This chapter sheds light on the narrative strategies and techniques involving reported speech in Machiavelli’s diplomatic records and historical writings. The focus is on the diplomatic correspondence of his 1502 mission to Cesare Borgia and on his Discourses on Livy. Analysis of the rhetorical devices that Machiavelli uses to report his own words and those of others shows that his letters and the Discourses exploited the intrinsically reconstructive nature of reported speech and its paradoxical communicative function: to maximize the perception of veracity through unrestrained manipulation. Two case studies will shed light on the relationship between fact and fiction and between information and its manipulation in early modern Italy. In particular, these relationships are captured by analyzing the interplay between, on the one hand, the communicative dynamics of diplomatic writings and, on the other, research into old historical texts and the writing of contemporary history. Machiavelli’s writings demonstrate clearly that direct discourse could be used as a tool to reinforce the verisimilitude and credibility of a narrative. At the same time, his careful selection and manipulation of reported words exploited the persuasive force of the words of others to further his own line of argument.

中文翻译：

---

马基雅维利著作中的修辞策略与话语操纵

本章阐明了马基雅维利的外交记录和历史著作中涉及报道演讲的叙事策略和技巧。重点是他 1502 年对切萨雷·博吉亚的外交信函和他对李维的论述。对马基雅维利用来报道他自己和其他人的话的修辞手段的分析表明，他的信件和话语利用了所报道言论的内在重构性质及其矛盾的交流功能：通过不受限制的操纵来最大限度地感知真实性。两个案例研究将阐明事实与虚构之间以及现代早期意大利的信息与其操纵之间的关系。特别是，这些关系是通过分析之间的相互作用来捕捉的，一方面，外交著作的交流动力，另一方面，研究古老的历史文本和当代历史的写作。马基雅维利的著作清楚地表明，直接话语可以作为一种工具来加强叙述的真实性和可信度。同时，他对报道词的精心挑选和操纵，利用他人话语的说服力，进一步推进了自己的论点。