Nevertheless: Machiavelli, Pascal

(Paperback)

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Nevertheless comprises essays on Machiavelli and on Pascal. The ambivalent connection between the two parts is embodied by the comma (,) in the subtitle: Machiavelli, Pascal. Is this comma a conjunction or a disjunction In fact, both. Ginzburg approaches Machiavellis work from the perspective of casuistry, or case-based ethical reasoning. For as Machiavelli indicated through his repeated use of the adverb nondimanco (nevertheless), there is an exception to every rule. Such a perspective may seem to echo the traditional image of Machiavelli as a cynical, machiavellian thinker. But a close analysis of Machiavelli the reader, as well as of the ways in which some of Machiavellis most perceptive readers read his work, throws a different light on Machiavelli the writer. The same hermeneutic strategy inspires the essays on the Provinciales, Pascals ferocious attack against Jesuitical casuistry. Casuistry vs anti-casuistry; Machiavellis secular attitude towards religion vs Pascals deep religiosity. We are confronted, apparently, with two completely different worlds. But Pascal read Machiavelli, and reflected deeply upon his work. A belated, contemporary echo of this reading can unveil the complex relationship between Machiavelli and Pascal their divergences as well as their unexpected convergences.

Reviews

A dazzling example of the pleasure of research * Il Foglio *
Ginzburg calls for an intricate reading of Machiavelli. He points out that the link between the author of The Prince and the author of the Provincial Letters is justified by the fact that both pertain to the broad constellation of political theology informed by the exception, the miracle, the unique case imposed on the norm * Il Manifesto *
A treasure hunt in historical sources, forgeries and the reception of texts * Avvenire *
One of world's premier historians. A born detective. * New York Times *
Really quite brilliant -- Jan Machielsen * Times Literary Supplement (for Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf) *

Author Bio

Carlo Ginzburg has been a pioneer of micro-history since his earliest works, The Night Battles and The Cheese and the Worms (the first of his books to appear in English, winning instant acclaim). His latest book is Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf, co-authored with Bruce Lincoln.