Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to examine the debate surrounding the charge that Machiavelli is a "teacher of evil". Responding largely to this claim made in Leo Strauss's Thoughts On Machiavelli, this study attempts, first, to evaluate those leading interpretations which not only challenge Strauss's thesis but offer a moral defense of Machiavelli's political prescriptions. ;Moreover, this work attempts to evaluate the adequacy of these various interpretations in light of two of Machiavelli's lesser known literary pieces. Since the debate surrounding the charge of "teacher of evil" has relied largely upon Machiavelli's political works, this study attempts to resolve the debate by using Machiavelli's Exhortation To Penitence and The Life of Castruccio Castracani of Lucca, two pieces whose themes seem to challenge directly Strauss's thesis. ;The Exhortation To Penitence and The Life of Castracani of Lucca were selected because of their respective discussions on the worthiness of penitence and religion, as well as the need to establish a common good. At first blush, these themes seem to negate Strauss's claim that Machiavelli was a "teacher of evil", but upon closer examination, they prove unable to refute Strauss's claim. Moreover, these works help demonstrate the inadequacy of those theoretical interpretations which oppose Strauss's thesis