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Ancients and Moderns under the Empire of Circe: Machiavelli’s The Ass, Commentary3 0 9nature, when unobstructed, is directed toward the good as the pig conceivesit as its proper end. Nothing in the nature of things, therefore, compels manto evil. Man in his immorality is contra naturam. Man is perversely evil.Man’s perverse or unnatural malice is shown in his migrations, whichrun directly contrary to those of the beasts. Animals flee insalubrious climatesto seek out friendly sites, “as nature who teaches this desires”; whereasmen leave a healthy climate for one that is “rotten and sickly.” What compelsthem to this imprudent behavior is their “dishonest appetite for having”(VIII.49–66). Man’s avarice drives him to actions that run against the grainof the teaching of nature. The superior natures of the beasts are also on displaywhen it comes to the strength and courage they exhibit, both of whichmanifest themselves simply as an abundance of spirit and an inability toendure slavery. 65 Man cannot hope to live up to the standard set by certainbeasts in this regard unless, like the Romans, they are driven on by a “hopefor triumph or other glory” (VIII.67–81).Man’s avarice and his pride are condemned by the pig as vicious in comparisonto the natural prudence and courage of the beasts. The pig echoesthe doctrine of Dante’s Ciacco, who also condemns the Florentines—and byimplication all men—for their pride, envy, and avarice (Inferno, Canto 6).But just as in the case of Ciacco’s account of the corruption of Florence, thepig condemns men for those passions that, though “unnatural,” neverthelesslie at the foundation of political life and that, when properly developed anddirected, provide for the freedom and greatness of the city. Praising natureand the beasts, the pig condemns the political life of men. It is man’s politicalcharacter that he judges to be perverse in relation to a nature reinterpreted onthe basis of a “pure” or severe, and in any case antipolitical, morality. It is not,however, only his political character that the pig condemns in his condemnationof man’s desires for limitless wealth and eternal fame. These desirespoint in the direction of man’s more essential trait: his limitless desire foreternal truth.That the pig finds this aspect of the human equally culpable is made clearwhen he turns to boast of the superiority of the beasts when it comes to the65The pig here abstracts completely from the case of domesticated animals, among which he, ofcourse, must be numbered, despite his dreams of wild freedom. The domesticated animals have, byhis account, sold their birthright for a mess of potage. All “animals,” through the power of Circe’senchantments, however, have now been domesticated. The pig cannot consistently defend the superiorcourage of the “beasts,” that is, the inhabitants of Circe’s realm or the Christian faithful. When itcomes to courage he hasn’t got a leg to stand on, let alone four.