Essay Sample on Intellectual History of the Renaissance

Niccolo Machiavelli is one of the greatest contributors in the history of Renaissance, he presents to the public officials and rulers, the precepts that are not inferred from religious doctrines or philosophical dogmata, neither are they derived from the classical consultants. Machiavelli's thoughts on governance are rapt by the experiential findings. Machiavelli edicts encompass instances of best practices both during the ancient and his times. In the formation of Free states, there is a lack of consideration of the rules and the universal laws. Many times, the sphere of governing, inescapably, is one of the improbability when it comes to the formulation of an independent state that can flourish in fortifying liberty for the citizens of the populace. Through the application of empirical judgment, there is always the development of skills that enable people to judge the actions that are most likely to bring results in the actual milieu. Historically, Free states do not arise by every person engaging in the discussions and conferences on how to design them. According to Rousseau, the development of Free states require Deus ex machine, a situation where something originates from history and is set through some extra-ordinary reasons. In other words, Free states exist naturally without forceful transformation as in the case of Venice and Athens. According to Machiavelli, Free states ought to have the essence of independence. In the modern world, many nations claim sovereignty yet they still have some external influences. Many nations only have independence upon the peripheral judgment of some other influences. Free states are not conditioned, but rather, they have predetermined habituation that makes them make autonomous decisions (Skinner 51). In other words, the people and those in authority are not interred in the external servitude. Therefore, Free states do not have a history of colonization, which always rework the traditional governing processes. In the Free states, the decision-making processes are based on the past activities and customs that the citizens allude to.

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In Free states, laws are written stipulated by one single person, a far-sighted legislator who understands the needs and the freedom of the people based on the customs or traditional practices. These laws are often in line with the imposts and the plodding observes borrowed from the bygone performs. The constitution maker then establishes an unwavering charter or social codes that may not be influenced by the external powers. As in the case of Sparta, Lycurgus wrote all the laws that warrant the stable constitution for Sparta as one of the Free States. Therefore, Machiavelli believes that the stable constitution is a guarantee for the liberty of all the present and future citizens of these states. In many countries, the formulation of laws or constitutions takes gradual approaches. There is the collection of ideas over time to frame social codes or the systems of laws, as in the case of Rome. According to Machiavelli, these are not Free states as they tend to borrow more information from the external sources including the superior states. In Rome, legislators got different bits of codes and placed them under one document as time and occasion arose. The whole process does not incorporate what every prudent legislator may recognize as the successful state formation as there is no observation of the cynical patterns of historical practices or the repeating cycles of events.

For the states to succeed in securing the liberty of all the present and future citizens, the formulation of laws or the constitutions needs to take consideration of the cynical patterns of the nation's history. The Free states are entirely depended on the common laws that govern the liberty of the citizens. The authorities or the external forces should not influence the formulation, they should be based on the empirical studies of the practices as in the case of Polybius, who observed the growth of the Roman Empire from the second century. In the above case, Polybius can be acknowledged as a prudent legislator capable of coming up with an autonomous thought into the kind of laws that should guide the Free States. Frequently, states are unable to achieve their autonomy or independence as a result of the founding authorities that take different forms, aristocracy, monarchial and popular governance systems. Therefore, while formulating laws, these authorities may not follow the cynical patterns of history.

Machiavelli's approaches to defining Free states correspond to the Marchmont Nedhan, who believe that the development or formation of free states is an irreversible historical process. The process that is often instigated by the founding fathers of a republic and decides one person, prudent legislature to use the historical or past practices to influence the direction of a country. In most cases, it becomes very difficult for the subsequent authorities to violate the laws as they take into consideration different factors and policies of different regimes. Polybius, at the beginning of the second century, saw the need to build a free state in Rome as there was the perfect opportunity before many regimes were established.

Just like Polybius, Plato, and Aristotle, Machiavelli recognizes the fact that in the Free states, there is always political stability, a situation that leads to the protection of liberty among the citizens. However, the dogmatic constancy is brought about by the diverse constitution that incorporates a bit of the principle of the popular government, aristocracy and monarchy (Machiavelli 267). For the emergence of Free States, there is the need for consideration of different matrix to achieve a diverse basis of ruling that ensures that all the rights of freedom are respected. The civil liberty talks about the freedom of people to their property; hence the seizure can only occur under certain circumstances. To avoid illegal seizure, the law enforcement authority is required by law to obtain a search warrant from the judge. Here the police are expected to provide a probable cause supported by clear evidence to show that if the search is conducted, they will probably find the illegal drugs or evidence of the crime. In the Free States, there is the respect of civil liberty; people tend to respect the law and to take part in governance (Machiavelli 241).

To secure liberty for citizens, Free States are stable politically, with the presence of a diverse constitution that is binding. Through the constitution, there is always a sense of self, a situation that leads to that state of legiore, the ordinances, laws, and the orders that are built over a period following the historical practices and perceptions. Citizens in these States or nations enjoy a long period of civil liberty and political stability. In the Free states, there are autonomous laws are the key to how citizens become good. A good constitution helps in shaping people to become good citizens. In Machiavelli's Free states, there is a constant vigilance required from the citizens; there is a lack of the desire to dominate and therefore, there is no struggle for power as has been experienced in some democracies across the globe.

According to Machiavelli, Free states succeed in the security liberty of their citizens as they tend to use religious laws and observations. For instance, religious practices in Rome made it become a free state. King Numa adopted the policy of multi-religious practices, a situation that influenced the production of good citizens. Religions enhance the maintenance of a civilized state, a scenario that leads to the freedom or liberty of all the citizens. For many centuries, Free States have constitutions that tend to demand fear of God (Machiavelli 111). Over the years, religion has been used to define civil life; therefore, under for the state, it can be used to mold character and the behaviors of the people to increase the freedom of others. Frequently, lawlessness is aided by the citizens themselves specifically in countries where there are tribes from different origins. Religion creates a sense of identity and creates fear of doing a particular thing or undertaking actions contrary to the requirements of civil liberty. Religion creates fear of breaking pledges, oaths, and pledges to God.

With religious convictions, some constitutional laws become underpinned within the divine authority. Therefore, citizens will often adhere to the constitutions, a situation that leads to the protection of civil liberty. Free states, therefore, incorporate divine interventions, anchored in the laws to keep citizens loyal to the national practices that enhance the common good of a nation (Machiavelli 102). On the other hand, regions are based on cultural practices; therefore, while formulating or designing a constitution, they are naturally integrated. In most cases, each religious teaching often has convincing doctrines that resonate with societal practices. As a result, individuals may become convinced of practices undertaken by two or more religions. In most cases, an individual can take diverse philosophical approaches to the diversity created by religious practices. According to religious pluralism, all religions are equally valid, a scenario that may bring theological implications.

In conclusion, Free States could have personalities who may dominate the position of power without following the institutions. They may apply their powers to manipulate citizens and to deny them their rights. In such cases, people may revolt against them in an attempt to restore the constitutional practices that are to the benefits of all. Currently, it is very difficult to find Free states as globalization has created influences on the identity of people in various states. Also, states do not encourage traditional practices that may be binding to the people or citizens. Going by the Machiavelli's definition, today it is very difficult to establish a free state due to the globalization that has influenced traditional and cultural practices. Even though some countries have a history of being recognized as the Free States, the situation has been eroded by the modern practices and political influences characterized by the new world order. Currently, infringement of civil liberty is a common experience due to the lack of strong and independent constitutions. Also, religious practices have been gnarled by the circular observes.

Works Cited

Machiavelli, Niccolo. "Discourses Upon the First Ten Books of Titus Livy." The Prince (2003): 101-131.

Machiavelli, Niccolo. Discourses on livy. University of Chicago Press, 2009.

Skinner, Quentin. Machiavelli. New York: Sterling, 2010. Print.