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  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 stud-y 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 VII. 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.
According to the author, a politician’s morality
选项 A、is no match for his political ambition.
B、has been undervalued by Machiavelli and his likes.
C、is usually of secondary importance.
D、should be taken as a yardstick of his capability
答案C
解析 该题为细节题。根据第一段倒数第四句，“What is good politics may be bad morals，and in fact，by a strange fatality，where morals and politics dash，the latter generally gets the upper hand．”可知作者认为政治上的好事从道德方面看可能是坏事，事实上，很奇怪的是当道德和政治发生冲突时，往往后者会占据上风。即作者认为对于政治家来说道德往往置于政治之后，处于第二位，故选C。
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