Theological Origins of Modernity

humanism and the apotheosis of man 89
was overthrown by a coalition of the dominant interest groups he had attacked,
hanged, and then burned at the stake. His failure was a lesson well
learned by men such as Machiavelli, who saw that mere piety—however
intense—was unable to provide a stable basis for human sociality.
With the downfall of Savonarola, Piero Soderini (1450–1513) came to
power and the Florentine republic was reestablished. It was in this republic
that Machiavelli fi rst came to public attention, serving as second chancellor.
Machiavelli’s father had been a notary in the tradition of the Dictatores
and was a friend of the Florentine Chancellor Bartolomeo Scala (1430–97).
He did his utmost to see that his son received a humanist education that
would prepare him for a similar public career.
Th e Medicis’ support for Florentine humanism had turned it in a more
Platonic and less republican direction. Th ey generally favored the production
of an educated elite dedicated to the vita contemplativa, rather
than practically minded republicans who might oppose their rule. Ficino
was the preeminent example of such an abstracted “Platonic” humanist.
Th is approach was still regnant in the last years of their rule when Angelo
Poliziano (1454–94), a student of Ficino and Christoforo Landino (1424–98),
championed a humanism at the Studio that subordinated all other subjects
to the study of various sorts of literary works. However, even he turned
in a somewhat less Platonic direction, giving precedence to the study of
history over poetry and philosophy. Aft er the downfall of the Medici, humanist
education took an increasingly practical turn. Polziano’s successor
at the Studio was Marcello Virgilio. He was an Aristotelian and thus found
the fl ight from political life to the Platonic ideal deplorable. 66 In contrast
to Poliziano, he emphasized the importance of the studia humanitatis for
politics rather than literature, and of the vita activa rather than the vita
contemplativa. He thus saw utility as more important than pure learning
and sought to produce men of action rather than men of thought. 67
Under Soderini, he served as fi rst chancellor and was thus Machiavelli’s
colleague.
Machiavelli was drawn toward a more practical humanism, but he also
pursued a life of reading and writing. He considered himself a statesman
and a poet. In both, however, he was a realist and had little use for Platonism
in any form, rejecting out of hand the idealism of Ficino and his
followers. His humanism was thus not Platonic or Augustinian but Roman.
Even in his admiration for the Romans, however, his thought moves away
from the earlier humanist admiration for Roman moralists in favor of Roman
statesmen and historians. Livy and Tacitus were thus of much greater
importance to him than Cicero or Seneca. He was also less concerned with