Though the later centuries have viewed him unkindly as the
manifestation of evil itself, Machiavelli did little to earn this nasty
reputation. He was a good citizen, an upright man, and an affectionate
husband. Despite this, he was considered so immoral that his name
became a synonym for the devil ("Old Nick" is derived from his given
name, and "Machiavel" from his surname; both are found in Renaissance
literature as names for Satan). Harvey Mansfield, in his book
"Machiavelli's Virtue", indexes the word "Machiavellism" as "See also:
evil."
