英语词汇machiavellian的起源、历史背景-英语词源词典

Machiavellian; Old Nick. A politician whose last name is a synonym for political immorality. Niccolò Machiavelli first con- ceived the idea of military conscription. Not a man to be much loved in an age where honor is given great lip service, Machia- velli still wasn’t all that bad. Through his famous book The Prince, Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli (1469–1527) has be- come known as the father of political science. But this remark- able work is remembered mainly for its insistence that while his subjects are bound by conventional moral obligations, a ruler may use any means necessary to maintain power, no mat- ter how unscrupulous. Thus Machiavellian has come to mean cynical political scheming, generally brilliant and always char- acterized by deceit and bad faith. The legend of this thin-lipped, sarcastic, hyperactive man gave rise in later years to the theory that his first name was the basis for Old Nick, a synonym for the devil. No one really knows how Old Nick originated, but the Niccolò origin is wrong. The rumor stems from Samuel Butler’s humorous identification in Hudibras: “Nick Machiavel had ne’er a trick/(Though he gives name to our Old Nick).”

词汇	machiavellian
词源	Machiavellian; Old Nick. A politician whose last name is a synonym for political immorality. Niccolò Machiavelli first con- ceived the idea of military conscription. Not a man to be much loved in an age where honor is given great lip service, Machia- velli still wasn’t all that bad. Through his famous book The Prince, Niccolò di Bernardo Machiavelli (1469–1527) has be- come known as the father of political science. But this remark- able work is remembered mainly for its insistence that while his subjects are bound by conventional moral obligations, a ruler may use any means necessary to maintain power, no mat- ter how unscrupulous. Thus Machiavellian has come to mean cynical political scheming, generally brilliant and always char- acterized by deceit and bad faith. The legend of this thin-lipped, sarcastic, hyperactive man gave rise in later years to the theory that his first name was the basis for Old Nick, a synonym for the devil. No one really knows how Old Nick originated, but the Niccolò origin is wrong. The rumor stems from Samuel Butler’s humorous identification in Hudibras: “Nick Machiavel had ne’er a trick/(Though he gives name to our Old Nick).”
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