Liberals, by contrast, place their faith in the more generous instincts of humanity, which will flourish if only they are allowed free rein. Conservatives tend to believe that human beings are flawed, limited creatures who need to be strictly disciplined if anything useful is to be squeezed out of them. On the contrary, his drastically low estimate of their abilities is typical of political conservatism. If he thought despots were despicable, it was not because he believed that people could be trusted to run their own lives.

Yet Machiavelli was writing at a time when this ancient humanist heritage was running up against the more sceptical vision of the modern age. You should treat your enemies justly, uphold the rule of law and show respect to others, if only to win them over to your side. The public good took precedence over private interests and political sectarianism. Rulers were not to be deceived by false glory, and high birth was by no means a guarantee of virtue.

As a humanist in the mould of Livy and Cicero, he urged his fellow citizens to question conventional wisdom and take nothing on authority. The renowned 16th-century diplomat and politician was a staunch republican and reformer who denounced corruption in high places and detested tyrants, which was not the best recipe for a quiet life in the Florence of the Medici family. In one sense, to be sure, we have known this all along. It was inevitable, then, that someone would come up with a book arguing that Machiavelli was not Machiavellian.

Be Like the Fox by Erica Benner