BETWEEN RES PUBLICA, VIRTÚ AND DELETTO

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CONCEPT OF WAR IN MAQUIAVEL

Abstract

This article seeks to present how the concepts of Res publica, virtú and deletto are related in the construction of the idea of war in Niccolo Machiavelli thoughts, and its relations with the states. To do so, the three great political essays of the florentine thinker – the prince, discourses on the first decade of Titus Livius and The Art of War – were considered, in addition to his historical context, humanistic education and trajectory in the Republic of Florence. Machiavelli sought to apply the examples of the Roman republic to his time, and constructed his works guiding them in Greco-Roman concepts like fortuna, virtú, res publica, libertas, among others. Although they are often related to monarchies and tyrannies, Machiavelli's writings present a series of arguments in defense of freedom and the republic. And it is in this republican position that civil virtue is manifested as "patriotism", an element of great importance for the construction of a strong state in Machiavellian theory.