- Though the later centuries have viewed him unkindly as the manifestation of evil itself, Machiavelli did little to earn this nasty reputation. He was a good citizen, an upright man, and an affectionate husband. Despite this, he was considered so immoral that his name became a synonym for the devil ("Old Nick" is derived from his given name, and "Machiavel" from his surname; both are found in Renaissance literature as names for Satan). Harvey Mansfield, in his book "Machiavelli's Virtue", indexes the word "Machiavellism" as "See also: evil."
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