DO NOT USE AT KICKAPOO HIGH, SPRINGFIELD MO.

I had Mr. Hockensmith and he might remember my poem.

Niccolo,

To some he is a ruthless but glorious nationalist, to many he is a modern political scientist of behavior persuasion, to others he is an agonized humanist, but to all he must be supreme realist and a universal genius,

Friend of Julius II, accompanying him on his first campain of conquest after watching the Papal election of 1503, Cesare Borgi, another man Niccolo saw much of, even to the extent that they had been traveling together at the time of Borgi's death, Medici, a Florentine family who ruled the city during most of Machiavelli's life, the book "The Prince" was written to them to gain their favor so as Machiavelli could work in politics for them and eventually came to happen,

Lover of the wonderful city, Florence, and anyone who ruled it, a lover of Castracani and his deceptive ways of ruling, and nothing less than a worshiper of the Romans, the greatest empire in his eyes, lasting strong over 1,000 years, a state he would model many ideas from,

Who felt that human nature is pessimistic and that no man can be trusted, Machiavelli felt that "talented and ambitious men should rule - regardless of wealth or social class and that those less talented should obey"(Gilbert 187), he also felt that his ideas could unite Italy and renew the power which Rome once held, only under one of the most powerful leaders such as Borgi,

Who needed political offices to spread his ideas and influence the government as he wished, a man who needed at the very least to survive his tortures and imprisonment after being accused of participation in a conspiracy and failed coupe in the year 1513, to go on and write his book "The Prince",

Who gave a whole new set of ideas on how to rule over the "not so perfect population" by using decietful methods, and a person who gave his time in numerous diplomatic sessions to the Italian states, a historian who gave the "History of Florence",

Who feared that his great country of Italy would never unite and would be overrun by foreign governments, a man who feared being a nobody, Machiavelli wanted to be someone who did something positive for the state and he wasn't worried about being famous,

Who would have liked to see Italy united (this never happened untill after his death in 1527), a man who would have liked to see himself rise high in political power but had to settle for the diplomatic and advisitory jobs he could get, he also wanted to see his ideas used full-heartedly by Lorenzo the Great,

Resident of Florence, Italy (although not yet unified)

Machiavelli