The Prince — Page 3
His youth was concurrent with the greatness of Florence as an Italian power under the guidance of Lorenzo de' Medici, Il Magnifico.
La sua giovinezza fu contemporanea alla grandezza di Firenze come potenza italiana sotto la guida di Lorenzo de' Medici, il Magnifico.
The downfall of the Medici in Florence occurred in 1494, in which year Machiavelli entered the public service.
La caduta dei Medici a Firenze avvenne nel 1494, anno in cui Machiavelli entrò al servizio pubblico.
During his official career Florence was free under the government of a Republic, which lasted until 1512, when the Medici returned to power, and Machiavelli lost his office.
Durante la sua carriera ufficiale Firenze fu libera sotto il governo di una Repubblica, che durò fino al 1512, quando i Medici tornarono al potere e Machiavelli perse il suo incarico.
The Medici again ruled Florence from 1512 until 1527, when they were once more driven out.
I Medici governarono nuovamente Firenze dal 1512 al 1527, quando furono nuovamente cacciati.
This was the period of Machiavelli's literary activity and increasing influence; but he died, within a few weeks of the expulsion of the Medici, on 22nd June 1527, in his fifty-eighth year, without having regained office.
Questo fu il periodo dell'attività letteraria e della crescente influenza di Machiavelli; ma egli morì, poche settimane dopo l'espulsione dei Medici, il 22 giugno 1527, nel suo cinquantottesimo anno, senza aver riottenuto alcun incarico.
Although there is little recorded of the youth of Machiavelli, the Florence of those days is so well known that the early environment of this representative citizen may be easily imagined.
Sebbene si sappia poco della giovinezza di Machiavelli, la Firenze di quei giorni è così ben nota che l'ambiente dei primi anni di questo cittadino rappresentativo può essere facilmente immaginato.
Florence has been described as a city with two opposite currents of life, one directed by the fervent and austere Savonarola, the other by the splendour-loving Lorenzo.
Firenze è stata descritta come una città con due correnti di vita opposte, una diretta dal fervente e austero Savonarola, l'altra dall'amante dello splendore Lorenzo.
Savonarola's influence upon the young Machiavelli must have been slight, for although at one time he wielded immense power over the fortunes of Florence, he only furnished Machiavelli with a subject of a gibe in The Prince, where he is cited as an example of an unarmed prophet who came to a bad end.
L'influenza di Savonarola sul giovane Machiavelli deve essere stata scarsa, poiché sebbene egli abbia esercitato in un certo momento un immenso potere sulle sorti di Firenze, fornì a Machiavelli solo lo spunto per una frecciata nel Principe, dove viene citato come esempio di un profeta disarmato che fece una brutta fine.
Vocabulary
- sua
- His, her, or its (possessive adjective, third person)
- giovinezza
- Youth, the period of being young
- fu
- Was (third person singular past tense of essere)
- contemporanea
- Contemporary, existing or occurring at the same time
- alla
- Contraction of 'a' and 'la', meaning 'to the' or 'at the'
- grandezza
- Greatness, grandeur, or magnificence of something
- Firenze
- Florence, major Italian city in Tuscany
- potenza
- Power, strength, or political might of a state
- sotto
- Under, beneath, below (preposition of position)
- guida
- Guide, leadership, or direction of someone
- de'
- Contraction of 'dei', meaning 'of the' (archaic)
- Magnifico
- The Magnificent, title given to Lorenzo de' Medici
- caduta
- Fall, downfall, or collapse of a person or power
- avvenne
- Happened, occurred (third person singular past tense)
- anno
- Year (unit of time, twelve months)
- cui
- Which, whom (relative pronoun used after prepositions)
- entrò
- Entered, joined (third person singular past tense)
- servizio
- Service, work performed for a government or employer
- pubblico
- Public, relating to the state or community
- Durante
- During, throughout a period of time
- carriera
- Career, professional life or course of work
- ufficiale
- Official, formal; also a government or military officer
- libera
- Free, independent (feminine adjective)
- governo
- Government, the system of ruling a state
- Repubblica
- Republic, a state governed by elected representatives
- durò
- Lasted, endured (third person singular past tense)
- fino
- Until, up to (preposition indicating limit of time)
- quando
- When (conjunction or adverb of time)
- tornarono
- Returned, came back (third person plural past tense)
- potere
- Power, authority; also the verb 'to be able'
- perse
- Lost (third person singular past tense of perdere)
- suo
- His, her, its (masculine possessive adjective)
- incarico
- Position, assignment, or official role given to someone
- governarono
- Governed, ruled (third person plural past tense)
- nuovamente
- Again, once more (adverb indicating repetition)
- furono
- Were (third person plural past tense of essere)
- cacciati
- Expelled, driven out (past participle of cacciare)
- Questo
- This (masculine demonstrative adjective or pronoun)
- periodo
- Period, a specific stretch or span of time
- attività
- Activity, work or productive occupation
- letteraria
- Literary, relating to literature and writing
- crescente
- Growing, increasing (present participle of crescere)
- influenza
- Influence, power to affect others' opinions or actions
- egli
- He (third person masculine singular subject pronoun)
- morì
- Died (third person singular past tense of morire)
- poche
- Few, not many (feminine plural adjective)
- settimane
- Weeks (plural of settimana, unit of seven days)
- dopo
- After, later (preposition or adverb of time)
- espulsione
- Expulsion, the act of forcing someone out officially
- giugno
- June, the sixth month of the year
- cinquantottesimo
- Fifty-eighth (ordinal number indicating position or age)
- senza
- Without (preposition indicating absence or lack)
- aver
- To have (infinitive of avere, used in compound tenses)
- riottenuto
- Regained, obtained again (past participle of riottenere)
- alcun
- Any, no (indefinite adjective, used in negative contexts)
- Sebbene
- Although, even though (concessive conjunction)
- si
- Reflexive pronoun or impersonal subject 'one'
- sappia
- Know (subjunctive of sapere, used in subordinate clauses)
- poco
- Little, not much (adjective or adverb of quantity)
- quei
- Those (masculine plural demonstrative adjective)
- giorni
- Days (plural of giorno, unit of time)
- così
- So, thus, in this way (adverb of manner)
- ben
- Well (adverb, shortened form of bene)
- nota
- Known, noted; also a note or annotation
- ambiente
- Environment, surroundings, or social setting
- primi
- First (masculine plural ordinal adjective)
- anni
- Years (plural of anno, units of time)
- questo
- This (masculine singular demonstrative adjective or pronoun)
- cittadino
- Citizen, a member of a city or state
- rappresentativo
- Representative, typical or characteristic of something
- può
- Can, is able to (third person singular of potere)
- essere
- To be (infinitive of the verb essere)
- facilmente
- Easily, without difficulty (adverb of manner)
- immaginato
- Imagined, pictured in the mind (past participle)
- stata
- Been (past participle of essere, feminine form)
- descritta
- Described (past participle of descrivere, feminine form)
- città
- City, a large urban settlement
- due
- Two (cardinal number)
- correnti
- Currents, trends or tendencies in society or thought
- vita
- Life, the state of being alive
- opposte
- Opposite, contrasting (feminine plural adjective)
- diretta
- Directed, led (past participle of dirigere, feminine)
- fervente
- Fervent, intensely passionate or zealous
- austero
- Austere, severe and morally strict in manner
- altra
- Other, another (feminine singular adjective)
- amante
- Lover, one who loves or is fond of something
- splendore
- Splendor, brilliant beauty or magnificence
- giovane
- Young person, youth (noun or adjective)
- deve
- Must, has to (third person singular of dovere)
- scarsa
- Scarce, limited, or insufficient (feminine adjective)
- poiché
- Since, because (causal conjunction)
- sebbene
- Although, even though (concessive conjunction)
- abbia
- Has (subjunctive of avere, third person singular)
- esercitato
- Exercised, exerted (past participle of esercitare)
- certo
- Certain, a particular (adjective of indefinite reference)
- momento
- Moment, a brief or specific point in time
- immenso
- Immense, enormous, very great in size or degree
- sorti
- Fates, destinies (plural of sorte)
- fornì
- Provided, supplied (third person singular past tense)
- solo
- Only, just; alone (adjective or adverb)
- lo
- Him, it (masculine singular direct object pronoun)
- spunto
- Starting point, cue, or inspiration for something
- frecciata
- Sharp remark, cutting jab or pointed criticism
- Principe
- Prince, also Machiavelli's famous political treatise
- dove
- Where (adverb of place or relative adverb)
- viene
- Comes; is (third person singular present of venire)
- citato
- Cited, mentioned (past participle of citare)
- esempio
- Example, an illustrative case or model
- profeta
- Prophet, one who speaks or acts with divine authority
- disarmato
- Unarmed, lacking weapons or means of defense
- fece
- Made, did (third person singular past tense of fare)
- brutta
- Bad, ugly (feminine adjective, negative outcome)
- fine
- End, conclusion; also fine or thin (noun or adjective)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →