Machiavelli as a dramatist the ultimate symbol of virtú in "Mandragola", as a ‘self-portrait’ of Machiavelli. Ligurio assembles the spectrum of schemes in the play, from the Mandrake potion, to Frate Timoteo's assistance, to Callimaco's disguise and capture by Nicia. Though every character in the play participates in some form of a manipulative act, Ligurio stands out because of his impressive adaptability to tribulations. Even more extraordinary is Ligurio's aptitude for judging human character. This comprehension of character is the type of awareness that is necessary for successful acts of manipulation. One of the many places we experience Ligurio's qualitative insight is in his
The Battle of the Books attacks, as in the later "Battel of the Poets" (1729, by Edward Cooke), which was an attack on Alexander Pope. As a set piece or "topos" of 18th-century satire, the "Battle of the Books" was a standard shorthand for both the Quarrel of the Ancients and Moderns and the era of Swift's battle with William Wotton. The Battle of the Books "The Battle of the Books" is the name of a short satire written by Jonathan Swift and published as part of the prolegomena to his "A Tale of a Tub" in 1704. It depicts a literal battle between books