In 1531, Machiavelli in his Discourses on the first decade of Titus Livius I, and II, compares Rome and Sparta.
For Machiavelli, Rome won between the two because it showed itself capable of enlargement.
→ Machiavelli: The Prince must know how to feign and conceal
On the one hand, stability is only possible because of these possibilities of enlargement. As Machiavelli says:“if she does not attack her neighbors, she will be attacked by them, and this attack will give rise to envy and the need to conquer“(Discourse, II, 19)
→ Machiavelli: avoiding revolutions
On the other hand, gaining power is better than remaining stable, and especially happens by force of circumstance.“necessity leads it to expand“(Discourse, I, 6).
Machiavelli was a political theorist/philosopher born in 1469 and died in 1527. He wrote numerous works on power games by studying wars in history, the best known of which is The Prince. Machiavelli also held governmental positions for the Republic of Florence.
