Assignment: In a paper of 3-4 pages, respond to one of the following questions based in a careful, comparative analysis of Machiavelli’s The Prince and Luther’s On Christian Liberty. Note that it will be essential to read the entirety of each text carefully in order to produce strong answers to these questions. 1. Both Machiavelli and Luther were writing in an era when tradition – how people had thought and behaved in the past – was accepted by almost all people as having enormous importance. For political writers in the Renaissance, the traditions of classical and Christian political thought (of authors such as Cicero, St. Augustine, etc.) provided a powerful guide for suggesting courses of political action that few dared stray from. For religious writers, the traditions of the Catholic Church were an equally powerful guide for how Christian salvation was to be achieved. What were the attitudes of Machiavelli and Luther towards these traditions, and towards the concept of tradition as such? [NOTE: you are not being asked to simply list out traditions and what each author thought about them, but rather to ask what role each believed the concept of tradition played in (for Machiavelli) how one achieved political success or (for Luther) how one achieved Christian salvation.)] Did these authors believe that individuals were obligated to follow tradition as their guide? What were the reasons they provided for feeling this way? What did they propose to stand in tradition’s place as the pathway to success? What are the similarities and differences between Machiavelli’s and Luther’s attitudes towards tradition? 2. Both Machiavelli and Luther wrote texts for audiences with specific goals. Machiavelli was writing for princes, particularly new princes, looking to achieve political success in the competitive and dangerous world of politics. Luther’s audience consisted of those seeking Christian salvation. Each author focused on one quality that a successful seeker of these ends must have: for Machiavelli, virtù; for Luther, faith. Describe the concepts of virtù and faith as discussed by Machiavelli and Luther respectively. What are these qualities? How does one go about getting them? Are these qualities on their own merits sufficient guarantees that success will be reached? Can one ever know with confidence that one truly has these qualities? 3. Both Machiavelli and Luther were influenced by the Renaissance Humanist movement, but also diverged from that movement in important ways. Describe the Humanist influences that can be found in The Prince and On Christian Liberty. What did Machiavelli and Luther share with the Humanists? Where did they differ from the values, beliefs, methods, etc. of the Humanists? Which author do you believe depended more on the advances of the Humanists to write his text? On which evidence do you base this claim? ***Be sure to support all of your claims with specific, properly cited evidence taken from the primary source texts. The more precise you can be in connecting the points you make with specific passages from the text(s), the better your paper (and thus your grade) will be. ***Remember that this is not a research paper, but rather an exercise in primary source analysis. Because of this, the use of any sources (primary or secondary) other than the two texts themselves will not be allowed. This includes websites (DON’T EVEN LOOK AT THEM!) Consulting sources other than our course readings for this paper (including even looking at websites!) will result in the paper earning a 0.