Abstract

This paper analyzes the development of the Ciceronian topos historia magistra vitae in the work of Niccolò Machiavelli in so far as it brings into play a concept of history which is not involved in the didactic-moralizing role of the humanist tradition, in such a way that the exemplarity of the histories emerges as an essential element for the configuration of an arte dello stato . This formulation of the commonplace in his work is linked to a critical approach to the imitation of ancient times and the examples collected in histories through a double articulation that places him in an eclectic position between classicism and novelty