He who thinks that he is sufficient by force does not belong in the hand of a scepter.

The key work of the chancellor of the Florentine Republic contains political reflections on the mechanisms of the functioning of power. It defines the principles of pragmatic politics aimed at solving the specific problems of the author's time. Machiavelli's ideal was a unified state governed by a wise ruler who should not hesitate to use any means to ensure the welfare of the country. The concept of double morality – private morality and the morality of power – led to him being called a cynic, but he was more concerned with a turning point in the concept of government: the monarch is no longer a servant of God, but a servant of the state, which is a necessary prerequisite for the development of Western democracy. 

Length of recording: 3 hours 35 minutes
Translation: Josef Hajný
Release date: October 2019