五百年来意大利关于马基雅维利《君主论》的研究

Five Hundred Years of Italian Scholarship on Machiavelli’s Prince

马基雅维利的《君主论》在1532年出版之前,以手稿形式在意大利广泛流传。从一开始人们就对它反响不一:一些读者认为它坦率地、间或讽刺地描述了坏统治者使用的罪恶手段,以造福人民;其他人读出了对僭主的邪恶劝告,以帮助他们维持权力。从古至今意大利人对《君主论》的看法揭示出了这本书的多面性:耶稣会成员看到了不敬神和不道德的马基雅维利;启蒙运动和浪漫派读者看到了揭露僭主罪恶行径的人民的共和主义捍卫者;意大利复兴运动期间,读者强调其为意大利的自由而战的公民和爱国者身份;法西斯主义时期,读者则将其视作民族主义作者——认识到人民主权的局限性和武力的必要性。此外,在过去五百年的意大利历史中,还有更多对马基雅维利和《君主论》的不同解读。

Machiavelli's Prince circulated widely in manuscript form in Italy way before its publication in 1532.Its reception was mixed from the start:some readers found in it a frank,sometimes ironic,description for the benefit of the people of the evil means used by bad rulers;others read in it evil recommendations to tyrants to help them maintain their power.The history of the reception of the Prince in Italy discloses a book with many facets:the impious and amoral Machiavelli of the Jesuits;the republican champion of the people,who unveiled the evil practices of tyrants,of the Enlightenment and Romantic readers;the citizen and patriot who fought for the liberation of Italy of the“Risorgimento”;the nationalist author who realized the limits of popular sovereignty and the necessity of force during the Fascist era;and many more Machiavellis and Princes present in Italy in the past five hundred years.