Machiavelli's God

The sermon-like quality of this book manifests itself in the constant reiteration of its central arguments; the frequent merging of the author's voice with that of Machiavelli and of later "prophets" of Italian rebirth; a certain insouciance regarding accuracy (e.g., the first publication of Machiavelli's Florentine Histories [p. 35] and the composition of Savonarola's treatise on government [p. 163] are misdated); and a general indifference to historical clarity (e.g., a 1529 speech is characterized as a "significant document of [Florence's] republican religion" [p. 168], while on the next page Florence in the late 152Os is said to have witnessed a "decline in the faith in a God who loved republics").