Niccolo Machiavelli Downfall Born into a time of extreme political upheaveal, Niccol Machiavelli was a member of the old

Florentine nobility. He received a proper humanistic Renaissance education, and as a young man began the climb up the perilous political ladder of Italy. In 1502 he was sent to Romagna as an envoy to Cesare Borgia, the infamous papal prince and despot who would later influence Machiavelli's political philosophy. The return of the Medici dynasty in 1512 resulted in Machiavelli's downfall. He lost his office and was imprisoned and tortured before finally being banished from Florence. It was during his exile that Machiavelli wrote his most famous work, "Il Principe (The Prince)", a handbook of sorts for autocratic rulers. Though his sympathies lay with republicanism, he was first and foremost intensely pragmatic, a quality which did not endear him to later, more idealistic, generations. Death After another visit to Guicciardini in the spring of 1527, Machiavelli was sent by him to Civita Vecchia. It seemed that he was destined to be associated in the papal service with Clement's viceroy, and that a new period of diplomatic employment was opening for him. But soon after his return to Florence he fell ill. His son Piero said that he took medicine on the 20th of June which disagreed with him; and on the 22nd he died, having received the last offices of the Church. THOMAS MORE Thomas More's Downfall More resigned from his Chancellorship on May 16, 1532, the same day Archbishop Warham delivered the document Submission of the Clergy. This document required that: clergy repudiate their right to make any new constitutions for the future clergy consent to submit all constitutions already made to third party people appointed by the king laws approved by the commission should receive royal assent and have full force of the law Henry wanted to be recognized as Protector and Supreme Head of the English Church and Clergy. More believed the acts would destroy the nature of England, including the traditional land and legal systems. He could not serve Henry without accepting the articles, but in resigning his post he had insulted the king. As further insult, More declined the invitation to Anne Boleyns coronation. More was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London in April of 1534. He was found guilty of treason because: he disapproved of the royal divorce he rejected the oath of the Submission of the Clergy he refused to admit or deny the King's supremacy over the church He was executed on July 6, 1534. Thomas More was Canonized on February 10, 1935 by Pius XI, becoming the patron saint of Catholic lawyers, university students, and parishes. DEATH Sir Thomas More was executed by Henry VIII on 5 July 1535. The first Sunday in July 1992 is thus the 457th anniversary of his martyrdom. Because the principle for which he died is as relevant to the condition of the Catholic Church today as it was then, it deserves to be properly understood. In April, 1534, More refused to swear to the Act of Succession and the Oath of Supremacy, and was committed to the Tower of London on April 17. More was found guilty of treason and was beheaded alongside Bishop Fisher on July 6, 1535. More's final words on the scaffold were: "The King's good servant, but God's First." More was beatified in 1886 and canonized by the Catholic Church as a saint by Pope Pius XI in 1935. JULIUS CAESAR Dowfall Julius Caesar's tragic downfall was mainly caused by him making many changes to Rome too quickly and the Senate being jealous of his mighty power. The people who once loved him planned to murder him. These people led by Marcus Brutus (Caesar's close friend) and Gaius Cassius Longinus, stabbed him at a meeting of the senate in Pompey's theater on March 15, 44 BC. Caesar's Ambition Lead to His Downfall

I came, I saw, I conquered. These were the famous words spoken by the Roman emperor, Julius Caesar. Caesars coming to power signalled the Roman Empire escalation in terms of economy, citizen rights, military strength, etc. Caesars leadership brought Rome many fortunes; some historians credit his success to the fact that he was ambitious. However, becoming overly ambitious has often been the cause of downfall for the leaders of the past, and Ceasars case was no different. While ambition gives an individual a goal and proper motivation towards it, sometimes the culprit can become obsessed with his own legacy, and forego rationality to in an attempt to carve his name in stone. For a ruler, this is a particularly undesirable attribute; ambitious power can lead to corruption and inevitably, the deterioration of a nation. Indeed, this was the case for the venerable yet foolish Roman ruler. Julius Caesar, the feared general of the Roman army, and the leader of the Roman state, suffered a tragic downfall due to his ambitious desires. William Shakespeares Julius Caesar and E.B Shaws Caesar and Cleopatra portray Caesars ambitious persona. Caesars ambition interfered in three main areas in which inevitably lead him to his demise. The first was Caesars defiance of religious morality and his insolence towards the gods. The second was his ignorance and disrespect towards society, and third was Caesars general ambitious desire towards complete supremacy and rule. To achieve a level of greatness unattained in history is arguable, but to extend that level of ambition to the spiritual realm, in other words, the angels and the gods, shows utmost arrogance and disrespect. Caesars egotistic idea of becoming greater than the all-mighty gods was one factor that led to his tragic demise: he was also totally ruthless in the pursuit of his personal goals and ambitions, which included not only absolute power over the Roman Empire, but also divine honours and... WEAKNESS Julius Caesar was a human being and therefore had weaknesses just like everyone else. He was arrogant and power hungry. That was his downfall. Seutonius also says that he was not always honest in money matters. He liked to overspend and that he was dodging debtors. Loot was his main reason for going to Gaul. DEATH On the Ides of March (March 15; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC, the conspirators staged a game of gladiatorial sport at Pompey's theatre. The gladiators were provided by Decius Brutus in case their [8] services were needed. They waited in the great hall of the theatre'squadriportico. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified Liberator named Servilius [citation needed] Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off at the steps of the forum. However, the group of senators intercepted Caesar just as he was passing the Theatre of Pompey, located in the Campus Martius (now adjacent to the Largo di Torre Argentina), and directed him to a room adjoining the east portico. Had Antony arrived while the assassination was ongoing, he would certainly have come to Caesar's aid, and would have proven a very formidable adversary in Caesar's defense. (Antony was much younger than most of the senators and was a trained veteran of the 13th [9] Legion, which fought the Gallic soldiers for nine years.) According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to [10] recall his exiled brother. The other conspirators crowded round to offer their support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed Caesar's shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis [11] est!"). At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in [12] Latin, "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?" Casca, frightened, shouted "Help, brother!" in Greek (", ", "adelphe, boethei"). Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenseless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. Caesar was stabbed 23 [13] times. Suetonius relates that a physician who performed an autopsy on Caesar established that only one wound (the second one to his chest) had been fatal. This autopsy report (the earliest known post-mortem report in history) describes that Caesar's death was mostly attributable to blood loss [14] from the multiple stab wounds.

Alexander The Great Alexander The Downfall At Susa Alexander found that many of the officials he had chosen to govern the conquered lands had indulged in corruption and misrule. Meanwhile certain antagonisms had developed against Alexander; in Greece, for instance, many decried his execution of Aristotles nephew, the historian Callisthenes, and the Greek cities resented his request that they treat him as a god. Alexanders Macedonian officers balked at his attempt to force them to intermarry with the Persians (he had himself married Roxana, a Bactrian princess, as one of his several wives), and they resisted his Eastern ways and his vision of an empire governed by tolerance. There was a mutiny, but it was put down. In 323, Alexander was planning a voyage by sea around Arabia when he caught a fever and died at 33. After his death his generals fell to quarreling about dividing the rule. His only son was Alexander Aegus, born to Roxana after Alexanders death and destined for a short and pitiful life. DEATH On the afternoon of June 1011, 323 BC, Alexander died of a mysterious illness in the palace of Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon. He was just one month shy of attaining 33 years of age. Various theories have been proposed for the cause of his death which include poisoning by the sons of Antipater or others, sickness that followed a drinking party, or a relapse of the malaria he had contracted in 336 BC. It is known that on May 29, Alexander participated in a banquet organized by his friend Medius of Larissa. After some heavy drinking, immediately before or after a bath, he was forced into bed due to severe illness. The rumors of his illness circulated with the troops causing them to be more and more anxious. On June 9, the generals decided to let the soldiers see their king alive one last time. They were admitted to his presence one at a time. While the king was too ill to speak, confined himself to move his hand. The day after, Alexander was dead. The poisoning theory derives from the story held in antiquity by Justin and Curtius. The original story stated that Cassander, son of Antipater, viceroy of Greece, brought the poison to Alexander in Babylon in a mule's hoof, and that Alexander's royal cupbearer, Iollas, brother of Cassander, administered it. Many had powerful motivations for seeing Alexander gone, and were none the worse for it after his death. Deadly agents that could have killed Alexander in one or more doses include hellebore and strychnine. In R. Lane Fox's opinion, the strongest argument against the poison theory is the fact that twelve days had passed between the start of his illness and his death and in the ancient world, such long-acting poisons were probably not available. His weaknesses: 1) He liked to drink way too much and would have enormous drinking parties. This is one likely way that he died. (other reasons are probable too) 2) His personality was too eccentric for those people around him after a while. Right before he died, he was beginning to lose the absolute loyalty of those people near him. 3) His interest in integrating/intermarrying different cultural groups with the Greeks did not sit well with many of his native countrymen, who believed that the ethnic people they encountered were insubordinate to the Greeks. 4) His enormous dreams and plans to continue conquering new territories would lead to his eventual undoing. Immediately after his death, his Companions divided up his massive empire amongst themselves. MOTHER TERESA Also bothering many of Mother Teresa's critics is her lack of attention to easing the burden of poverty and misery in India, even though she had incredible influence in the church and in political circles around the world. Some say she also had money to feed many more starving people than she did in her soup kitchens. Various sources say that more than 400 million people are living in brutal poverty in India, and that 73 million children there are malnourished. The factor that probably does more than any other to sustain that poverty is the illiteracy rate, which involves 350 million Indians. Mother Teresa's critics say she did little to attack those social problems, even though she had the means and the support. Declining health and death

Mother Teresa suffered a heart attack in Rome in 1983, while visiting Pope John Paul II. After a second attack in 1989, she received an artificial pacemaker. In 1991, after a battle with pneumoniawhile in Mexico, she suffered further heart problems. She offered to resign her position as head of the Missionaries of Charity, but the sisters of the order, in a secret ballot, voted for [56] her to stay. Mother Teresa agreed to continue her work as head of the order. In April 1996, Mother Teresa fell and broke her collar bone. In August she suffered from malaria and failure of the left heart ventricle. She had heart surgery but it was clear that her health was declining. The Archbishop of Calcutta, Henry Sebastian D'Souza, said he ordered a priest to perform an exorcism on Mother Teresa with her permission when she was first hospitalised with cardiac [57] problems because he thought she may be under attack by the devil. On 13 March 1997, she stepped down from the head of Missionaries of Charity. She died on 5 September 1997. Mother Teresa lay in repose in St Thomas, Kolkata for one week prior to her funeral, in September 1997. She was granted a state funeral by the Indian government in gratitude for her services to the [61] poor of all religions in India. Her death was mourned in both secular and religious communities. In tribute, Nawaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan said that she was "a rare and unique individual who lived long for higher purposes. Her life-long devotion to the care of the poor, the sick, and the [62] disadvantaged was one of the highest examples of service to our humanity." The former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Prez de Cullar said: "She is the United Nations. She is peace in the [62] world." MADONNA Madonna has been criticised by governments, religious leaders, terrorists, and the media many times. However, this time around it is her fans who are walking out on her concerts, demanding their money back, and, as in the case of the French, cursing her performances and calling this would-be "whore of Babylon" a common salope (slut). Seasoned songwriter and performer Elton John, observing this turbulent and rapid decline in the music diva's popularity, has gone so far as to declare that Madonna's career is now over. In Berlin, Madonna herself seemed to know the end was near as well when she became incoherent and broke down on stage in the middle of singing "Like A Virgin." Gradually, Madonna's look and manner of dressing, her performances, and her music videos started influencing young girls and women. Her style became a female fashion trend of the 1980s. It was created by stylist and jewelry designer Maripol and the look consisted of lace tops, skirts over capri [28] pants, fishnet stockings, jewelry bearing the crucifix, bracelets, and bleached hair. She achieved global recognition after the release of her second studio album: Like a Virgin in 1984. It topped the [24][29] charts in several countries and became her first number one album on the Billboard 200. The title [30] track, "Like a Virgin", topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart for six consecutive weeks. It attracted the attention of organizations who complained that the song and its accompanying video promoted [31] premarital sex and undermined family values, and moralists sought to have the song and video [32] banned. Madonna came under further fire when she performed the song at the first MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) where she appeared on stage atop a giant wedding cake, wearing a wedding dress and white gloves. The performance is noted by MTV as an iconic performance in VMA [33] history. In later years, Madonna commented that she was actually terrified of the performance. She recalled, "I remember my manager Freddy shouting to me, 'Oh my God! What were you doing? You were wearing a wedding dress. Oh my God! You were rolling around on the floor!' It was the bravest, [34] most blatant sexual thing I had ever done on television." Like a Virgin was certified diamond by the [35] Recording Industry Association of America and sold more than 21 million copies worldwide. "I was surprised by how people reacted to "Like a Virgin" because when I did that song, to me, I was singing about how something made me feel a certain waybrand-new and freshand everyone interpreted it as 'I don't want to be a virgin anymore. Fuck my brains out!' That's not what I sang at all. 'Like a Virgin' was always absolutely ambiguous." Madonna on the backlash for "Like a Virgin" According to Taraborrelli, "Almost certainly, the defining moment of Madonna's childhood the one that would have the most influence in shaping her into the woman she would becomewas the tragic [6] and untimely death of her beloved mother." Psychiatrist Keith Ablow suggests that her mother's death would have had an immeasurable impact on the young Madonna at a time when her personality was still forming. According to Ablow, the younger a child is at the time of a serious loss, the more profound the influence and the longer lasting the impact. He concludes that "some people never

reconcile themselves to such a loss at an early age, Madonna is not different than [6] them." Conversely, author Lucy O'Brien feels that the impact of the rape is, in fact, the motivating factor behind everything Madonna has done, more important even than the death of her mother: "It's not so much grief at her mother's death that drives her, as the sense of abandonment that left her unprotected. She encountered her own worst possible scenario, becoming a victim of male violence, [239] and thereafter turned that full-tilt into her work, reversing the equation at every opportunity." As they grew older, Madonna and her sisters would feel deep sadness as the vivid memory of their mother began drifting farther from them. They would study pictures of her and come to think that she resembled poet Anne Sexton and Hollywood actresses. This would later raise Madonna's interest in [6] poetry with Sylvia Plath being her favourite. Later, Madonna commented: "We were all wounded in one way or another by [her death], and then we spent the rest of our lives reacting to it or dealing with it or trying to turn into something else. The anguish of losing my mom left me with a certain kind of loneliness and an incredible longing for something. If I hadn't had that emptiness, I wouldn't have been so driven. Her death had a lot to do with me sayingafter I got over my heartacheI'm going to [6] be really strong if I can't have my mother. I'm going to take care of myself." Taraborrelli felt that in time, no doubt because of the devastation she felt, Madonna would never again allow herself, or even her daughter, to feel as abandoned as she had felt when her mother died. "Her death had taught [Madonna] a valuable lesson, that she would have to remain strong for herself because, she feared [6] weaknessparticularly her ownand wanted to be the queen of her own castle."