学术资讯｜政治哲学工作坊第六十六讲：狮子和狐狸——新君主的特质与色诺芬和普鲁塔克的影响

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Machiavelli’s intention in The Prince was to educate a new kind of statesman who was up to the challenges of the age. The purpose of this education was to develop the kind of practical wisdom which the Greeks called phronesis and the Romans prudential, the ability to choose the right course of action in practical matters. Machiavelli used classical authors to attack the Renaissance tradition of “mirror of princes” and its image of the perfect Christian prince, which relied heavily on Cicero and Augustine. In the (in-)famous chapter 18 of The Prince Machiavelli, in examining the question of how princes should keep their word, recommends to imitate “the lion and the fox”, especially in foreign policy. I will argue that Machiavelli develops here a suggestion coming from Xenophon and Plutarch to counter Cicero’s influential teaching about the necessity of keeping the faith. I will show that Pope Alexander VI is the contemporary example of this conduct: he is admired by Machiavelli for his success.

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马基雅维利在《君主论》中的意图是教育出一种能够应对时代挑战的新型政治家。 这种教育的目的是培养实践智慧，希腊人称之为“phronesis”，罗马人则称其为“prudential”，意为在实践事务中选择正确行动方式的能力。 马基雅维利援引古典作家的资源，抨击了文艺复兴时期的“君王镜鉴”传统及其完美的基督教君主形象。 这种君主形象极大地受到了西塞罗和奥古斯丁的影响。 在《君主论》著名（抑或臭名昭著）的第18章中，在探讨君主应该如何守信时，马基雅维利建议君主应该模仿“狮子和狐狸”，在外交政策中更为如此。 我将论证，马基雅维利在此发展了来自色诺芬和普鲁塔克的建议，以反驳西塞罗颇有影响力的关于守信必要性的教诲。 我将表明，教皇亚历山大六世是在守信行为问题上的典范： 他因其成功而受到马基雅维利的推崇。