Can Evil be Fought with Evil?: Analyzing the Works of Machiavelli, Erasmus, and Montaigne Anonymous College

Viewed through the lens of history, Niccolo Machiavelli, Desiderius Erasmus, and Michel de Montaigne appear to have little in common. Machiavelli’s The Prince is now typically taught as a cruel manual for ungodly dictators and tyrants, while Erasmus is known as one of the great Church reformers, a devout Christian trying to eradicate the evils perpetrated by God’s people. Montaigne, in a departure from both camps, has become famous for his skepticism, deconstructing many things, colonialism and traditional Christian theology included. Yet in the works of these authors lies one underlying similarity which serves to unite them far more than might have been expected. All three view human nature as essentially selfish and, therefore, contemporary societies as essentially corrupt. They believe the corruption of society is a result of the movement of humanity away from the most perfect natural order to a falsely constructed one.

In this, they are also very similar to Boccaccio. Unlike him, however, they place more emphasis on the corrupt natures of the people and the difficulties of being ruler to such a society rather than emphasizing the hypocrisy of the rulers alone. The Decameron and Heptameron seem to view moral transgressions...