This book examines the way in which Machiavelli led French poets and dramatists of the sixteenth century towards a new awareness of the complexity of political behaviour. It tells the story of the fascinating conflict which developed in French writers’ minds between their fear of abandoning traditional values and their suspicion that Machiavelli had painted an accurate picture of modern political behaviour. The efforts of these poets and playwrights to come to terms with Machiavelli make their writings an important, though hitherto neglected, milestone along the road from the Christian to the secular view of politics.