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Overview

The Prince is a 16th-century political treatise by the Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli. From correspondence a version appears to have been distributed in 1513, using a Latin title, De Principatibus (Of Principalities). However, the printed version was not published until 1532, five years after Machiavelli's death. This was done with the permission of the Medici pope Clement VII, but "long before then, in fact since the first appearance of The Prince in manuscript, controversy had swirled about his writings". Although it was written as if it were a traditional work in the mirrors for princes style, it is generally agreed that it was especially innovative. This is only partly because it was written in the vernacular Italian rather than Latin, a practice which had become increasingly popular since the publication of Dante's Divine Comedy and other works of Renaissance literature.

The Prince is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern philosophy, especially modern political philosophy, in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. It was also in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning politics and ethics. Although it is relatively short, the treatise is the most remembered of Machiavelli's works and the one most responsible for bringing the word "Machiavellian" into usage as a pejorative. It even contributed to the modern negative connotations of the words "politics" and "politician" in western countries.

In terms of subject matter it overlaps with the much longer Discourses on Livy, which was written a few years later. In its use of near-contemporary Italians as examples of people who perpetrated criminal deeds for politics, another lesser-known work by Machiavelli which The Prince has been compared to is the Life of Castruccio Castracani.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781501278358
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Publication date: 08/25/2015
Edition description: Unabridged
Product dimensions: 5.25(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Jason P. Blahuta is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Lakehead University. Manuela Scarci is Chair and coordinator of the Renaissance Studies Program at Victoria University in the University of Toronto.

Read an Excerpt

The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli

Seventeenth Chapter: Concerning Cruelty and Clemency, and Whether It Is Better to Be Loved Than Feared

...Upon this a question arises: whether it be better to be loved than feared or feared than loved? It may be answered that one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with. Because this is to be asserted in general of men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, covetous, and as long as you succeed, they are yours entirely; they will offer you their blood, property, life, and children, as is said above, when the need is far distant; but when it approaches they turn against you. And that prince, who, relying entirely on their promises, has neglected other precautions, is ruined; because friendships that are obtained by payments, and not by greatness or by nobility of mind, may indeed be earned, but they are not secured, and in time of need cannot be relied upon; and men have less scruple in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared, for love is preserved by the link of obligation which, owing to the baseness of men, is broken at every opportunity for their advantage; but fear preserves you by a dread of punishment which never fails....

Twenty-First Chapter: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So as to Gain Renown

...A prince is also respected when he is either a true friend or a downright enemy, that is to say, when, without any reservation, he declares himself in favour of one party against the other; which course will always be more advantageous than standing neutral; because if two of your powerful neighbours come to blows, they are of such a character that, if one of them conquers, you have either to fear him or not. In either case it will always be more advantageous for you to declare yourself and to make war strenously; because, in the first case, if you do not declare yourself, you will invariably fall a prey to the conqueror, to the pleasure and satisfaction of his who has been conquered, and you will have no reasons to offer, nor anything to protect or to shelter you. Because he who conquers does not want doubtful friends who will not aid him in the time of trial; and he who loses will not harbour you because you did not willingly, sword in hand, court his fate....

Translation by: W.K. Marriott

Table of Contents

Map
Introduction
Translator's Note
Selected Books
Machiavelli's Principal Works
Letter to the Magnificent Lorenzo de Medici ..... 1
I: How many kinds of principality there are and the ways in which they are acquired ..... 5
II: Hereditary principalities ..... 5
III: Composite principalities ..... 6
IV :Why the kingdom of Darius conquered by Alexander did not rebel against his successors after his death ..... 13
V: How cities or principalities which lived under their own laws should be administered after being conquered ..... 16
VI: New principalities acquired by one's own arms and prowess ..... 17
VII: New principalities acquired with the help of fortune and foreign arms ..... 20
VIII: Those who come to power by crime ..... 27
IX: The constitutional principality ..... 31
X: How the strength of every principality should be measured ..... 34
XI: Ecclesiastical principalities ..... 36
XII: Military organization and mercenary troops ..... 39
XIII: Auxiliary, composite, and native troops ..... 43
XIV: How a prince should organize his militia ..... 47
XV: The things for which men, and especially princes, are praised or blamed ..... 49
XVI: Generosity and parsimony ..... 51
XVII: Cruelty and compassion; and whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse ..... 53
XVIII: How princes should honour their word ..... 56
XIX: The need to avoid contempt and hatred ..... 58
XX: Whether fortresses and many of the other present-day expedients to which princes have recourse are useful or not ..... 67
XXI: How a prince must act to win honour ..... 71
XXII: A prince's personal staff ..... 75
XXIII: How flatterers must be shunned ..... 76
XXIV: Why the Italian princes have lost their states ..... 78
XXV: How far human affairs are governed by fortune, and how fortune can be opposed ..... 79
XXVI: Exhortation to liberate Italy from the barbarians ..... 82
Glossary of Proper Names ..... 86
Notes ..... 99

What People are Saying About This

John M. Najemy

I still consider Atkinson's translation of The Prince the best of the many . . . out there, especially with its extensive and extraordinarily valuable commentary. (John M. Najemy, Professor of History, Cornell University, 2007)

Mario Domandi

This edition of the The Prince has three distinct and disparate objectives: to provide a fresh and accurate translation; to analyze and find the roots of Machiavelli's thought; and to collect relevant extracts from other works by Machiavelli and some contemporaries, to be used to illuminate and explicate the text. The objectives are all reached with considerable and admirable skill. The reader senses Professor Atkinson's empathy and feeling for even the tiniest movements in Machiavelli's mind. Professor Atkinson has done a great service to students and teachers of Machiavelli, who should certainly welcome this as the most useful edition of The Prince in English. (Mario Domandi, Italica, 1978)

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