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The impact of the sixth book of Polybius' Histories in the Renaissance is usually measured by the adaptation of its theories of constitutional change and the mixed regime by Machiavelli in the Discorsi to defend the superiority of republicanism in general and the Roman Republic in particular. But the story of the reception of Polybius VI is far more complex than is ordinarily realized. Beyond unresolved questions about precisely how Polybius VI was recovered during the Renaissance, this article demonstrates the ways in which, before Machiavelli's composition of the Discorsi, Polybius' ideas were employed in order to criticize republican government and defend monarchy. Thus, the easy equation of the Renaissance Polybius with Machiavelli's republican theory must be set in doubt.
