The Prince, Prudence, Reason

In V, 7 of the Political Treatise, Spinoza briefly, and with a touch of uncharacteristic irony, engages Machiavelli, by asserting that the cultivation of a "free multitude" is more prudent than ruling by Fear.  The challenge can be extended to rule by Deception--since Freedom is equivalent to Rationality, and Rationality is common, transparency is more conducive to the maintaining of political control.  Nevertheless, the broader historical context reveals a kinship between the two.  For, Machiavelli can be interpreted as initiating Modern Political Philosophy, by secularizing it, i. e. by liberating it from Medieval Theology, which Spinoza continues by re-establishing the systematic relation between Rational Ethics and Political Philosophy that characterizes the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle.  Similarly, Hobbes' 'war of all against all' can be better understood as a transition from Feudal Oligarchism, than as an ontological premise.  These more general patterns are difficult to appreciate if the Medieval Era is not recognized as transforming the Ancient doctrines, and as the pre-condition of the Modern Era, which the Straussians seemingly fail to do.