And let them know that I am Machiavell,
admired most by those that hate me most,
I count religion but a childish toy,
and hold there is no sin but ignorance.
From the prologue to The Jew of Malta by Christopher Marlowe. Niccolo Machiavelli is thought of as a cunning, unscrupulous and cynical manipulator but nothing could be further from the truth. Machiavelli was simply a realist who saw the world around him as it was and did not mince words when describing it. He despaired of the short - sighted selfishness of those he served and tried to make his readers aware of the baseness of most people's motives. Blogger Little Nicky Machiavelli is the last direct descendant of Niccolo Machiavelli but due to the quirky genealogy of the blogosphere can count Tom Paine, Jeremy Bentham, Beatrice and Sydney Webb, Gandhi and Aneuerin Bevan amongst his ancestors.