Nevertheless

Machiavelli, Pascal

Carlo Ginzburg

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English

Verso Books
29 March 2022

Historiography; General & world history; History of ideas

Series: Verso World History

Nevertheless comprises essays on Machiavelli and on Pascal. The ambivalent connection between the two parts is embodied by the comma (,) in the subtitle: Machiavelli, Pascal. Is this comma a conjunction or a disjunction?

In fact, both. Ginzburg approaches Machiavelli’s work from the perspective of casuistry, or case-based ethical reasoning. For as Machiavelli indicated through his repeated use of the adverb nondimanco (“nevertheless”), there is an exception to every rule. Such a perspective may seem to echo the traditional image of Machiavelli as a cynical, “machiavellian” thinker. But a close analysis of Machiavelli the reader, as well as of the ways in which some of Machiavelli’s most perceptive readers read his work, throws a different light on Machiavelli the writer. The same hermeneutic strategy inspires the essays on the Provinciales, Pascal’s ferocious attack against Jesuitical casuistry.

Casuistry vs anti-casuistry; Machiavelli’s secular attitude towards religion vs Pascal’s deep religiosity. We are confronted, apparently, with two completely different worlds. But Pascal read Machiavelli, and reflected deeply upon his work. A belated, contemporary echo of this reading can unveil the complex relationship between Machiavelli and Pascal – their divergences as well as their unexpected convergences.

By: Carlo Ginzburg
Imprint: Verso Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 336g
ISBN: 9781839760143
ISBN 10: 1839760141
Series: Verso World History
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 29 March 2022
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Carlo Ginzburg has been a pioneer of “micro-history” since his earliest works, The Night Battles and The Cheese and the Worms (the first of his books to appear in English, winning instant acclaim). His latest book is Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf, co-authored with Bruce Lincoln.

Reviews for Nevertheless: Machiavelli, Pascal

A dazzling example of the pleasure of research * Il Foglio * Ginzburg calls for an intricate reading of Machiavelli. He points out that the link between the author of The Prince and the author of the Provincial Letters is justified by the fact that both pertain to the broad constellation of political theology informed by the exception, the miracle, the unique case imposed on the norm * Il Manifesto * A treasure hunt in historical sources, forgeries and the reception of texts * Avvenire * One of world's premier historians. A born detective. * New York Times * Really quite brilliant -- Jan Machielsen * Times Literary Supplement (for Old Thiess, a Livonian Werewolf) *