This chapter examines Machiavelli’s view of Girolamo Savonarola – an apocalyptic figure in fifteenth-century Florence – and apocalyptic thought more generally. Though the standard understanding of Machiavelli is that he dismisses Savonarola, a close reading of his writings reveals a respect for Savonarola and his apocalyptic message. Savonarola used his apocalyptic message to help found new orders – the highest human achievement according to Machiavelli. By drawing on the Christian idea of the new Jerusalem and Roman idea of the Eternal City, Savonarola instilled the republican government of Florence with deep religious meaning and political promise. Though Machiavelli sees Savonarola as a failed founder, his failure is not due to his apocalyptic message. Machiavelli recognizes the power of this message, but ultimately rejects apocalyptic hope because he cannot fathom achieving a lasting utopia in a world marked by decay and continual change.

This chapter is dedicated to showing the technique used by John to portray himself as an eyewitness: description. This description, in the classical rhetorical tradition of ante oculos ponere, engages the audience in the narrative by giving them the opportunity to visualize what John himself saw. For example, descriptions introduced by the phrase ?a? e?d?? are rendered as though they formed part of a transcription of a vision made at the very moment it occurred. This is why they appear in the text ex abrupto, marked only by the introductory sign ?a? e?d??, a device habitually used to signal the reader/listener that a given vision has occurred unexpectedly. The ?a? e?d?? structure mimics the mechanics of sight. However, the descriptive forms employed in the book of Revelation are not limited to the use of this ?a? e?d?? pattern. On the contrary, throughout the text John employs six other kinds of descriptions: 1) ????sa ?a? e?d?? descriptions, or ecphrasis; 2) e?d??-????? descriptions; 3) t? p???e??µe?a descriptions; 4) ?a? e?d?? ???e??? descriptions; 5) ?? t? d????se? descriptions; 6) t?p?? or t?p???af?a descriptions.