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
Niccolò Machiavelli of liberty." Benjamin Franklin, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson followed Machiavelli's republicanism when they opposed what they saw as the emerging aristocracy that they feared Alexander Hamilton was creating with the Federalist Party. Hamilton learned from Machiavelli about the importance of foreign policy for domestic policy, but may have broken from him regarding how rapacious a republic needed to be in order to survive George Washington was less influenced by Machiavelli. The Founding Father who perhaps most studied and valued Machiavelli as a political philosopher was John Adams, who profusely commented on the Italian's thought in his work, "A Defence