2. 外语
  3. No man has been more harshly judged than Machiavelli, especially in the two centuries following his death. But he has since foun

No man has been more harshly judged than Machiavelli, especially in the two centuries following his death. But he has since foun

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问题     No man has been more harshly judged than Machiavelli, especially in the two centuries following his death. But he has since found many able champions and the tide has turned. The Prince has been termed a manual for tyrants, the effect of which has been most harmful. But were Machiavelli’s doctrines really new? Did he discover them? He merely had the frankness and courage to write down what everybody was thinking and what everybody knew. He merely gives us the impressions he had received from a long and intimate intercourse with princes and the affairs of state. It was Lord Bacon who said that Machiavelli tells us what princes do, not what they ought to do. When Machiavelli takes Caesar Borgia as a model, he does not praise him as a hero at all, but merely as a prince who was capable of attaining the end in view. The life of the state was the primary object. It must be maintained. And Machiavelli has laid down the principles, based upon his study and wide experience, by which this may be accomplished. He wrote from the view-point of the politician—not of the moralist. What is good politics may be bad morals, and in fact, by a strange fatality, where morals and politics clash, the latter generally gets the upper hand. And will anyone contend that the principles set forth by Machiavelli in his Prince or his Discourses have entirely perished from the earth? Has diplomacy been entirely stripped of fraud and duplicity? Let anyone read the famous eighteenth chapter of The Prince: "In what Manner Princes should Keep their Faith, " and he will be convinced that what was true nearly four hundred years ago, is quite as true today.
    Of the remaining works of Machiavelli the most important is the History of Florence written between 1521 and 1525, and dedicated to Clement VH. This book is merely a rapid review of the Middle Ages, and as part of it the history of Florence. Machiavelli’s method has been criticized for adhering at times too closely to the chroniclers of his time, and at others rejecting their testimony without apparent reason, while in its details the authority of his History is often questionable. It is the straightforward, logical narrative, which always holds the interest of the reader, that is the greatest charm of the History.
The author’s opinion on Machiavelli’s History of Florence is that_________.
选项 A、history has much to do with the person who records it
B、the charm lies in the style rather than in the content
C、most people failed to read Machiavelli’s intention in it
D、any history of this kind should be written in this way
答案B
解析 由文章最后一段可知，作者提出了马基雅维利在内容上的缺陷，即“…adhering at times too closely to the chroniclers of his time，and at others rejecting their testimony without apparent reason…”，意思是“文章中有时候太过于附和他所在时代的编年史，而有时候又坚决抛弃其中的论断，而没有给出任何明显的理由……”。而文章最后一句作者表明“It is the straightforward，logical narrative，which always holds the interest of the reader，that is the greatest charm of the History．”意思是：“他直接的、有逻辑的叙述常常能引起读者的兴趣，这就是这本书的魅力所在。”可见，作者认为这本书内容上有缺陷，而对马基雅维利的语言风格持肯定态度。所以，作者对《佛罗伦萨史》的看法就是：这本书的魅力在于他的文体风格而不是内容，故选B。
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