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Ancients and Moderns under the Empire of Circe: Machiavelli’s The Ass, Commentary2 9 3ful. The landscape has been left open to chance “floods” that may sweepeverything before them. We must return to this issue in due course.For the moment let us direct our attention to Machiavelli’s description ofancient wisdom or the beautiful woman as she appears for the first time to ourhero. She is portrayed as both “fresh” (fresca) and “vivacious” (frasca). She isyoung or new and, in the fullness of her life, inviting and alluring. Her blondehair is “disheveled,” that is, unrestrained by the conventions of the coiffeuse(II.49–51). So-called ancient wisdom is perpetually “young,” or new, becausethe revelation of nature must always appear radically novel in the context ofthe conventional suppression or denial of nature. This is especially true ofthe modern situation. Its novelty must appear shocking and unnerving toall, but it must also appear infinitely alluring to one whose mind is by naturedisposed to follow nature. From the standpoint of the current conventionalorder, however, ancient wisdom’s novelties can only appear “disheveled” orout of place. Indeed, the discovery of nature must always appear as an eruptionor an earthquake destructive of the terrain as conventionally disposed.Philosophy has no choice as to whether its own presence will transform the“status quo.” It can only decide between attempting to control that transformationand letting it take its own unpredictable course.The beautiful woman has come to save the hero from his predicament.But she has not come to usher him out of Circe’s kingdom. On the contrary,she leads him straight to the interior of Circe’s palace. She is, after all, aservant in Circe’s employ (II.115–17): philosophy has been made the handmaidenof Christian theology. 29 Above all, the beautiful woman wishes thehero to know “on what side of ruination” he is and into what land he hasfallen (II.97–99). He will come to know Circe from the inside. She begins bytelling him something of Circe’s history. At one time she had been expelledfrom her “nest” and forced into exile (II.100–101). With the destruction of thesecond temple and the sack of Jerusalem the Christian sect was transferredabroad and under the pressure of persecution it was forced underground. It iscertainly the case that the power that effected that persecution looked uponthe Christian sect as “an enemy of men” and a fugitive from “all human societyand law” (II.106–11). The beautiful woman merely echoes the descriptionsof Tacitus, Celsus, Julian, and Porphyry. Once “Jove,” that is, the Christian29She is one, if first among equals, of a number of “maidens” who are also compelled to do the biddingof Circe—the various disciplines and sciences of antiquity are subordinate to the queen of thesciences. Law, history, astronomy, even mathematics have been made instrumental to the peak ofChristian science and education: theology (Discourses, 2.5).