For close to five hundred years, the name Niccolo Machiavelli has held a place in history and in philosophy that has been hotly debated for centuries. Some say that Machiavelli is the true statesman and his books hold the key to the most efficient form of governing, while others call him a barbaric monster, whose ideas and methods have given way to the schools of thought of fascism, Nazism, and other tyrannical forms of government. Machiavelli was born, lived, and died in a tumultuous period of time when his country was overrun with foreign invaders and parasites that were living on the resources Italy provided them. Before he perished, however, he managed to pen his thoughts about an ideal form of government in which all men would unite behind one leader, known in his work as the Prince, and bring the country into an era of glory.
             Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy on May 3, 1469, to a jurist who held property and was making a good income. He began his career in politics as the Second Chancery of the Commune in 1494 under the leadership of his teacher Marcello Virgilio Adriani. Marcello rose in ranks to be the Chancellor of the Republic and Machiavelli succeeded to his mentor's old position, becoming the Second Chancellor and Secretary in 1498. This was a position he would have for close to fourteen years, acting in a shrewd manner and demonstrating excellence when it came to difficult negotiation. He learned to ignore everything about human nature except for avarice and selfishness ("Niccolo Machiavelli", Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Diplomatic missions entailed in his job took him to Tuscany, across the Apennines to Rome, and even beyond the Alps. Along the way, he would meet many great political figures of the day, including Countess Caterina Sforza, Pandolfo Petrucci, Louis XII of France, Pope Alexander VI, Pope Julius II, Ferdinand of Aragon, and Emperor Maximilian (Downs, Books That Changed the World, p...