Be Like the Fox: Machiavelli’s Lifelong Quest for Freedom
by Erica Benner
Penguin (28 May 2018)
What’s it about?: A biography of Florentine statesman, diplomat, historian, and political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli. In this text, Erica Benner sets out to counter some of the common misconceptions of the man as a ruthless amoralist, shedding light on his ethical and anti-authoritarian beliefs.
My opinion: FINALLY. I have maintained for years and years that Machiavelli is one of the most grossly misunderstood thinkers of all time, and Be Like the Fox has validated this.
I cannot emphasise enough how overjoyed I am that this book exists, and I extend my utmost gratitude to Benner for writing it. The Prince was mostly satire. If one wants to learn more about what Machiavelli really thought, that they should check out The Florentine Histories. This is what I’ve been telling people, but no, nobody listens to Lawrence. Part of this has to do with the latter text being somewhat dense and inaccessible. Part of it also has to do with people simply not reading Machiavelli, period. Many people – rich and ordinary alike – pretend to have read him, but they haven’t. This biography might just be what we need. The name “Machiavelli” is often associated with scheming and deception, Benner has done a beautiful job in a man who in fact held high moral standards, and sought to restore democratic freedoms in Florence.
Much of Be Like the Fox is drawn from various dialogues and journal entries. Benner takes the reader from Machiavelli’s humble beginnings in his lower-middle class upbringing, to his initial endeavours as part of the political class and Florence’s formation as a republic, to being scapegoated when the republic failed. The backdrop to all of this – political turmoil, corruption in the Church, war, plague, and the beginnings of the Reformation. Benner expertly details the key events experienced, and because of that, one can walk away from this text with a better understanding of Machiavelli’s life and education, and what informed his actual political goals.
Be Like the Fox is an excellent biography that helps us understand one of history’s greatest thinkers in a whole new light. Yes, Machiavelli may have been a political animal, just not in the way that most people think. So, do yourself a favour and learn something from Benner’s text.
Lawrence Deveney 