Machiavellianvirtùand Thucydideanaretē: Traditional Virtue and Political Wisdom in Thucydides

Abstract

This article investigates an oft-alleged kinship between the political thought of Machiavelli and Thucydides concerning “virtue.” In the background is the current debate over whether or not Machiavelli initiates “modern” thought with (among other things) a radically new teaching on “virtue.” Machiavellianvirtùis reprised; Thucydidean attributions ofaretē, catalogued; observations proffered. Then Thucydides' assessment of the career of Nicias is discussed; this, to support the contention that when read in their proper contexts, contexts carefully crafted by Thucydides, Thucydidean attributions ofaretēdo not support the apparent kinship between Thucydides and Machiavelli: Thucydides is not a “Machiavellian.”

Realism, Narrative, and Happenstance: Thucydides' Tale of Brasidas

“…Ultimately, we require either direct, sustained observation of "role models" or apprenticeships under such men, or, failing such opportunity, we require as a substitute at least such stories about them as realists like Hobbes praise and Thucydides and Machiavelli tell, albeit in radically different ways and for significantly different practical and even moral purposes (cf. Kahn 1994, 545-56, 553-54;Palmer 1989).…”

El legado de Tucídides en la cultura occidental: discursos e historia

“…76 Sobre Maquiavelo, cf. Reinhardt (1948), Palmer (1989), Simonetta (1997. 77 Ediciones modernas de la traducción de Tucídides realizada por Hobbes en Schlatter (1972) y Green (1989.…”