Dialogue: The Unarmed Prophet and the Armed World

A conversation between Girolamo Savonarola and Niccolò Machiavelli

Florence. Night. The Piazza della Signoria is empty, though the stones still remember fire. The ghost of Girolamo Savonarola stands near the place where he was hanged and burned. Niccolò Machiavelli enters, older now, carrying a manuscript beneath his arm.

SAVONAROLA:
You return to the place of ashes, Messer Niccolò.

MACHIAVELLI:
Florence has many places of ashes, Fra Girolamo. Yours is only the most famous.

SAVONAROLA:
And you have made use of it.

MACHIAVELLI:
I made use of what happened. That is not the same as rejoicing in it.

SAVONAROLA:
You wrote that I was ruined because I was unarmed.

MACHIAVELLI:
Were you not?

SAVONAROLA:
I preached repentance. I called a city to righteousness. I turned hearts toward God.

MACHIAVELLI:
For a time.

SAVONAROLA:
Truth is not false because men grow tired of it.

Read the full Dialogue at PeaceGrooves.

Niccolo Machiavelli (May 3, 1469 – June 21, 1527) wrote The Prince after prison, torture, and exile, with the cold clarity of someone who had seen power from the inside.

This is not just a book about rulers but about fear, ambition, loyalty, betrayal, and the dangerous people who believe they are born to command others.

#books #literature #reading #book #writers #author #Machiavelli #ThePrince #bookstodon @bookstodon #politics #ambitions #booksky #bookstagram #BookTok #today

Il Tempo: Papa Leone XIV a Monaco tra cattedrale e Palazzo del Principe

Monaco, 28 mar. (askanews) - Papa Leone XIV ha visitato oggi il Principato di Monaco, accolto dal principe Alberto II e dalla principessa Charlène. Le immagini mostrano il Pontefice in papamobile tra i fedeli, poi nella cattedrale di Notre-Dame Immaculée per l'omelia e quindi al Palazzo del Principe, dove si affaccia con Alberto II e Charlène davanti alla folla radunata nella piazza. Nel corso della visita, il Papa ha richiamato il tema del divario tra ricchi e poveri e l'uso della ricchezza al servizio della giustizia e della pace. Si tratta della prima visita di un pontefice a Monaco dal 1538.
Il Papa ha richiamato la necessità che la ricchezza non venga trattenuta ma condivisa e ha invitato a respingere le logiche di onnipotenza che feriscono il mondo e mettono a rischio la pace.

Pope Leo XIV in Monaco between cathedral and palace of the Prince

Monaco, March 28 (askanews) - Pope Leo XIV visited the Principality of Monaco today, welcomed by Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene. The images show the Pontiff in the papamobile among the faithful, then in the cathedral of Notre-Dame Immaculée for the homily and then at the Prince’s Palace, where he faces with Albert II and Charlene before the crowd gathered in the square. During the visit, the Pope recalled the theme of the gap between rich and poor and the use of wealth in the service of justice and peace. This is the first visit of a pontiff to Monaco since 1538.

The Pope recalled the need for wealth not to be hoarded but shared and invited to reject the logics of omnipotence that wound the world and put peace at risk.

#PopeLeoXIV #Monaco #thePrinceMonaco #LeoXIV #Principality #PrinceAlbertII #Notre-DameImmaculée #thePrince’sPalace #AlbertII #Charlene #first

https://www.iltempo.it/tv-news/2026/03/28/video/papa-leone-xiv-a-monaco-tra-cattedrale-e-palazzo-del-principe-47032954/

"no hurty unless u hurty real bad"

https://piefed.social/c/historymemes/p/1885396/no-hurty-unless-u-hurty-real-bad

In defense of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦, a Renaissance-era treatise by Italian diplomat Niccolò #Machiavelli, think of it less as a manual for tyrants and more as simply an explanation for the nature of politics, in which only the greatest seek to maximize their power, regardless of the morality of how they do it. It is not an ethic I endorse, yet it is the only valid theory, I believe, that explains most politicians' behavior. Welcome to the world of cynicism.

#Machiavellianism #politicalRealism #ThePrince

Visit of H.R.H. the Crown Prince of Sweden in December 1934. The Prince & his party on horse-back before el Khazneh, Petra 1934 Dec.
American Colony (Jerusalem). Photo Department
1 negative : nitrate ; 4 x 5 in.

#Sweden #ThePrince&his #elKhazneh #Petra #Jerusalem #PhotoDepartment #Greco-Roman #Jordan #Petra(Extinctcity) #photography

https://www.loc.gov/item/2019709405/

Takeaways from the 3rd Epstein files release: The president, the plane and the prince – NBC News

Justice Department

The president, the plane and the prince: Top takeaways from the 3rd Epstein files release

The Justice Department released 30,000 pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday.

Dec. 23, 2025, 4:25 PM PST / Updated Dec. 24, 2025, 6:40 AM PST

By Dareh Gregorian

The Justice Department on Tuesday released a third batch of records related to Jeffrey Epstein, a wide array of documents that shed light on alleged co-conspirators and the late sex offender’s ties to the former Prince Andrew.

Among the records, released in accordance with the law passed by Congress last month, were several references to President Donald Trump. Trump, who was friends with Epstein for years and has said they had a falling-out because Epstein was a “creep,” has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.

The White House on Tuesday referred NBC News to a statement the Justice Department made earlier in the day.

“The Department of Justice has officially released nearly 30,000 more pages of documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already,” it said on X.

An NBC News review confirmed that the Justice Department released roughly 30,000 records.

Here are the top takeaways from the files.

Epstein’s plane

An email sent in January 2020 by a New York federal prosecutor who appeared to be involved with the criminal case against Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell alerted an unidentified person to flight logs involving Trump and Epstein from the 1990s.

“For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case.”

Maxwell was indicted on federal sex trafficking charges months later, in July 2020. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence.

The email said Trump, then serving his first term as president, “is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present. He is listed as having traveled with, among others and at various times, Marla Maples, his daughter Tiffany, and his son Eric.”

“On one flight in 1993, he and Epstein are the only two listed passengers; on another, the only three passengers are Epstein, Trump, and then-20-year-old [redacted]. On two other flights, two of the passengers, respectively, were women who would be possible witnesses in a Maxwell case.”

The names of both the sender and the recipient were redacted. The message does not accuse Trump of any wrongdoing.

Possible co-conspirators

Another released document showed federal prosecutors discussing “10 co-conspirators” of Epstein’s in an email exchange. To date, Maxwell is the only co-conspirator to be charged. The Justice Department said in a memo in July that it did not have evidence to charge any other parties in the case.

Their identities are not revealed in the exchange. One is described as a “wealthy business man in Ohio,” while “3 have been located in FL and served [grand jury] subpoenas; 1 in Boston, 1 in NYC, and 1 in CT were located and served.”

The three others are “out of pocket,” the email said.

It’s unclear what information investigators pursued or found about the potential co-conspirators. Maxwell is the only Epstein accomplice to be charged criminally, and it’s not clear whether she’s one of the 10 people referenced.

Epstein had a history of turning some of his young victims into recruiters.

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Takeaways from the 3rd Epstein files release: The president, the plane and the prince