a type of analysis which could be built upon, as long as each generation did not forget the works of the past.
Machiavelli frequently describes Romans and other ancient peoples as superior models for his contemporaries, but he also describes political greatness as something which comes and goes amongst peoples, in cycles.
Outline Discourses on Livy comprises a dedication letter and three books with a total of 142 numbered chapters. The first two books, but not the third, are introduced by unnumbered prefaces. Much attention has been given to the fact that Livy's History also contained 142 books along with an introduction, as well as to other numerological curiosities present in Machiavelli's writings. At the end of chapter one of Book I, Machiavelli outlines the structure of his work. In Livy's History, Machiavelli observes that Rome's actions are divided into two dichotomies: those taken through public counsel or private counsel, and those occurring either inside or outside the city. The first book focuses on actions taken inside the city by public counsel. The second book, as Machiavelli later notes at the end of the second preface, addresses public counsel regarding matters outside the city. Although this structure would seem to suggest the need for two additional books, there is only one more, which deals with private counsel concerning both internal and external matters.
Dedicatory letter Machiavelli dedicates the Discourses to two friends, Zanobi Buondelmonti and Cosimo Rucellai, both of whom appear in Machiavelli's Art of War. Rucellai had died in 1519, but this did not lead Machiavelli to find a new dedicatee, as he had with The Prince. Machiavelli justifies dedicating the Discourses to his two friends because they deserve to be princes, even if they lack principalities, and he criticizes the custom (which he had adopted in The Prince) of dedicating works to men who are princes but do not deserve to be.
Book I Machiavelli notes that Rome's actions as recounted by Livy proceeded either by "public counsel" or by "private counsel", and that they concerned either things inside the city or things outside the city, yielding four possible combinations. He says that he will restrict himself in Book I to those things that occurred inside the city and by public counsel.I 1.6
In the preface to Book I, Machiavelli explains why he wrote the Discourse, noting that he brings new modes and orders—a dangerous task given the envy of men, but one motivated by the desire to work for the common benefit of humanity. He also notes that while his work may not be perfect, it deserves to be heard, because it will aid others after him in fulfilling his vision. He complains that the Italian Renaissance has stimulated a desire to imitate the ancients in art, law, and medicine, but that no one thinks of imitating ancient kingdoms or republics. He traces this to an improper reading of history that suggests that imitation of ancient political virtue is impossible. He declares his intention to overcome this view of the ancient world by examining Livy and modern politics.
Types of governments and rulers Book I begins by explaining how a city is formed, which is done either by natives to the area or by foreigners, citing specific examples such as Athens and Venice. Machiavelli then explains this idea and states that this greatly changes the way a city is viewed, in particular for Rome. He states that there are six main different types of government, three of which are good, but "no precaution will prevent it from slipping into its opposite, so closely are the virtues and vices of the two related." Namely, monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy will become tyranny, oligarchy, and anarchy, respectively. Machiavelli then tries to determine what type of government Rome was; he says it was a republic, mixing all three functional political systems together, which kept the violent tendencies of one another in check.
Machiavelli then delves into more historical events. Once the Tarquins left Rome there seemed to be peace and alliance between the patricians and the plebs, but this in fact was untrue. This disunity resulted in Rome evolving into a Republic. Moving on, he says that a republic has the opportunity to emerge as an empire, like Rome, or just maintain what it is. Also, allowing people to accuse other citizens is necessary in creating a republic, but calumnies, whispered allegations that cannot be proven or disproven in a court, are harmful because they cause mistrust and help create factionalism.
Machiavelli then goes into how a founder of a republic must "act alone" and gain absolute power to form a lasting regime. He cites Romulus's murder of his own brother Remus and co-ruler Titus Tatius in order to gain power. Machiavelli then excuses Romulus for his crimes, saying he acted for the common good in bringing "civil life" in Rome's founding.
Machiavelli ranks then which rulers are most praiseworthy, the first of which being leaders who lead due to religion, then those who lead because they created a republic or kingdom. Religion in Rome was cited as a primary cause for joy in the city as it is truly an important element. He also states that Livy gives many examples of when religion was utilized to restructure the city. He says Numa Pompilius was more important to Rome than Romulus for bringing the kingdom to arms by using religion. While Machiavelli believes that religion is absolutely necessary for maintaining a government, he also believes in the power and influence of fortune, without which the Roman government would have never broken from the cycle of government demonstrated by Polybius. Fortune acts similarly to the activity of gods, yet it is different in that it exists naturally and benefits those who demonstrate virtue. He criticizes the Catholic Church's ineffectiveness in unifying Italy, writing: The Samnites were defeated by the Romans several times, and in order to change this they decided to find a new approach to their religion.
On corruption and reform Machiavelli speaks on corruption, and how hard it is to sustain a republic where it has recently been freed from monarchy. He says that to sustain a republic in a newly freed city, it is necessary to "Kill the sons of Brutus" (referring to Lucius Junius Brutus's execution of his own sons), that is make violent examples out of the enemies of the free regime. He also gives similar advice to "princes who have become tyrants of their fatherlands". Machiavelli then states that to keep a corrupt republic free, it is necessary to use extraordinary means, and bring the state under an "almost kingly power".
Discussing the subject of restoring freedom, Machiavelli explains that freedom becomes an issue once a type of government shifts. He explains that the Romans were not corrupt when they regained their freedom and could thus keep it. Questioning what mode a free state can be maintained in a corrupt city, he states that Rome had orders, which kept the citizens checked.
He then goes into a discussion of the rulers of Rome and how a strong or weak Prince can maintain or destroy a kingdom. He continues to say that after a weak prince a kingdom could not remain strong with another weak prince. Luckily, the first three kings each had a certain strength, which aided the city. Romulus was fierce, Numa was religious, and Tullus was dedicated to war.
The book then slightly shifts focus to discussing the reformation of a state. Machiavelli explains that if one wants to change a state they must keep some elements of the previous state. Also, he says that a Prince or republic should not deny citizens necessities. He then conveys that having a dictatorial authority was beneficial for the City of Rome because a republic cannot always make the quick decisions demanded by a crisis, and in these cases one person can do a better job than the rest. Rome benefited because the office of Dictator was written into the constitution so it could be exercised legitimately and then retired during the emergency. Continuing with this, weak republics are not truly able to make important decisions and that any change will come from necessity.
He also goes into a discussion about how to establish and maintain a tyrannical government, using the example of Appius Claudius, an individual who was unwise in approaching this endeavor. He states that those who are successful in establishing absolutist regimes attack the nobles by appealing to the people, then oppress the people when all of their enemies are eliminated.
The themes of pride and corruption appear many times throughout The Discourses and Machiavelli believes that it is very easy for a person to be corrupted. It is also good for a soldier to have the desire to fight for personal pride and glory.
Towards the end of Book I, Machiavelli adds that great accidents that occur in a city usually come with some kind of sign. This sign could be divine or seen through a revelation. He gives the particular example that in Florence, right before the death of Lorenzo de' Medici the Elder, a cathedral was hit by lightning. Machiavelli explains that Livy stated that people are strong together, but weak when alone, citing the example of the Roman plebs. Machiavelli feels that the multitude is wiser than the one prince. Thus, Book I examines a variety of issues that occur when creating a state, and looks at it with specific examples from Rome and other parts of Italy.
Book II Chapter 1 debates whether Virtue or Fortune had more of a cause of the empire that the Romans acquired. There were many opinions equally distributed to both sides, and there is not final consensus on which had more of a cause, virtue or fortune.
Chapter 2 discusses what people the Romans had to combat, and that they obstinately defended their freedom. In this chapter he also goes into why he thinks that republics are better than principalities.
Chapter 3 talks about how Rome had its rise to power through their ruining of surrounding cities, making Rome the primary power of the region.
Chapter 4 lists the three modes of expanding that republics have taken. Also, Machiavelli gives the reasoning and background information for why these three modes of expanding that the republic took were necessary.
Chapter 5 talks about how memories can be lost due to issues such as language barriers, floods, or even plague.
Chapter 6 talks about how the Romans went about making war. He claims that their goal for war was to be short and massive.
Chapter 7 talks about how much land the Romans gave per Colonist. He claims that this would be tough to determine because it depended on the places where they sent the colonists.
Chapter 8 discusses the cause why peoples leave their ancestral places and inundate the country of others. He blames it either on famine or on war that has taken over their land and they must move on to something new.
Chapter 9 he talks about what factors commonly cause wars. He says there are many different reasons for disputes.
Chapter 10 talks about how the common opinion of money being the sinew of war is actually incorrect. Faith and benevolence of men is what makes war what it is.