This is the introduction of the book, American Machiavelli, a book focusing on Alexander Hamilton and the origins of US foreign policy.  Though I have only read this piece, the subject material sounds fascinating.  I have always believed that while the American heart gravitates to the writings on liberty of Thomas Jefferson, it is his contemporary, Alexander Hamilton who America owes an even larger debt.  It is Hamilton's ideas on economics and a relatively vigorous executive that have allowed America to really unite and stare down its greatest challenges (from the Civil War to fascism to Communism).  I feel we live in Hamilton's world and he speaks to our minds and rationality.

The book's thesis that Hamilton is very much intellectually indebted (at least indirectly) to Machiavelli.  Without reading the full book, I am not sure how convincing this argument is, but I have always maintained that Machiavelli's influence has been much maligned based upon only a cursory reading of The Prince.  The full spectrum of his work, particularly The Discourses on Livy, illustrate not a ruthless, cold blooded, arch-realist, but a person very much aspiring to a republican form of government.  It is truly a more complex legacy than the term "machiavellian" implies.  Was Hamilton indebted to this train of thought?  If so, is that a bad thing?  And if so, what does that say about America's founding, given the role he played in its consolidation?  All good questions.  I am struck by the last line in the introduction,

" For nations as well as individuals seeking to gain insight into their futures, rarely has there been better advice than the words inscribed above the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi: γνω θι σεαυτον (gnothi seauton). Know thyself."

Since I went to the Oracle at Delphi during my Honeymoon, this has particular resonance.  One can't move forward without an understanding of who they are, Americans no less than any other people.