The Disinclination to Point Out Your Connection to Machiavelli

David Perry: Machiavelli has a reputation for nastiness, so it's hard to point out his influence on thinkers like Hobbes and Locke. But there are some passages that lead him to think that it seems clear that they were indebted toMachiavelli. He says the entire state of nature conceit is based on a Machiavellian idea or distinction between foundings and perpetuations. Perry: Even if it isn't a direct influence, I think very strong cases can be made for ideas still finding their way into later work.