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Rh 152 M A M A C 16tli century, who had been friends for several years, were brought into relations of close intimacy. It would be interesting to know the topics of their conversation, and to possess some fragments of the debates they undoubtedly held upon the grave affairs of Ita]y at this decisive juncture. In the next year Home was destined to be sacked by an imperial army. Florence was to rise in rebellion against the Medici. Four years later Charles V. was to lay the iron hand of Spain upon the remnants of Italian liberty, But nothing survives of Machhvelli s and Guicciardini s discourse. We can only form an opinion of what it must have been from the commentaries written by the latter on the political philosophy of Machiavelli com mentaries which sufficiently explain the different methods of the two great thinkers. Guicciardini, more positive even than Machiavelli in his criticism, averse to theory, satisfied with a policy of public temporizing and expediency, ac cepting Italian decadence with the tranquillity of egotism, looked on Machiavelli as a dreamer. &quot; Nothing,&quot; he says, &quot; can cure the diseases of our century but the knife of Lycurgus, and the knife of Lycurgus may not be expected.&quot; Machiavelli was always hoping against hope that this knife in the hands of some superior Cesare might still be used. Guicciardini, as events proved; had taken a sounder view of the situation ; or rather it was men like Guicciardini who made the situation. Machiavelli to the last remained a patriot, with darkly bright impracticable visions in his brain. After another visit to Guicciardini in the spring of 1527, Machiavelli was sent by him to Civita Vecchia. It seemed that he was destined to be associated in the papal service with Clement s viceroy, and that a new period of diplomatic employment was opening for him. But soon after his return to Florence he fell ill. His son Fiero said that he took medicine on the 20th of June which disagreed with him ; and on the 22d he died, having received the last offices of the church. There is no foundation for the legend that he expired with profane sarcasms upon his lips. Yet we need not run into the opposite extreme, and try to fancy that Machiavelli, who had professed paganism in his life, proved himself a believing Christian on his death-bed. That he left an unfavourable opinion among his fellow- citizens is very decidedly recorded by the historian Yarehi. The Principe, it seems, had already begun to prejudice the world against him ; and we can readily believe what Yarchi sententiously observes, that &quot;it would have been better for him if nature had given him either a less power ful intellect or a mind of a more genial temper.&quot; There is in truth a something crude, unsympathetic, cynical in his rnantal attitude toward human nature, for which, even aftar the lapse of more than three centuries, we find it difficult to make allowance. The force of his intellect renders this want of geniality repulsive. We cannot help objecting that one who was so powerful could have been kindlier anl sounder if he willed. We therefore do him the injustice of mistaking his infirmity for perversity. He was colour-blind to commonplace morality ; and we are angry with him because he merged the hues of ethics in o-ne grey monotone of politics. In person Machiavelli was of middle hsight, black-haired, with rather a small head, very bright eyes, and slightly aquiline nose. His thin close lips o-ften broke into a smile of sarcasm. His activity was almost feverish. When unemployed in work or study, lie was not averse to the society of boon companions, gave himself readily to transient amours, and corresponded in
 * i tone of cynical bad taste. At the same time he lived on

terms of intimacy with worthy men. Varchi says of him that &quot; in his conversation he was pleasant, obliging to his intimates, the friend of virtuous persons.&quot; Those who oare to understand the contradictions of which such a character was capable should study his correspondence with Yettori. It would be unfair to charge what is re pulsive in their letters wholly on the habits of the times ; for wide familiarity with the published correspondence ot similar men at the same epoch brings one acquainted with little that is so disagreeable. For complete editions of Machiavelli s works, that of Italia, 8 vols., 1813, and the more comprehensive by Usigli, Florence, 1853, may be cited. The best biography is by Professor Pasquale Yillari, 3 vols., Florence, 1877-82. This work contains a copious critique of all the most important studies which have been made of Machiavelli s works. An English translation of this life, finished by Madame Yillari under the guidance of Professor A T illari, is being published. (J. A. S.) MACHINE TOOLS. The very small degree of anti quity to which machine tools can lay claim appears forcibly in the sparse records of the state of the mechanical crafts a century ago. A few tools of a rude kind, such as tilt- hammers, and a few special ones which aimed at accuracy, but were of very limited application, such as &quot; mills &quot; for boring cannon, or &quot;engines&quot; for cutting the teeth of clock wheels, were almost their only representatives. Machine tools of the modern type indeed would not then have been likely to have found much favour even if they had been invented, owing to the difficulty of providing sufficient power for driving them, except in the comparatively few positions where water-power was available. The transmis sion of power was unthought of, except for the very limited distances which were possible with the ill-fitted &quot; gudgeons &quot; and &quot; lanterns and trundles &quot; of the old mill wrights. The steam-engine, however, changed all this. On the one hand the hitherto unheard-of accuracy of fit required by its working parts created a demand for tools of increased power and precision, and on the other it rendered the use of such tools possible in almost any situation. Thus, acting and reacting on each other, machine tools and steam-engines have grown side by side, till our workshops have become peopled with a race of giants, capable of uncomplainingly performing tasks altogether beyond the powers of the easily wearied hands which have brought them into existence. But the first steps in the process were costly and difficult to a degree which it is not now easy to realize. James Watt, for instance, in 17G9, was fain to be content with a cylinder for his &quot; fire-engine &quot; of which, though it was but 1 8 inches in the bore, the diameter in one place exceeded that at another by about ( 375) of an inch; its piston was not unnaturally leaky, though he packed it with &quot; papor, cork, putty, pasteboard, and old hat.&quot; In the bore of a cylinder of 120 inches there would not now be admitted an error of T ^ of an inch, and the leakage past the piston is practically nil. Even this must by no means be taken to represent the extreme limit attainable in respect of size and accuracy. Machine tools present so many points of difference that no classification of them will be attempted beyond a broad division into general and special tools, those included under the latter head being such as are intended to perform repeatedly one single operation (or one of a small number of varieties of that operation), or are mainly employed in particular processes or manufactures. As an instance of special tools working successively in a series,- which is a frequent arrangement with special tools, the block machinery, for making ships blocks at Portsmouth dockyard, may be mentioned. Erected in 1807 by Mr IT. Maudslay from designs by Mr (afterwards Sir Marc) Brunei, on the recommendation of Sir S. Bentham, it enabled ten men to do in a superior manner work which previously required one hundred and ten, and effected in the annual expenditure of the nation a saving ot about 24,000. Into the particulars of the beautifully