The Church accused Niccolo Machiavelli of being Satan for writing his book The Prince. Machiavelli completed The Prince in 1513. He wrote it as a gift to Lorenzo Medici, called the Magnificent, ruler of Florence. The political views Machiavelli expressed in his book went against the theology of the Church, specifically the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes.

Machiavelli wrote to gain control of a principality one must be brutal. "(I)f you are a prince in possession of a newly acquired state and deem it necessary. . . to annihilate those who can or must attack you. . . ." , you must do so to protect your principality. He gave the example of Duke Valentino's slaying of his nobles to maintain order, saying if Valentino had not killed his men, Valentino would have lost power. The Bible strongly forbids the killing of anyone. The Sixth Commandment states "You shall not murder." In what is known as the Beatitudes, from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the Bible also says those who......

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Title: Was Machiavelli Satan?
Approximate Word Count: 965
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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