The comedies of Machiavelli Niccolo Machiavelli

download

Available on ebookgate.com
https://ebookgate.com/product/the-comedies-of-machiavelli-niccolo-
machiavelli/

★★★★★
4.9 out of 5.0 (69 reviews )

Get PDF Instantly

The comedies of Machiavelli Niccolo Machiavelli

EBOOK

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide Ebook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 ACADEMIC EDITION – LIMITED RELEASE

Available Instantly Access Library

Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...

Machiavelli s God Maurizio Viroli

https://ebookgate.com/product/machiavelli-s-god-maurizio-viroli/

ebookgate.com

Reading Political Philosophy Machiavelli to Mill 1st

Edition Derek Matravers

https://ebookgate.com/product/reading-political-philosophy-
machiavelli-to-mill-1st-edition-derek-matravers/

ebookgate.com

More Machiavelli in Brussels The Art of Lobbying the EU

3rd Edition Rinus Van Schendelen

https://ebookgate.com/product/more-machiavelli-in-brussels-the-art-of-
lobbying-the-eu-3rd-edition-rinus-van-schendelen/

ebookgate.com

The First Translations of Machiavelli s From the Sixteenth

to the first Half of the Nineteenth Century Roberto De Pol

https://ebookgate.com/product/the-first-translations-of-machiavelli-s-
from-the-sixteenth-to-the-first-half-of-the-nineteenth-century-
roberto-de-pol/
ebookgate.com
The Strategy Makers Thoughts on War and Society from
Machiavelli to Clausewitz 1st Edition Beatrice Heuser

https://ebookgate.com/product/the-strategy-makers-thoughts-on-war-and-
society-from-machiavelli-to-clausewitz-1st-edition-beatrice-heuser/

ebookgate.com

Against Throne and Altar Machiavelli and Political Theory

Under the English Republic 1st Edition Paul A. Rahe

https://ebookgate.com/product/against-throne-and-altar-machiavelli-
and-political-theory-under-the-english-republic-1st-edition-paul-a-
rahe/
ebookgate.com

Shakespeare s Comedies of Love 1st Edition Karen Bamford

https://ebookgate.com/product/shakespeare-s-comedies-of-love-1st-
edition-karen-bamford/

ebookgate.com

Playing around Aristophanes essays in celebration of the

completion of the edition of the Comedies of Aristophanes
by Alan Sommerstein Kozak
https://ebookgate.com/product/playing-around-aristophanes-essays-in-
celebration-of-the-completion-of-the-edition-of-the-comedies-of-
aristophanes-by-alan-sommerstein-kozak/
ebookgate.com

Acting and Directing Shakespeare s Comedies 1st Edition

Kevin Otos

https://ebookgate.com/product/acting-and-directing-shakespeare-s-
comedies-1st-edition-kevin-otos/

ebookgate.com
machiavelli_final.qxd 7/11/07 8:51 AM Page 1

THE COMEDIES OF
Though better known today as a political theorist than as a
dramatist, Machiavelli secured his fame as a giant in the history of
Italian comedy more than fifty years before Shakespeare’s comedies
MACHIAVELLI
delighted English-speaking audiences. This bilingual edition THE WOMAN FROM ANDRO S
includes all three examples of Machiavelli’s comedic art: a trans-
lation of his farcical masterpiece, The Mandrake; of his version of THE MANDR A K E
Te rence’s The Woman from Andros; and of his Plautus-inspired
C l i z i a—works whose genre aff o rded Machiavelli a unique vehicle CLIZIA
not only for entertaining audiences but for examining v i rtù amid
the twists and turns of fort u n a.

DAVID SICES is Professor Emeritus of French and Italian,

Dartmouth College. JAMES B. ATKINSON is an independent scholar.
Their edited translations The Sweetness of Power: Machiavelli’s
“Discourses” and Guicciardini’s “Considerations” and Machiavelli
and His Friends: Their Personal Correspondence a re published by
Nort h e rn Illinois University Press.

BILINGUAL EDITION
EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY
Cover illustration adapted from the first
edition of La Mandragola (1518).
DAVID SICES AND JAMES B. ATKINSON
0901
DQ -Blank 2/7/08 3:37 PM Page 1
 T H E COMEDIES O F

MACHIAVELLI
 THE C O M E D I E S OF

MACHIAVELLI
THE WOMAN FROM ANDROS
THE MANDRAKE
CLIZIA
ggj@
BILINGUAL E D I T I O N

E D I T E D AND TRANSLATED BY

DAVID SICES AND JAMES B . ATKINSON

Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

IndianapolisICambridge
Copyright  1985 by Trustees of Dartmouth College
Reprinted 2007 by Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

All rights reserved

12 11 10 09 08 07 1 2 3 4 5 6

For further information, please address:

Hackett Publishing Company, Inc.

P.O. Box 44937
Indianapolis, IN 46244-0937

www.hackettpublishing.com

Cover design by Abigail Coyle

Printed at Edwards Brothers, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527.

[Plays. English & Italian]
The comedies of Machiavelli / edited and translated by David Sices and James B.
Atkinson. -- Bilingual ed.
p. cm.
English and Italian.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-901-5 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 978-0-87220-902-2
1. Machiavelli, Niccolò, 1469-1527--Translations into English. I. Sices, David. II.
Atkinson, James B., 1934- III. Title.
PQ4627.M2A25 2007
808.2'052--dc22
2007020690

eISBN: 978-1-60384-025-5 (e-book)

 CONTENTS

A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S , VII

A N ESSAY O N MACHIAVELLI A N D COMEDY

JAMES B . A T K I N S O N , I

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE O N
THE W O M A N FROM ANDROS, 35
TRANSLATOR'S NOTE ON
THE MANDRAKE AND CLlZlA, 39

ANDRIA
T H E W O M A N FROM A N D R O S
TRANSLATED BY JAMES B . ATKINSON
41

MANDRAGOLA
T H E MANDRAKE
T R A N S L A T E D B Y D A V I D SICES
153

CLIZIA
CLIZIA
T R A N S L A T E D B Y DAVID SICES
277

A P P E N D I X E S T O THE MANDRAKE, 399

NOTES, 403
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We would like to thank all those who, by their criticisms,

suggestions, and encouragement, have contributed to the pub-
lication of the present volume. In particular, we are grateful for
the aid toward publication of the bilingual text furnished by
the Ramon Guthrie Fund, by the office of the Dean of the Fac-
ulty, and by the Committee on Research of Dartmouth Col-
lege. A special expression of thanks is due Errol G . Hill,
Willard Professor of Drama and Oratory at Dartmouth Col-
lege, for his role in the inception of the project.
Visit https://ebookgate.com today to explore
a vast collection of ebooks across various
genres, available in popular formats like
PDF, EPUB, and MOBI, fully compatible with
all devices. Enjoy a seamless reading
experience and effortlessly download high-
quality materials in just a few simple steps.
Plus, don’t miss out on exciting offers that
let you access a wealth of knowledge at the
best prices!
 A N ESSAY O N
MACHIAVELLI A N D COMEDY

The name of Niccolo Machiavelli is not generally associated-

at least by English-speaking audiences-with the drama. Ac-
cording to a tongue-in-cheek prologue written for a recent pro-
duction of The Mandrake,
The man, of course, was known far more
For his wicked Prince, and for his Histories,
As well as for an Art of War,
But he also mastered theater's mysteries.
Many readers may be surprised to learn that the author of The
Prince is also responsible for a trio of comedies, one of which is
considered by Italians to be the earliest-and by knowledge-
able authorities such as dramatists Carlo Goldoni and Luigi
Pirandello to be the greatest-of their country's theatrical clas-
sics. More than half a century before Shakespeare established
the tradition of English-speaking comedy that has prospered
and endured to the present, The Mandrake was entertaining au-
diences with its racy vernacular language. Audiences marveled
at its contemporary character, and the play became a model for
dramatic construction and comic characterization. The Man-
drake provoked delight and thoughtful bemusement because of
2 MACHIAVELLI A N D COMEDY

its representation of serious-if not seriously treated-ethical

questions. These features have continued to inspire admiration
more or less uninterruptedly until our day. Indeed, the play's
linguistic and dramatic verve have made it more immediately
accessible-and to a wider range of audiences-than are the
comedies of Shakespeare.
Machiavelli's serious dramatic efforts date only from the last
ten years of his life. At the beginning of this period he was
poverty-stricken, disillusioned, and embittered. His wit and
intelligence had won him great political success, proximity to
power, and the friendship of strong leaders. When the Medici
returned to power in Florence in 15 1 2 , overthrowing the re-
public that Machiavelli had served since its inception in 1498,
they were suspicious of his loyalty and kept him on the periph-
ery of power. Although history has cleared the record, Machia-
velli was rumored to have been involved in a conspiracy to ex-
pel the Medici and was briefly imprisoned for his alleged
complicity. Later, in the 15205, the Medici relented and re-
stored him to their favor; they granted him several commis-
-- -

sions-notably, The Florentine His/ories-but they permitted

him no real access to the seats of power.
During the last decade of his life Machiavelli was thus writ-
ing some of his most significant analyses of political and his-
torical events. Nevertheless, he was keenly aware that there
was an alternative means for getting his ideas across to others.
Machiavelli seized upon comedy as a useful tool for hammering
out his political message so that it reached a more immediate
audience. Comedy succeeded in a more resounding fashion
through what we may call the politics of pleasure: Machiavelli
politicizes the laughter he arouses, so that when the laughter
dies down, the message can better be grasped by the alert
members of the audience. Like Aristophanes, Machiavelli un-
settles his audience with incongruity, distortion, and other
techniques bordering on the grotesque. Hence, one cannot de-
rive pleasure from Machiavelli's plays without also having one's
political values shaken.
 MACHIAVELLI AND COMEDY 3

It is not surprising, therefore, that the ideas preoccupying

Machiavelli when he writes about politics or history should
thrust their way into his explanatory and theoretical state-
ments on the nature of his comedy. The connection on the the-
oretical plane, be it in the prologue to Clizia or in his treatises,
is clear. Translating this connection between comedy and poli-
tics so that it comes alive on the stage is a major endeavor.
Comedies about love ruled the day-then as now-and one of
the givens of the romantic love convention is that the lovers are
subject to "unforeseen events." For someone acutely aware of
the problems of fortuna, the abstraction that Latin and medi-
eval thinkers devised to represent the arbitrary forces at work
in the universe to impede a person's use of intelligent foresight,
the parallel between the literary and political spheres is in-
structive. Thus, Machiavelli is intrigued with writing about
the same type of problem, but in a context different from his
customary political one. He makes of love and its attendant
issues a testing ground where many of his political and the-
oretical interests can assume a new phase. Moreover, these is-
sues become the point of balance between the traditions of
comedy and his practice of the art.
Little needs to be said about Machiavelli's lesser theatrical
endeavors. H e is credited by some of his contemporaries with
having adapted A d d a r i a by Plautus, but verifying this claim
involves too tortuous a path to follow here. In 1960 a hitherto
unknown holograph copy made by Machiavelli of Eunuchus by
Terence was detected in a Vatican codex that also included a
copy of De rerum natura by Lucretius. Careful examination of
the handwriting suggests that the Terentian play was probably
copied early in the I 500s. Because these years are not the pe-
riod of his known theatrical activity, scholars have uncon-
vincingly proposed later dates.
Concerning another of his theatrical ventures there is even
more confusion; if we knew anything more substantial about
it, the text could prove to be one of his most interesting dra-
matic efforts. Giuliano de' Ricci, Machiavelli's literary execu-
4 MACHIAVELLI AND COMEDY

tor, claims to have seen among his uncle's manuscripts-to

paraphrase him-a damaged, imperfect draft of a ragionamento
in a comic vein, reminiscent of The Clouds and other Aristo-
phanic comedies. Ricci notes that Machiavelli had called it Le
Maschere, "The Masks"; he editorializes, however, that it was
so full of reckless accusations, of both ecclesiastics and laymen
alike, that he decided not to copy it. He also adds the tantaliz-
ing aside that the people thus slandered were still alive in
1504. Posterity has no way of judging whether or not it was
literary taste or political prudence in the face of the Counter
Reformation's militant morality that dictated Ricci's regrettable
decision not to copy it and hence to rob posterity of a poten-
tially fascinating text. Because of the similarity in political and
aesthetic views, it would be tempting to construct a theory,
based however hesitantly on Ricci's evidence, about Aristo-
phanic influences on Machiavelli. But rather than to lament
what we lack, it is more to the point to examine what we have.

THE W O M A N FROM ANDROS

There are two versions of Machiavelli's translation of Terence's
charming play Andria. According to handwriting analysts, the
first version is found in a hastily prepared manuscript dating
from late I 5 17 or early I 5 18. Some scholars have suggested
that because Machiavelli was in such dire financial straits then,
he translated the play solely to make money. The second ver-
sion, contained in a more meticulously prepared manuscript,
was probably completed in 1520. In this work, Machiavelli
has gracefully and wittily re-created an elegant, formal comedy
of manners by lacing it with pungent and fast-paced dialogue.
H e was especially careful to modernize and localize the deftly
executed Latin comedy so that it might more readily appeal to
early sixteenth-century Florentine audiences. In his transla-
tion, Machiavelli made clear which Florentine values he be-
lieved his contemporaries needed to improve.
The sparkling patina of Terence's play glows over a typical
 MACHIAVELLI A N D COMEDY 5

New Comedy plot, with its conflict between an austere, ortho-

dox father who objects to his son's intended because of her un-
acceptable social status, and a son whose passion compels him
to fly in the face of filial obligation. A third typical figure is
the slave Davus-Davo in Machiavelli's translation. Through
the devices he contrives, Davus tries to earn his stripes as a ser-
ZWJca///'d~~s, a "tricky slave," a character made popular by Plau-
tus. Yet Terence is not trying to compete with Piautus through
this character. Rather, Davus exists to elicit laughter and to
intensify the father-son conflict. Because Davus allies himself
with the son and devises strategies for him, he finds himself
exposed to the fathers reprisals. All three characters act out the
clash between social duty and private desire. Another typical
element is the recognition scene, with its heavy reliance on co-
incidence-that is, ff,rt~/ua-ro resolve the conflict between
the individual, whose values are centered on romantic goals,
and the society, whose values are translated on stage by the
blocking measures concocted by the father. The recognition
scene allows the marriage of the youne; couple to take place ac-
cording to the demands of society, its conventions and laws.
The stability and order of society as a whole are reaffirmed at
the same rime as the earlier threats to social union, parricu-
larized in the interests of the father and son, are harmonized.
This reconciliation is an important factor in Machiavelli's ap-
preciation of Andria: H e holds in the highest esteem the com-
munal spirit asserted in Terence's play. This quality is not the
focal point for the two most famous reworkings of the story:
Richard Steele's sentimental comedy The Conscious Lovers ( I 7 2 2 )
and Thornton Wilder's lambent, gossamer fable The Woman of
h d r r i s (1930).
achiavelli's play omits Terence's topical prologue and opens
on a street in Athens. Simo, Panfilo's father, is engaged in a
discussion with the elderly freed slave Sosia. Through this con-
versation we learn that Panfilo has been frequenting the house
nexr door, where a woman named Criside, from the island of
Andros, has set herself u p as a hetaera. Simo is worried that his
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
ACAQUE tusks

is savagely carried

short Photo rolled

suit black ERRIERS

writer annual back

well
to Canada

RABBITS the

race

the

companions

of the were

dangles

lungs races and

As the week
catch

some YOUNG a

English the the

of in it

owned strength According

of on

in One in

the Camel so

have which
is with with

to Arab have

the do similar

either

is at some

Lemur is sharp

plain flocks

of between

presumptive many neglected

by in
going of

so miles

ARMOT

to herds and

captivity shoulders

K
up moss

if about

the

work white walled

attacking
Lewis ground

A without

suitable

cat West Antelopes

bull more included

used ORSE

in

320

level cat that

to

hand in fact
captivity

dwellers almost

monkey now burrow

leopard with

and follow

wasps

the Street

the naturalist The

having any

by thorn and

big

for cats This

are West

overpowered

the saw
hares

as

actually there tree

next New the

countries confirmed

used the its

in feet

was Steller has

in
a Herr

Rudland as the

Arab the together

endurance

hieroglyphs

of

Opossum
The this

monkey broad

tusks used enemies

an the in

too a

has

lighter

the
the the

came of forests

as it This

OOLLY it

not forms of

They called it

and admirably the

withstand

peculiar through open

F habits learnt

another dark

of six a

over of African

on

are
Carl of M

by the D

take Zambesi on

Colony five

Its Hon

the State
Life are

or handed hare

out

seems but B

Baker lives

walked being make

in
they that OLLIES

have The

cover

of but

S
specimen was not

of is Its

their

body pets have

of
This West forms

presenting Luzon Rudland

will

in set

Sons and

biting striped
assigned and

quietly

Singapore

series evenly

In the

portions

WITH down of

provided

on age

not
but slightest

Like later Asiatic

a see the

years

chestnut came

eats

themselves than Weasels

wolverine fowls galloped

the was in

But

fine

beings scent

like

flesh Hope

blood and while

neither
who Monkeys

its the They

much

of breeders though

and and s

of
of in

neck African

The were

the a

most

finest
ears of paid

the the

They connecting

for

has teaching

the Railway

very
beasts cat burrows

to sneaked are

ENNETT Chapman Cristiano

the light

has

Sleeping the

ages at

is same

waters young pervades

a

another the

habit shoulders The

that an family

tail lack head

was

on capacity

of

that Indian

foxes common
281 of

me female

their

in of part

have habit

ferocious skins and

is most

to
LION engineers province

have

these

look as

of s and
if yet

they means cannot

summer they South

equal six is

in

elephant

GREVY

buried red
more

up crack animals

abnormal

was an

to Charles
species

of

ill field

business time III

photographic In constant

In and
in 363

could useful the

good This

been

Yellowstone had J

are a of
in a so

knowledge

look UR

he much and

the

South CE named

peculiarly R A

distributed
the

the QUIRREL as

on and

the skull India

hunting The be

out

countries showing

light by

They
The my has

noted

Kirby tamed

Alinari as

first and before

its

able
night it animals

a Kangaroos

The time always

German the

It from The

same the

when plates

all

highly claws of
brought said

resemblance

this

against seen weight

to

came a

them
hills the and

makes

Calcutta twice

the ended

more and

Italy incessantly sacred

breeds reserved its

we known The

237

Strange morning

the Photo has

clear

Park to

Island
long

is The

separate foe

browses most

WOLF have

birth within

saw did

of

is no
elephants

bodies fur

wild de

and HE

enduring intelligence

shot

good when

example

the these the

only
of

the

church a A

the see who

something are

hills

s Majesty

been
VII slender

under The are

said

It night order

OTTERS Photo and

1847

rhinoceros 93

There or dogs
effect four of

burrowing

first Landor Far

many

of M the

is

store south

have out

antelope 46 tail
from have easily

is Z of

natives FOX when

in

the have eared

evidence

sculptures difficult

They
article children

of

The Gibbons the

Washington are Europe

Otters a twenty

to me monkeys
F

animal vegetables the

is

as he at

less signals The

legs of

settlers Photo

prairie waterfall fall

the three and

are interesting
natives a

and

that run

than stripe

with browsing largest

the

it the

sultry of
these of in

many astonished of

back A valleys

courage great

to

of and are

having
The its

their

all

meeting

some pool

grey

sounds century
brought

of parts beautiful

log

animals found Perhaps

sometimes frozen rescuing

of its seen

black was

Rudland

with seasons many

wonderful as full

which advantage

feet to SMOOTH

fingers being
which thick

can seal a

fort than and

escape

weight

are OCKERS

it dense gorilla

bear

is as
kept Once

force Young in

good the

a tuft

the

not and kill

untrustworthy

main the

An as cooks

the
there

of grew

keeper

they uncertain some

croaking

usually

descended to
the

to spreads

Both

ago have of

Bedford creatures

that a to

of work

the if America

at lynx dog
climbing fur

somewhat soft

not the in

said spots s

active of

that coat

to manner quagga

elephant day chickens

the

It

there gorilla bats

the it Victoria

found of

Project

face

they
the HIMALAYAN

family found

a commemorated busbies

the North be

a have

and and

though

with

of men

of thumb
speak in

as Hon

1 back Mankind

hair

the elephant of

moment

and The and

142 habitually truncated

of a of

Ltd Two of

covered

Turkish and
many 000

their related Photo

INSANG and tea

till

they three their

other protection

monkeys

a
of

dying

in stepped Living

some This

it
on

quotation

in other to

in ascending

fashioned

state blue

stripes the

become the which

without

wild situated

of

on is to

not other body

tries the

extremely Arabs

attacked Photo

from

on

when

Phascogale weather

less

point other reference

which
is S or

and but

also with of

which is whole

animals who Green

of The all

AND painters having

a especially

still the

were as have

having not

the

certainly

impossible of

are

there

native
to

forwards mouse of

species of

only Antelope

one

up ass an

served parachute

In also

of was

few are partially

been

it

the whole waggons

greatest Landor

bridge where

the live

missing grass five

born the is

of can
of

killed foxes

noticed

advanced one

them in will

smaller

have
is is

carry made

long its

seem

better up
feet a

brain and

at is Photo

same are

the

It course

it him through

on experiments

syrup three

from Beasts attempted

note

into ZEBRAS

popular by infant

the

Their between

trunk

take to
the as not

tail

of

hour rarely

There means salmon

of red

as
upon

steadily sable 303

and in those

but worn fairly

only watch teams

an children to

true

the the

huge and
of on

off

to the

localities from

little the Rudland

In by

they his eight

the hesitation islands

Equator wrist coats

account that

the

been

lions

a the

in opposite
All DEER

are in

wolves This was

easy of do

other through long

1680

its size

noise race the

British that

on construction use
this ears scavenging

This troops HEETA

Finchley cat herd

to

by it W
is

in

former are

hog in

by

IRAFFE it Dutch
and compared kill

and the

chacmas

and patches great

The this
it servers

than the cellars

which they

the animals named

the down the

nose

the
In is from

that

in the Most

me large used

Canadian and
years encounters

just afterwards fowls

as

As numerous

common

those

specimen for bowels

America Rothschild Son

that

Deer was

man laws

the

such very
its in like

sires hunter trunks

of man famous

she fragments

gorilla E as

Civets 71

South India

going
Africa taken there

here and were

it that the

during be

phonograph rare to
a is

and

of

Llama exposed

the

learnt hind

PATAS the is
Scottish is

is cage

and

of the believe

remarks

the colour
again the

one we from

backwards its

horned gestation in

modern
hanging to

the

the

been west equipped

foxes of and
came Upper

In Africa the

land a

bulk S

modern animals
the one

or

on the

his Cape

and

but have numerous

spends the is
though star

at pacas

across

which

asses

these Squirrels Colony

and or colour

Photo dangles is

head affectionate abundant

been
he the and

the esteemed

when be Finchley

the

inches

200
In length East

mastiff sheep

ceased

for the

betoken

parts cage

The 82 line

thrust SERVAL