Jacques Barzun on Machievelli

"In spite of his exile, he had a wide circle of friends and admirers to whom he wrote unbuttoned letters.  In the most famous of these, to Francesco Vettori, we glimpse his addiction to hobnobbing with simple people over cards and drinks at the tavern.  When in the late afternoon he is through with that recreation, he goes home, dresses in the handsome garments, and converses with the ancients, 'asking' them about their lives and actions.  During these four studious hours he is never bored; he forgets his poverty and disgrace, and does not fear death."

-From Dawn to Decadence, p. 259