Machiavelli's life was not without blemish--few lives are.

We must bear in mind the atmosphere of craft, hypocrisy, and poison in which he lived,--his was the age of Caesar Borgia and of Popes like the monster Alexander VI.

and Julius II.

Whatever his faults may have been, Machiavelli was always an ardent patriot and an earnest supporter of popular government.

It is true that he was willing to accept a prince, if one could be found courageous enough and prudent enough to unite dismembered Italy, for in the unity of his native land he saw the only hope of its salvation.
Machiavelli is buried in the church of Santa Croce at Florence, beside the tomb of Michael Angelo.