BW18: Machiavellian May

Niccolo Machiavelli

Welcome to Machiavellian May and our theme of all things cunning, conniving and calculating and our author flavors of the month - Dante Alighieri and Marcel Proust.

Yes, I know it seems like an odd mix however we are honoring Niccolo Machiavelli's who was born 546 years ago today; the 750 anniversary of Dante's birthday on May 21st; plus Marcel Proust is included  because I'm doing a readalong of Swann's Way with writing friends so dragging you all along for the ride. *grin*  

Let's define Machiavellian: 

• of, like, or befitting Machiavelli. 

• being or acting in accordance with the principles of government analyzed in Machiavelli's The Prince, in which political expediency is placed above morality and the use of craft and deceit to maintain the authority and carry out the policies of a ruler is described.

• characterized by subtle or unscrupulous cunning, deception, expediency, or dishonesty

According to the 48 Laws of Power and the Machiavellian personality on Psych Forums:

Machiavellianism derives from the views of Prince Machiavelli that a ruler is not bound by traditional ethical norms. A prince, therefore, should only be concerned with power and
be bound only by rules that would lead to success.

Which basically leaves the door wide open to how you interpret it and what you choose to read: Historical or political thrillers, Shakespearean morality plays, or mysteries to name a few. 

I read Dante's Inferno last year and will be delving into Purgatorio this month. Several gals over on the Well Trained Mind boards who didn't read Inferno last year will be jumping into the first book, so join us in reading Dante. 

Marcel Proust has become a curiosity for me and after taking a short story class about him, will be also diving into Swann's Way, the first volume in his epic In Search of Lost Time.  If you are thinking I may have the 'eyes are bigger than her stomach' syndrome, you may be right.  

 “Every reader, as he reads, is actually the reader of himself. The writer's work is only a kind of optical instrument he provides the reader so he can discern what he might never have seen in himself without this book. The reader's recognition in himself of what the book says is the proof of the book's truth.”  ― Marcel Proust, Time Regained

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History of the Midieval World:  Part Three -  New Powers

Chapter 21: The Ostrogoths pp 143 - 149

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BW6: Dante's Inferno

Happy February!   This year marks the 700th Anniversary of Dante Alighieri's Inferno, the first cantica of The Divine Comedy.     Inferno is considered one of the great classics in literature and is on Susan Wise Bauer list of Poetry in Well Educated Mind.  I've never read it, so figured now would be the perfect time.  And as long as we are reading Inferno, why not go to Italy. Plus I'll be continuing with my Centuries challenge and exploring the 13th Century this month.  More on Italy and centuries challenge next week. 

Dante was born 1265 in Florence, Italy.    When he was 9, he met and fell in love with Beatrice Portinari who became his muse and central inspiration for all his major poems,  even after her death in 1290.  At the age of 11, he entered into a marriage contract with Gemma Donati and married her in 1285.  Beatrice continued to be his focus  of his poetry as the ideal lady even though she married and eventually died at the age of 24.  Due to his politics, he was exiled from Florence and eventually made his home in Ravenna. Dante died from Malaria at the age of 56 in 1321.

I'll be reading this version of Dante's Inferno translated by Allen Mandalbaum which has the Italian version on the left facing page and the English translation on the opposite right page. 

You can find out more about Dante and read Inferno online here, here or  here.

Join me in reading Dante's Inferno. 

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