Niccolò Machiavelli/YMMV


 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Evil manipulative schemer who endorsed underhand and sinister means of getting into power, or pragmatic politician who believed in democracy and a united Italy? YMMV on all this.
 * Stealth Insult: Rousseau's opinion of Machiavelli: "Machiavelli's The Prince is the book of republicans....The court of Rome has sternly prohibited his book. I can well believe it; it is the court he most clearly depicts."
 * Never Live It Down: The Prince and his work with Cesare Borgia, despite the fact he only worked with Borgia for about a year between 1502 and 1503.