Abstract

This paper focuses on the various uses of Machiavelli's figure and thought during the French Revolution, precisely from Directory to Consulate. In this period Machiavelli is not only a medium to delegitimize political enemies because considered a symbol of a politics ruthless, but he is also a weapon used to try and save the Revolution. The apologists of 1789 principles, who consider Machiavelli a champion of political realism, use his name to oppose Jacobins and justify a strong executive power. In this context, an unknown author and playwright named Antoine Sérieys publishes a strange dialogue between Machiavelli and Saint-Just to legitimate the new bonapartist regime.